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Fixing Elections:
The Failure of America's Winner Take All Politics
July 10, 2002
Contact: Katie Monaghan
212-216-7839
kmonaghan@taylorandfrancis.com
ìHereís the eye-opening news from Steven Hillís new
book: our ëWinner Take Allí electoral system is a mugís game that
makes losers of us all. He explains whyóconvincingly. And he tells
us what we can do about it.î
óHendrik Hertzberg, Senior Editor,
The New Yorker
Fixing Elections
The Failure of Americaís
Winner Take All Politics
By Steven Hill
www.FixingElections.com
On March 5, 2002, San Franciscans, by a wide margin,
voted to adopt instant runoff voting to elect their local
government. This was significant because now San Francisco voters
can vote for their favorite candidate without fear of helping elect
their least favorite candidate. The result: the winner of the race
enjoys true support from a majority of the voters, and third-party
candidates will no longer be ìspoilers.î
Steven Hill was the campaign manager for this historic
campaign (Proposition A) in San Francisco. In Fixing Elections: The
Failure of Americaís Winner Take All Politics (Routledge, June 2002,
$27.50), he explains exactly whatís wrong with how we vote in the
United States, and how, through a number of voting reforms, we can
fix our outdated and unfair electoral system.
In Fixing Elections, Steven Hill examines a vastly
important, and often overlooked part of American politics: our
primitive 18th-century Winner Take All voting system. At the dawn of
our nation, the geography-based Winner Take All system was cutting
edge "democracy technology," but since then, many newer and better
methods have been developed in the United States and abroad. Still,
we continue to hang onto an archaic system that lies at the root of
many of our worst, seemingly intractable problems:
- Single-digit voter turnout in elections all
across the nation
- A Congress that doesn't look or think like
America
- National policy dangerously adrift from public
opinion
- A president who won with less than a popular
majority, and fewer votes than his main opponent
- A growing divide between city-dwellers and
middle-America
- Bitter national division and regional
fragmentation that hasn't been seen since the 1960s
- Political consultants producing McCampaigns of
poll-tested blandness
- Campaign tricks and tactics (polling, focus
groups, and the 30 second TV spot) sinisterly suited to Winner
Take All's "divide and conquer" incentives
- An
alarming dearth of innovative political ideas
Fixing Elections offers a way out of the apathy and
disengagement that characterizes a nation of citizens who think
their votes donít count. This book is a refreshing blueprint to
resurrect our founders' democratic vision, and a must-read for
anyone interested in our national future. It will change the way you
think about American politics.
About the author:
Steven Hill is
co-founder and Associate Director of the Center for Voting and
Democracy, a nonprofit organization promoting election reform. His
commentaries and articles have appeared in dozens of national
newspapers and magazines including the Washington Post, the Los
Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Ms., and Salon.
He is also the author of Whose Vote Counts?, co-authored with Rob
Richie. He was the campaign manager of the historic campaign in 2002
that resulted in San Francisco voting to adopt instant runoff voting
to elect its local government.
More praise for Fixing Elections:
ìOur antiquated electoral rules restrict the range of choices in
politics, polarize the nation, and frustrate the growing number of
citizens who do not vote at all. In Fixing Elections, Steven Hill
explains why American democracy is brokenóand how it can be fixed.î
óMichael Lind, author of The Radical Center: The Future of
American Politics
ìSteven Hill is making the case for real reform
of America's decayed democracy -- changes that will actually give
weight to every vote cast and begin the hard process of convincing
Americans of every persuasion that their votes really can matter.î
óWilliam Greider, National Affairs Correspondent, The Nation
"In this powerfully argued and engaging book, Steven
Hill successfully demonstrates how our Winner-Take-All electoral
system produces highly undemocratic results. His work should inspire
serious and widespread discussion of alternative electoral
arrangements that are far more democratic and have long been
employed in almost all of the other advanced democratic countries."
--Robert A. Dahl, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science,
Yale University
To schedule an interview with Steven Hill,
please contact Katie Monaghan at 212-216-7839 or
kmonaghan@taylorandfrancis.com. To find out more about the book,
visit the web site www.FixingElections.com.
We would appreciate receiving two copies of any review or
mention.
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