Politics and Voting ... a few titles ...

THE POLITICS INDUSTRY by Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter is a melding of business perspective and the history of politics in America. Gehl is former CEO of Gehl Foods and Porter is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School, well-known for his writing (19 books and countless articles) on business theory and strategy. Together, they outline a proposal to combat the current political and legislative situation whereby “if you [elected officials] do your job the way we need you to [compromising and innovating], you’re likely to lose your job.” Gehl and Porter instead propose “Final Five Voting,” non-partisan primaries whereby the top five finishers go to the general election and a winning candidate is selected based on ranked-choice voting (the latter used in Maine since 2018).

The explanations and rationale provided, while “wordy” or repetitive at times, are informative and relatively easy to follow, especially with the use of diagrams like the one illustrating the shifts in political polarization between 1880 and 2019. The authors describe parallels between the Gilded Age and today (business concentrations, rising wages and increased inequality) and note how the subsequent 1920s progressive reforms “ushered in an era of problem solving in our democracy the yielded sustained American progress in spite of two world wars and periodic economic downturns.”  They see citizens as the key leverage for change fueling political innovation (such as the direct election of Senators at that time).

A second area of focus is ideas for changes in legislating which include applying proven management concepts like zero-based budgeting to rule making and establishing a “Legislative Machinery Innovation Commission.” Gehl and Porter acknowledge that “improving a terribly broken system is immensely challenging” and offer specific suggestions as well as successful previous models (like the 1941 APSA’s Committee on Congress) and encourage more localized experimentation by the States (although voting by mail is not specifically mentioned). THE POLITICS INDUSTRY concludes with a plea to “invest your personal agency … to further catalyze a twenty-first-century wave of political innovation to break partisan gridlock and save our democracy.” I know that will appeal to our students who are disillusioned and often ask to research topics like gerrymandering, term-limits, and campaign funding; however, it’s very hard to optimistically see a course for action when yesterday’s New York Times published an opinion that “America is Too Broken to Fight [Even] the Coronavirus.”

THANK YOU FOR VOTING by Erin Geiger Smith describes “The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America.” Interestingly, Ann Patchett initiated the original research project and Smith turned the “writing adventure” into a book with three parts: How we got the vote; How to get people to vote; and Know before you vote. In the first, she provides some background on voting for people who in the past may have faced limitations on voting due to race, sex, ethnicity, and age (roughly four million potential new voters turn 18 each year).  She also writes about voter suppression and explains terms such as ranked choice voting, automatic voter registration (and its positive impact on participation), and same-day registration. Next, Smith discusses efforts by high schools to get more young people registered, taking a child to vote, and enabling employers to encourage voting. The third section develops topics like gerrymandering, the free press and critical thinking about the news, polling and the role of the Electoral College. 

A practical guide of roughly 250 pages, THANK YOU FOR VOTING contains extensive notes and a Checklist with items including getting registered (or updated), asking friends to vote with you, confirming ID requirements and setting up reminder alerts. The list goes on with specific steps to take 40, 30, even 10 days before an election. Overall, this text will be helpful to student researchers and to new voters who would do well to remember the message Smith quotes from the League of Women Voters: “If you confirm you’re properly registered, know available voting methods and locations, and give yourself time to get to the polls and wait in line, if necessary, then you can vote.”  

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VOTING--AND WHY by Kim Wehle is an action-oriented guide to voting. To help readers remember and focus on key points, she uses cute pen and ink drawings (a “pie chart”) and italics to emphasize bottom line ideas such as “Never leave a polling place without casting a provisional ballot.” Wehle, a tenured Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law and commentator for CBS News, the BBC, and other media outlets, employs a conversational tone to stress the importance of voting and strives for a mostly non-partisan stance. She packs the book with charts (e.g., on absentee ballot requirements and deadlines) for each of the fifty states and offers a “takeaway box” and discussion questions at the end of each chapter.  In addition, her legal expertise and detail orientation shines through as she reminds college students that their vote may have more impact in a swing state (whether it be where they attend school or where their parents live, BUT to be sure to check on any impact on financial aid before changing registration). 
 

Subsequent chapters in WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VOTING--AND WHY deal with the “right” to vote and rules for those incarcerated, on parole, or wishing to re-instate voting rights. Wehle also discusses the role of primaries, caucuses and the Electoral College, pointing out that the number of electors are decided by the Census which counts people – not citizens. There are separate chapters on money (hard money, soft money, dark money, and PACs) in politics and on foreign interference (cyberattacks, social media agitation) so students will find this to be an extremely useful primer on current events and trends. In addition to the very helpful information Wehle provides (e.g., the toll free hotline for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is 1-866-OUR-VOTE), related resources are also available at When We All Vote or League of Women Voters or Rock the Vote. Interested readers may also wish to refer to earlier works by Carol Anderson (One Person, No Vote and We Are Not Yet Equal).