Democracy Betrayed

How Superdelegates, Redistricting, Party Insiders, and the Electoral College Rigged the 2016 Election

Steven Rosenfeld

• Publisher: Hot Books
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781510729452
• eBook ISBN: 9781510729469
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Politics & International Relations

An impassioned takedown of the undemocratic features of American electoral politics and their role in the 2016 election. Americans are taught to cherish our democracy, especially our right to vote. But after the 2016 presidential election, we are confronted, yet again, with the reality that our system is neither free nor fair. Almost every step along the way is filled with intentional and unintentional pitfalls, barriers, and dysfunction. The results disadvantage, discourage, and ultimately disenfranchise, but a myth persists that our elections and democracy are exemplary. Our system is adept at pre-empting the very citizens whose participation would upend governing classes and economic elites. That's done by making voting more complicated, less accountable and resistant to reform. Whether we're talking about voter ID laws, superdelegates, convoluted state recount rules, or the archaic Electoral College, procedures have greater weight than democratic principles, or evidence-based determinations. Democracy Betrayed catalogs the long litany of ways our elections failed, and continue to fail, their billing as model democracy. It will look through the lens of impassioned skepticism, highlighting what went wrong and conveying why that need not be the case. More people registered to vote in 2016 than ever before, even if turnout was about the same as 2012. That shows people want a system they can believe in. This book will speak to them and show them how they can fight for a better democracy.

INDEX

A

Abady, Jonathan S., 119–120, 194n241

Abbott, Greg, 185–186n191

“Abbott signs voter ID, end of straight-party voting into law” (Lindell), 185–186n191

ABC News, “Abbott signs voter ID, end of straight-party voting into law” (Lindell) June 1, 2017, 153n42

“About Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act,” 168n114

Abrams, Stacey, 79–82

Abrasion, Alana, 153n42

AccuVote TSX, 123

ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now), 55, 57

“ACORN Accusations: McCain makes exaggerated claims of ‘voter fraud.’ Obama soft-pedals his connections” (Henig), 166n104

“Additional Data Could Help State and Local Elections Officials Maintain Accurate Voter Registration Lists,” 173n136

Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (Trump), 54, 59, 74–75, 133, 175n142, 199n275

Advisory Legal Opinions, 127

“Advocate for Tough Voting Rules to Steer Trump’s Elections Commission” (Wines and Bosman), 175n142

affirmative action and gerrymandering, 47–48

Alabama district maps, 71–72

Alabama Republican Party, 68

Alabama voter ID laws, 71–73

“Alabama’s GOP approves new maps; Dems vow repeat court fight: Alabama’s overwhelmingly Republican legislature has sent a new legislative map to the governor after a rancorous session featuring a racially charged email comparing lawmakers to monkeys.” (Chandler), 170n122

Albright, Jonathan, 195n249

ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), 138

“ALEC Is Talking About Changing the Way Senators Are Elected and Taking Away Your Vote: A proposed resolution advocates for overturning the 17th Amendment so Republican-controlled state legislatures could pick senators” (Nichols), 155n51

“ALEC’s Scary Plan For Electing Your Senators: The radical right is intent on destroying democracy as we know it” (Daley), 201n289

Allen, Jonathan, 11, 99, 149n13

AlterNet.org, xiv

“ALEC’s Scary Plan For Electing Your Senators: The radical right is intent on destroying democracy as we know it” (Daley) July 22, 2017, 201n289

“Democrats Better Focus on the Races That Matter in ‘18 or We Will Have Another Decade of Right-Wing Extremists in Charge: Retaking the House in 2018 slows the GOP. Only governors can stop GOP gerrymanders and political monopolies through 2031” (Rosenfeld) July 14, 2017, 201n287

“Epic Fight Over Florida’s Political Future Looms As Constitutional Amendment to Restore Felon Voting Rights Clears Hurdle” (Friesdat) April 27, 2017, 171–172n129

“A Fair Election? Serious, Hard-to-Explain Questions Arise About Trump Vot...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by David Talbot
• Introduction
• Section I: The Democrats
• Section II: The Republicans
• Section III: The Recounts
• Afterword
• Acknowledgments
• Endnotes
• Index