In this concise look at the past, present, and future of voting, a journalist examines the long and continuing fight for voting equality, why so few Americans today vote, and innovative ways to educate and motivate them; included are checklists of what to do before election day to prepare to vote and encourage others.
Smith posits that the only voting problem we have in America is that not enough people do it. It’s an important topic, as her research shows that each generation votes at rates lower than the one before it ... In an election year, this book will have wide appeal. As the author says, 'Figuring out the best way to achieve the largest turnout should have nothing to do with one side or the other and everything to do with supporting democracy. This book is non-partisan, but it is staunchly pro-voting.'
Journalist Smith's debut serves as both a history of voting rights in the United States and an instructional tool for voters ... Smith’s resource will appeal to those looking for a short introduction to voting rights; readers will appreciate her hopeful message forecasting a nonpartisan future of increasing voter participation.
Smith serves up a youth-friendly—though by no means youth-restricted—guide to understanding not only one’s rights as a voter, but also such thorny constructs as how polls work (badly, too often) and how gerrymandering keeps districts that should go to one party going to the other instead ... Intelligent, spirited, and especially valuable to budding activists and first-time voters.
