A Short History of Presidential Election Crises : (And How to Prevent the Next One) Paperback / softback

by Alan Hirsch

Part of the City Lights Open Media series

Paperback / softback

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Description

An urgent primer on what can be done to combat emerging threats to the core of U.S.

Democracyâ€”presidential elections. In 2000, we learned that an exceptionally close presidential election can produce chaos, because we have no reliable Constitutional mechanism for resolving disputes.

Joe Biden just won a presidential election that was extremely close in a number of states.

Trumpâ€”and his many supportersâ€”refuse to accept the legitimacy of those vote results, leading to an insurrection at the Capitol Building.

Where do we go from here?In A Short History, Constitutional scholar Alan Hirsch presents a concise history of presidential elections that resulted in crises and advocates clear, common-sense solutions, including abolishing the Electoral College and the creation of a permanent, non-partisan Presidential Election Review Board to prevent or remedy future crises. â€œHirsch does a very good job of offering historical context to illuminate the presentâ€”and the terrifying future.

His imaginative proposals are probably too sensible to be implemented in an age of parochial partisanship.â€â€”David Shipler, former reporter for the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winnerâ€œDemocracy is broken, but as Alan Hirsch explains, it really doesnâ€™t have to be.

This is the real story of how our voting system became so vulnerable to attacks from within and without, told with precision, verve, and even hope.

This is the way out.â€â€”Douglas Rushkoff, author of Team Humanâ€œThis is a must-read for anyone who cares about safeguarding presidential electionsâ€•which should be everyone.â€â€”Evan Caminker, Professor and former Dean, University of Michigan Law School"The noted law historian, author of Impeaching the President,Â examines the handful of seriously problematic presidential elections in American history and what the Constitution elucidates about the process of undoing such an eventâ€”namely, nothing. . . .Â A highly relevant study featuring much food for thought and prospects for change."â€”Kirkus Reviews,Â Starred Review" [A] seminal work of meticulous and informative scholarship that should be considered as an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary Political Science collections.

It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject."â€”Midwest Library Review