About the Book
“A hard-hitting critique of the American election process as timely as it is frightening. In a slim, cogently argued analysis, legal scholar Hasen points to four dangers threatening the voting process in 2020 and beyond . . . Required reading for legislators and voters.”
—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
From the nation’s leading expert, an indispensable analysis of key threats to the integrity of the 2020 American presidential election
As the 2020 presidential campaign begins to take shape, there is widespread distrust of the fairness and accuracy of American elections. In this timely and accessible book, Richard L. Hasen uses riveting stories illustrating four factors increasing the mistrust. Voter suppression has escalated as a Republican tool aimed to depress turnout of likely Democratic voters, fueling suspicion. Pockets of incompetence in election administration, often in large cities controlled by Democrats, have created an opening to claims of unfairness. Old-fashioned and new-fangled dirty tricks, including foreign and domestic misinformation campaigns via social media, threaten electoral integrity. Inflammatory rhetoric about “stolen” elections supercharges distrust among hardcore partisans.
Taking into account how each of these threats has manifested in recent years—most notably in the 2016 and 2018 elections—Hasen offers concrete steps that need to be taken to restore trust in American elections before the democratic process is completely undermined.
More information at Yale University Press
Release Date: February 4, 2020
208 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/4, 10 b/w illus.
ISBN: 9780300248197
Hardcover, $27.50
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