Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression

by Spencer Overton

Book Overview

Politicians spew shallow words describing a self-governing American people, who select their representatives. In reality, politicians maintain power by selecting voters. Elected officials and bureaucrats control thousands of election practices--from district boundaries to English-only ballots--that determine political winners and losers. Through real-life stories, Spencer Overton shows how these practices determine policies on issues that shape our...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393330931
• ISBN13: 9780393330939
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

fascinating read

Mr. Overton's insightful, eye-opening presentation of critical and often overlooked problems with America's system of voting and democratic representation is a must-read for political science students, law students, and, quite frankly, anyone who votes (and wants his or her vote to count). Stealing Democracy is comprehensible, elegant, and highly stimulating.

What the Supreme Court Should Be Reading ... Overton's Stealing Democracy

Overton tells us in plain language how the working class and the poor are being eliminated from the political process. Interestingly, he is able to cast the old stories of poll taxes and lynchings in a 21st century surround-sound format. Using real-life examples from the lives of real people, Overton illustrates how certain people are stealing the country right from under our own noses. I certainly believe the Supreme Court could have benefitted greatly from reading his "how to rig an election" chapter before deciding the recent Texas gerrymandering case. Spencer's point ... Voters should choose politicians, politicians should not be choosing the voters!!!! His parallel of this country's voting system to the "matrix" is also quite brilliant. If some of the new restrictions that Overton warns us about takes place, we will need the powers of the Oracle, Neo, Morpheus, and Trinty just to be able to cast a vote (and more importantly make it count). If you are serious about voting rights or if you just want to be able to predict the outcomes of the 2006 mid term elections, this book is a must read. I highly recommend it to all audiences.

The kind of information EVERY American voter needs to know!

I highly recommend this powerful book! American voters are inundated with superficial corporate media reports that tap dances across the surface of complex issues like the health of American democracy, our elections and immigration. Spencer Overton's highly readable "Stealing Democracy" explores what is really going on behind the curtains of our American democracy in our local communities, the state and national level. And it is chilling. But it is the kind of frank discussion that the American public needs to read so that we will be in a better position to get involved as citizens and exert a truer ownership over our own government that has so much daily influence on our lives. I particularly appreciated how Professor Overton looks back at the historical roots of voter suppression in our American political system dating back to the early 1800s. The more things change, the more they stay the same: He examines gerry-mandering, the English-only Movement, voter registration purging, Voter ID legislation, and all the other ways that politicians continue to try to discourage those people that aren't inclined to vote for them to stay home on Election Day. Professor Overton also looks at the chilling ways in which the venerable Voting Rights Act of 1965 is currently under attack by the right wing. Today it is obvious to whomever is paying attention that there is a sustained effort to turn the clock way back on voter enfranchisement for the elderly, the poor, people of color and the handicapped. Enlighten yourself on the new politics of voter suppression and how we can stop it: Read this book and recommend it to your friends as well!

"The legitimacy of democracy depends upon the right of every citizen to vote."

Voting in national elections has become a hot topic in the last two national elections, especially since the common use of computerized voting machines, particularly those without paper receipts. The democratic vote is vital to the health of the nation and it behooves every citizen, regardless of party affiliation, to be well informed, insuring the security of a vital process in choosing our elected officials. In Stealing Democracy, Overton reveals some of the current problems in the voting "matrix" in an effort to stimulate discussion and action on the part of concerned citizens: "In our closely divided political environment, even an obscure election rule in a single state can determine who sits in the White House or which party controls Congress." The author emphasizes, and rightly so, that there is no great conspiracy orchestrated by a few. Rather, there is a "collection of ever-changing rules and practices employed... that shape who goes to the polls and which votes are counted." The voting process is affected by election laws, secretaries of state, election commissioners, county election boards, poll challenges and poll workers, not to mention budgetary constraints, fraud prevention and "state's rights". With the potential for abuse inherent in bureaucracy, "America's founders divided government power among executive, legislative and judicial branches in order to prevent abuses." Each chapter addresses different aspects of the complex voting matrix at this point in our history: Chapter One questions who is guarding the gates of our democracy and who is in charge of redrawing district boundaries; Chapter Two speaks to local control of elections and how available monies affect the democratic process; Chapter Three takes on the elephant in the living room, whether race still matters in America; Chapter Four discusses the critical importance of the federal Voting Rights Act and how it protects citizens against the discriminatory legislation of state and local politicians; Chapter Five considers all aspects of making voting available to all citizens, with attention to bilingual issues; and Chapter Six tackles "an emerging anti-fraud movement that proposes... voter-ID requirements that threaten to exclude more legitimate voters than fraudulent ones." The concluding chapter takes these issues to the people, where the discussion belongs, average Americans from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds and their views on potential reforms in the community. A tall order for a small book, but Overton injects much-needed clarity into a subject that becomes more critical with each election. There are no easy answers and reform is slow, but in the words of Thom Hartmann (What Would Jefferson Do?): "Systematic change never happens from the top down: it's always from the bottom up." Luan Gaines/2006.

A must read for all voters

If the 2000 election wasn't a wake up call, this book, 'Stealing Democracy' is. It is a MUST READ for all responsible citizens, on both sides, who really want and mean for their votes and the votes of their fellow countrymen to count. 'Stealing Democracy' is a powerful account of the manipulation that takes place in the American electoral process. How regulations are used to oppress voting, not strengthen it. Overton not only touches at the heart of a lot of the problems facing today's electoral process, he offers sound direction towards solving those problems. 'Stealing Democracy' is a well-written, thought-provoking read, and I would recommend it to everyone who believes and would strive for a true freely governed America. You know, the one talked about in our Constitution. Oreese