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Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Institutions and the Norms That Help Maintain Stability -- 3 The Multiple Laboratories of Democracy -- 4 The Federal Part of the Institution -- 5 Acquiring Voting Rights -- 6 Exercising the Right to Vote -- 7 Finding the Time and Place to Vote -- 8 Counting the Votes -- 9 Choosing Voters: Redistricting and Re-Apportionment -- 10 Implications of Institutionalism for Democracy -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index

This book explores how the United States institutions of democracy have affected a citizen's ability to participate in politics. The 2000 election and the ensuing decade of research demonstrated that the institutions of elections vitally affect participation. This book examines turnout and vote choice, as well as elections as an institution, administration of elections and the intermediaries that affect a citizen's ability to cast a vote as intended. Kropf traces the institutions of franchise from the Constitutional Convention through the 2012 election and the general themes of how institutions have changed increasing, democratization and production federal growth over time in the United States.

AbstractPolitical representation should be a key issue for poverty scholars. Schattschneider said more than 30 years ago, "[t]he flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper‐class accent." How do election reforms affect the composition of the electorate? In 2005, Adam Berinsky made the argument that election reforms such as early voting magnify the existing socioeconomic bias in the electorate. This occurs because early voting may retain those who comprise the highest SES, rather than stimulating the turnout of new voters who may be of lower SES status. This paper advances a test of Berinsky's hypothesis by examining early voting in North Carolina in 2008 using the state's voter registration database. The analysis shows that despite on‐the‐ground mobilization efforts, those who voted early were primarily those of higher income who had been registered a long time, though they were not necessarily those who had voted habitually in the past. Normatively, this work raises questions about who has access to the franchise and who appears to be left behind.