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Better South to focus
on elections, participation
From
literacy tests and poll taxes to pregnant chads and the drawing
of congressional districts, the battle to limit or expand participation
has been a continuing contest within the context of Southern elections.
Better
Elections: Improving political participation in the American South,
a new book of policy ideas from the Center for a Better South, will
examine modern challenges to participation in elections in the South
and offer recommendations for improving access to the ballot box
and the political arena.
The
book, written by Charleston School of Law Professor John
L.S. Simpkins, is scheduled for publication in November 2008
- just after the presidential and congressional elections.
Book
will focus on three areas
Better
Elections will focus on at least three areas: Strategies on
voting, running for office and administering elections:
VOTING:
The section on voting will survey the voting habits of Southerners
by age, race, gender and religion. It will highlight successful
efforts that have increased participation among low-voting populations
within these categories and provide measures for tracking future
turnout within these groups. This
section also will examine residency requirements, registration
procedures and other measures that impact voter participation.
Finally,
this section will highlight cases in which state and local governments
have successfully increased voter registration and turnout.
RUNNING
FOR OFFICE: First, the section on candidates will provide
a state-by-state overview of eligibility guidelines for candidates
for state and local office throughout the South. This section
will focus on age and residency requirements for potential candidates
as well as the cost of registration and the means by which a candidate
must demonstrate sufficient support to be listed on the ballot.
Next, the section on candidates will compare constitutional office-holders
of each of the Southern states with all persons contesting elections
for those offices on the basis of race and gender. It will provide
historical data regarding the number of women and people of color
to be elected to constitutional offices at the state level and
offer suggestions to explain increases or decreases in rates of
election to office.
HOLDING
ELECTIONS: In the section on the administration of elections,
the book will examine the logistical infrastructure for conducting
elections in each state in the South. It will consider the number
of employees in the office of elections of each state, the number
of satellite offices operating in each state, the availability
of absentee and early voting, and the number of polling places/precincts.
In addition, this section will examine the information available
to prospective voters and candidates to determine how effectively
states communicate eligibility requirements, conditions for voter
challenges or contesting elections, and access to elections officials
on Election Day to resolve polling questions.
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to help us continue our work. Thank you.
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