FIXING ELECTIONS: THE FAILURE OF AMERICA'S WINNER-TAKE-ALL POLITICS by Steven Hill

PRAISE FOR FIXING ELECTIONS

"Fixing Elections is the most important book on American democracy that has come out in many years. Our antiquated electoral rules restrict the range of choices in politics, polarize the nation, and frustrate the growing number of citizens who do not vote at all. In Fixing Elections, Steven Hill explains why American democracy is broken--and how it can be repaired."

Michael Lind, author, Made in Texas: George W. Bush and the Southern Takeover of American Politics

"Here's the eye-opening news from Steven Hill's new book: our 'winner-take-all' electoral system is a mug's game that makes losers of us all. He explains why-convincingly. And he tells us what we can do about it."

Hendrik Hertzberg, Senior Editor, The New Yorker

"Fixing Elections is a provocative reminder that we desperately need to re-invigorate our democracy. By cataloguing the elements of the crisis facing our divided polity, from orphaned voters to a far-reaching political depression, Steven Hill shows how crucial it is to explore the unfairness of our electoral system's underlying structure rather than simply working to reform the mechanics of voting.

Lani Guinier, Bennett Boskey Professor of Law, Harvard University

"Steven Hill is making the case for real reform of America's decayed democracy-changes that will actually give weight to every vote cast and begin the hard process of convincing Americans of every persuasion that their votes really can matter."

William Greider, author, One World, Ready or Not and Who Will Tell The People?

"In this powerfully argued and engaging book, Steven Hill successfully demonstrates how our Winner-Take-All electoral system produces highly undemocratic results. His work should inspire serious and widespread discussion of alternative electoral arrangements that are far more democratic and have long been employed in almost all of the other advanced democratic countries."

Robert A. Dahl, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Yale University, author of How Democratic Is the American Constitution?

"For the past decade, Steven Hill's analysis, commentary and activism have helped shape pro-democracy work in the United States. In his first book, 'Whose Vote Counts?', Hill gives us a lively, forceful and provocative work that powerfully explores ways to strengthen our democracy."

Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor of The Nation

"As the pamphlet Common Sense was to the American revolution, so Fixing Elections could be to the movement for alternative voting systems in our day. Fixing Elections is...a scathing indictment of the system now in place in the U.S. The book manages to introduce sophisticated new ideas about voting systems in a very readable, even compelling, style...It deserves the widest readership possible."

Richard Winger, Editor, Ballot Access News

"Fixing Elections is one of the most penetrating and devastating critiques of American electoral politics I have ever read."

Richard DeLeon, Professor of Political Science, San Francisco State University, and author of Left Coast City: Progressive Politics in San Francisco, 1975-1991

"Fixing Elections is a fascinating, well-written page-turner that describes how our political system evolved, why it is not working, and how we can fix it. I read its 303 pages in a single sitting, and found it a rich source of new ideas, plus a treasure-trove of resource notes that can lead the interested reader to more materials on democratic voting practices. Steven Hill has been a powerful and visionary writer and activist for reform of our nation's voting practices for many years. Fixing Elections is a must-read on your road to real political empowerment."

Phil Tajitsu Nash, columnist for Asian Week (click here to read the entire review)

"What's wrong with politics in America? What explains our abysmal voter turnouts -- down, according to one international study, to 138th in the world, sandwiched between Botswana and Chad? Why are vast segments of the country political wastelands for one party or the other? Why are so many million voters "orphaned" in states where the candidates they prefer are likely never to win? Political analyst Steven Hill offers up a single answer in his new
book, Fixing Elections -- it's the winner-take-all system of elections."

Neal Peirce, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group (click here to read the entire review)

"Fixing Elections is an eye-opener for anyone who still believes in such myths as 'one person, one vote' and 'majority rules.' As Hill superbly demonstrates, winner-take-all is 18th-century voting technology for the 21st century."

Tom Brazaitis, National Syndicated Columnist, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"What's wrong with politics in America? What explains our abysmal voter turnouts -- down, according to one international study, to 138th in the world, sandwiched between Botswana and Chad? Why are vast segments of the country political wastelands for one party or the other? Why are so many million voters "orphaned" in states where the candidates they prefer are likely never to win? Political analyst Steven Hill offers up a single answer in his new book, Fixing Elections --it's the winner-take-all system of elections."

Houston Chronicle

"Hill says that the root cause of it all, the factor that has allowed our politics to deteriorate, is something that's rarely talked about: the winner-take-all system, as embodied in the Electoral College and the single-seat districts through which we elect members of Congress and most state legislators. He warns that a system "based exclusively on where you live, rather than what you think" will prove "increasingly disastrous in a diverse, pluralistic society like ours."

Philadelphia Inquirer

“Hill's tour of the U.S. political landscape today gets the book off to a lively start, and anyone who stays with him through the mountains of evidence may well agree that some of our sacred cows are ready to be put out to pasture. Hill maintains that the true threat to our democracy is "Winner Take All," the voting system that reduces an election to a crude all-or-nothing contest that is often decided by special-interest groups.”

Yale Magazine

“An eye-opening examination of just how deeply embedded in our electoral structure many of our current woes are, and how simple -- and revolutionary -- some of the fixes could be. Hill offers solutions; many other countries have found ways to improve on our 18th century notions of representative democracy, and Hill outlines a lot of the alternatives, how they work, and how folks can work to get them enacted.”

Geov Parrish, WorkingforChange.com

“Right from its double-entendre of a title, [Fixing Elections] is a lively and passionate indictment of winner take all elections. Hill says they are at the root of much of what ails our democracy – inadequate representation of both minorities and majorities, low voter turnout, mudslinging campaigns, regional balkanization, and a dearth of innovative policy ideas.”

Paul Taylor, Alliance for Progress

"Fixing Elections is a much-needed field guide to our winner-take-all political landscape and the monsters that roam it, bloody of tooth and red of claw. Hill proposes a revolutionary solution to this dilemma: smash the gerrymandered two-party system by replacing winner-take-all elections with modern, flexible, "proportional" voting systems."

San Francisco Bay Guardian

"Fixing Elections hits the nail right on the head! Steven Hill is an insightful, clever, and engaging writer who reveals in page after page, the many fault lines in the way we elect our public officials. Hill's analysis is unique and refreshing - and accessible. He dissects the American political and election system with the acumen of a political scholar, the tenacity of a man on a mission, but most importantly, with the clarity of a popular writer. This should be required reading for U.S. political science classes, and should be offered in our high schools as well. If you care about creating an engaged citizenry, a strong democracy and an accountable government, read this book!"

National Organization for Women ( San Jose chapter)

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