Voting in America: Examining the Facts

Pohlman (public policy and political science, Dickinson Coll.) has produced another worthy title in “Contemporary Debates,” a series intended to provide identify falsehoods, clarify misconceptions, and confirm the validity of other assertions on high-profile topics. In all those tasks, Pohlman has succeeded admirably. This text is organized into five broad chapters: the U.S. Constitution’s historical role in shaping and extending the vote; 1960s U.S. Supreme Court decisions that established the basic framework of contemporary elections; the Voting Rights Act of 1965; political gerrymandering; and ongoing voting challenges. These chapters contain 36 total subsections on key topics that have affected the history of voting in the U.S., such as race, women’s rights, constitutional amendments, and court cases. Each chapter begins with five to eight questions that are each answered in a short paragraph, followed by a longer fact-based discussion and concluding with a list of resources for further reading. The final chapter offers a detailed exploration of contemporary issues of voter fraud, the electoral college, Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election, and voting rights for people who were formerly incarcerated.