Abstract
Early American political theory held that voting rights were critical to holding elected officials accountable to the public. Fears of a too-powerful federal government led the founders to lodge election authority in the states. After the Civil War, that power shifted to the federal government, but only to a limited extent, based on Court rulings and federal and state laws. Today, there remains tremendous variation among the states regarding election administration.
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© 2015 Michael A. Smith, Kevin Anderson, and Chapman Rackaway
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Smith, M.A., Anderson, K., Rackaway, C. (2015). Introduction. In: State Voting Laws in America: Historical Statutes and Their Modern Implications. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137483584_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137483584_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-50466-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-48358-4
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political Science CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)