Few Americans and even fewer citizens of other nations understand the electoral process in the United States. Still fewer understand the role played by political parties in the electoral process or the ironies within the system. Participation in elections in the United States is much lower than in the vast majority of mature democracies. Perhaps this is because of the lack of competition in a country where only two parties have a true chance of winning, despite the fact that a large number of citizens claim allegiance to neither and think badly of both.

The Marketplace of Democracy: Electoral Competition And American Politics

Since 1998, U.S. House incumbents have won a staggering 98 percent of their reelection races. Electoral competition is also low and in decline in most state and primary elections. The Marketplace for Democracy combines the resources of two eminent research organizations—the Brookings Institution and the Cato Institute—to address the startling lack of competition in our democratic system.

The Politics of Electoral Systems

Electoral systems matter. They are a crucial link in the chain connecting the preferences of citizens to the policy choices made by governments. They are an important object of study for anyone interested in the political process, and in this book we subject them to systematic analysis. The book will be of interest to those concerned with the practical political business of electoral reform. The book contains a wealth of evidence about the performance of various kinds of proportional representation and of non-PR systems.