October 24 is the Massachusetts deadline to register to vote in the November 3 presidential and state elections. While you can find information about voting on the Town of Andover website, you can check out these books about the past and present of voting in the United States. The library owns copies of all of the titles (click the title to request a copy), and many are available from the library online as e-books or e-audiobooks, which are linked below as well.
|
|
Thank you for voting : the maddening, enlightening, inspiring truth about voting in America
by Erin Geiger Smith A journalistic examination of the ongoing fight for voting equality shares insights into why so few Americans vote, citing the role of corporations in encouraging voter turnout while outlining innovative approaches to voter education and motivation. This title is available with an MHL or BPL card on Hoopla! |
|
|
Drawing the vote : an illustrated guide to voting in America
by Tommy Jenkins "Drawing the Vote, an original graphic novel, looks at the history of voting rights in the United States, and how it has affected the way we vote today. Author Tommy Jenkins traces this history from the earliest steps toward democracy during the American Revolution, to the upheaval caused by the Civil War, the fight for women's suffrage, the Civil Rights movement, the election of an African American president, and the control by a Republican majority. Along the way, Jenkins identifies events and trends that led to the unprecedented results of the 2016 presidential election that left Americans wondering, 'how did this happen?'" This title is available with an MHL or BPL card on Hoopla! |
|
|
Vanguard : how black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all
by Martha S. Jones Vanguard examines the struggle of African American women to achieve equality and political power by examining the lives and work of black women, including Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Fannie Lou Hamer. This title is available with any MA library card on Overdrive! Log in as a Merrimack Valley Patron with your local card number to borrow it. |
|
|
One person, no vote : how not all voters are treated equally
by Carol Anderson "In her New York Times bestseller White Rage, Carol Anderson laid bare an insidious history of policies that have systematically impeded black progress in America, from 1865 to our combustible present. With One Person, No Vote, she chronicles a related history: the rollbacks to African American participation in the vote since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965." This title is available with any MA library card on Overdrive! Log in as a Merrimack Valley Patron with your local card number to borrow it. |
|
|
Blackballed : the Black vote and US democracy
by Darryl Pinckney "Blackballed is Darryl Pinckney's meditation on a century and a half of Black participation in US electoral politics. In this combination of memoir, historical narrative, and contemporary political and social analysis, he investigates the struggle for Black voting rights from Reconstruction through the civil rights movement, leading up to the election of Barack Obama as president." This title is available with any MA library card on Overdrive! Log in as a Merrimack Valley Patron with your local card number to borrow it. |
|
|
Let my people vote : my battle to restore the civil rights of returning citizens
by Desmond Meade "Desmond Meade tells the story of his fight to pass Amendment 4 in Florida, which would restore voting rights to felons who have served their terms." |
|
|
Down for the count : dirty elections and the rotten history of democracy in America
by Andrew Gumbel "First published to great acclaim and controversy in 2005 as Steal this vote, this thoroughly revised edition lifts the lid off the largely undiscussed corruption at the core of our democracy: elections so poorly regulated and administered they fall short of standards the United States routinely imposes on emerging democracies." This title is available as an e-book or e-audiobook on Hoopla with your MHL or BPL card! |
|
|
Why they marched : untold stories of the women who fought for the right to vote
by Susan Ware Looking beyond the national leadership of the suffrage movement, an acclaimed historian gives voice to the thousands of women from different backgrounds, races and religions whose local passion and protest resounded throughout the land. This title is available as an e-audiobook with your MHL or BPL card on Hoopla! |
|
|
The embattled vote in America : from the founding to the present
by Allan J. Lichtman Americans have died for the right to vote. Yet our democratic system guarantees no one, not even citizens, the opportunity to elect a government. Allan Lichtman calls attention to the founders' greatest error--leaving the franchise to the discretion of individual states--and explains why it has triggered an unending struggle over voting rights. This title is available as an e-audiobook with your MHL or BPL card on Hoopla! |
|
|
Poll power : the Voter Education Project and the movement for the ballot in the American South
by Evan Faulkenbury "In the early 1960s, after years of grassroots organizing, civil rights activists convinced non-profit foundations to donate in support of voter education and registration efforts. One result was the Voter Education Project (VEP), which formally began in 1962, showed far-reaching results almost immediately, and organized the groundwork that eventually led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Though local power had long existed in the hundreds of southern towns and cities that saw organized civil rights action, the VEP was vital to converting that power into political motion." This title is available with an MHL or BPL card on Hoopla! |
|
|
Suffrage : women's long battle for the vote
by Ellen Carol DuBois Published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, a high-energy chronicle of the movement for women’s voting rights shares bold portraits of its devoted leaders and activists. This title is available with any MA library card on Overdrive! Log in as a Merrimack Valley Patron with your local card number to borrow it. |