Review by Booklist Review
Smith posits that the only voting problem we have in America is that not enough people do it. It's an important topic, as her research shows that each generation votes at rates lower than the one before it. Divided into three sections, her book tracks the history of the right to vote among groups of people such as African Americans, women, and others. The next covers innovative "get out and vote" movements. Lastly, readers get a lesson in often-confusing voting topics like gerrymandering, the Electoral College, and polling. Each chapter includes tales of voters who made an impact, from former slaves to modern-day moms. Smith also tackles social media and tips for identifying misinformation. The book concludes with a handy checklist for voting, walking readers through important steps in being an informed voter. In an election year, this book will have wide appeal. As the author says, "Figuring out the best way to achieve the largest turnout should have nothing to do with one side or the other and everything to do with supporting democracy. This book is non-partisan, but it is staunchly pro-voting."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Journalist Geiger Smith's instructive debut combines a brisk history of voting rights in America with a comprehensive guide on how to vote, and how to convince others to do the same. She details the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868 and subsequent efforts to disenfranchise black voters, and offers a refreshingly frank look at the campaign to win voting rights for women, acknowledging the racist tendencies of some white suffragists, while still celebrating their grit and accomplishments. Addressing the state of voting today, Geiger Smith highlights such organizations as We Vote Next, which educates young voters on the issues, and individuals including Andaya Sugayan, who visits high schools in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas to register young voters. Geiger Smith also discusses the negative impact of gerrymandering, and explains how to identify trustworthy news sources in order to get the most reliable information before deciding how to vote. Her illuminating and accessible account concludes with a checklist of items to complete before voting. This is an excellent resource for first-time voters and activists hoping to motivate young people to get to the polls. Agent: Daniel Kirschen, ICM Partners. (June)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Thinking of not voting this time out? Smith's handy owner's manual to the democratic process removes any excuse for not showing up at the ballot box. The author hails from small-town Texas and lives in New York City, places respectively conservative and liberal but that she characterizes as equally fearing "that their wants and needs will be ignored if their candidate doesn't win," which of course is no way to run a representative democracy. Neither is the steady decline of voting. As Smith notes, every generation votes in fewer numbers than the one preceding it, and minority voters turn up at the polls in fewer numbers, proportionally, than white voters. There's irony to such disparities given the long battle to secure voting rights for minorities. The author reminds us that a white woman born in 1900 would have been allowed to vote at age 21 while "an African American born at the turn of the 20th century and living in the South may not have cast a ballot on Election Day until she was 65 years old." Smith serves up a youth-friendly--though by no means youth-restricted--guide to understanding not only one's rights as a voter, but also such thorny constructs as how polls work (badly, too often) and how gerrymandering keeps districts that should go to one party going to the other instead. Usefully, she provides a timeline of what to do not just to vote, but to bring one's cohort along for the ride: First thing is to register to vote, then "choose five friends to join you to vote." Then, 40 and 30 and 10 days before the election, be sure those friends know how to vote, whether in person or by mail, where the polling place is, and other such practical matters. Intelligent, spirited, and especially valuable to budding activists and first-time voters. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
