Full Description
Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.
Ballot examines the psychological, cultural, and political significance of voting in an increasingly anti-voting climate. Armed with her personal experiences as a poll worker, electoral organizer, and activist, Anjali Enjeti unspools a timely narrative about the precarious state of the ballot during one of the most tumultuous political eras in US history, and recounts the astonishing events leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
Enjeti lays out the growing challenges for voters in battleground states, where rightwing legislatures have introduced staggering numbers of voter suppression bills and redrawn district lines, all to disenfranchise as many Black and other marginalized voters as possible. As her account of the history and stakes of election integrity shows, the aftershocks of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021 have manifested most egregiously on the four corners of the ballot.
Contents
1. Ballot Beginnings
2. A Brief History of Ballots
Balls, Viva voce, Paper, Absentee, Touchscreen and Electronic Voting Machines, Online
3. Ballot Interference
Voter Identification, Absentee Ballots, Voter Helpers, Intimidation and Policing, Certification Usurpation, Purges, Felony Disenfranchisement
4. Ballot Dilution
Gerrymandering, Multiracial Voting Blocks
5. Ballot Potential
Local Elections, Initiatives
6. Ballot Psychology
Fear and Loathing, Stereotypes, Identities, Influencers
7. Ballot Revolution
Uncommitted, Upheaval, Ultimate
8. Ballot Aftermath
9. The Better Ballot
10. Beyond the Ballot
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
