Praise for Down for the Count:"The right to vote is not only the cornerstone of American democracy; it is also the right upon which all our other rights depend. Down for the Count offers an eye-opening account of this country’s long history of meddling and voter suppression, and it establishes vital, disturbing connections between the rise of Jim Crow and the most recent attacks on voting integrity."-Ben Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP"In this comprehensive assessment of voting in the United States, Gumbel explores in depth both the historical aspects and the current battles over elections and voting procedures—and their implications locally, nationally, and internationally. Gumbel illuminates, with intelligence and great perception, the structural flaws in the American election system. While the systemic dysfunction is dismal and pervasive, Gumbel also offers a list of solutions. Provocative and challenging, this book does not tell a pretty story, but it is a story essential to all of us who treasure our democracy."-Orville Vernon Burton, author of The Age of Lincoln"It’s a free country, as the saying goes, but a modern, well-functioning, mature democracy? Not even close. In this fast-paced ride through the seamy past and alarming present of America’s ramshackle, corruptible electoral machinery, Gumbel tells a tale of American exceptionalism with a vengeance."-Hendrik Hertzberg, staff writer at the New Yorker