New directions in campaigns and elections / edited by Stephen K. Medvic.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Election administration : setting the rules of the game / Thad Hall and M. Kathleen Moore -- Campaign finance : adapting to a changing regulatory environment / David B. Magleby -- Polling : innovations in survey research / Brian F. Schaffner -- Campaign management and organization : the use and impact of information and communication technology / Stephen K. Medvic -- Campaign advertising : reassessing the impact of campaign ads on political behavior / Bryce Corrigan and Ted Brader -- Voter mobilization : the scientific investigation of getting the electorate to the polls / Robert A. Jackson -- Political parties : the tensions between unified party images and localism / Jeffrey M. Stonecash -- Interest groups : back to basic questions / Clyde Wilcox -- Media : the complex interplay of old and new forms / Diana Owen -- Voting behavior : traditional paradigms and contemporary challenges / Andrew Dowdle, Pearl K. Ford, and Todd G. Shields -- Congressional elections : why some incumbent candidates lose / Jamie L. Carson and Carrie P. Eaves -- Presidential elections : campaigning within a segmented electorate / Scott D. McClurg and Philip Habel -- State and local elections : the unique character of sub-national contests / Timothy B. Krebs and Jonathan Winburn -- Election reform : what is expected, and what results? / Todd Donovan and Shaun Bowler.

The ground upon which campaigns and elections are contested has been shifting rapidly in the last decade. Radical and ongoing changes to the way elections are administered and campaigns are financed; new approaches to polling, campaign management and advertising, and voter mobilization; and recent developments in the organization of political parties and interest groups, the operation of the media, and the behavior of voters require close examination. New Directions in Campaigns and Elections guides students through the tangle of recent developments in real-world politics drawing on the insights of innovative scholarship on these topics. More than any other aspects of American politics, campaigns and elections have been affected{u2014}in many cases transformed{u2014}by new communication technologies, a recurring theme throughout the volume. This tightly organized collection of original contributions raises important normative questions, grounds students{u2019} thinking in cutting edge empirical research, and balances applied politics with scholarly insights. Like other volumes in the New Directions in American Politics series, the focused exploration of the latest developments across a comprehensive range of topics makes this an ideal companion for students eager to understand the rapidly changing political environment of the U.S. electoral process.