A History of Full Representation Experimentation and Success
Despite widespread dissatisfaction with our political process, most
policymakers tinker only at the edges of our electoral systems and have
not seriously revisited their basic design and structure in decades.
However, there is a forgotten history
of full representation experimentation and success. John Adams, one of
our founding fathers stated that our government “should be in miniature
an exact portrait of the people at large. It should think, feel,
reason, and act like them…. Great care should be taken to effect this,
and to prevent unfair, partial, and corrupt elections.” Throughout our
nation’s history, many communities did just that, by implementing full
representation voting systems that would bring our elected bodies
closer to Adams’ ideal of a reflection of the population. For a century
Illinois elected its state legislature through cumulative voting, while
dozens of U.S. cities adopted choice voting to promote fairer
representation and better, more accountable government. Largely adopted
before the Cold War, choice voting performed as promised, leading to
fair racial representation, political diversity, and more thoughtful
and innovative leaders. But choice voting's supporters faced the
relentless hostility of party bosses, who manipulated concerns about
ballot counting and fears of minorities to gain repeals in most cities.
We are left with largely unfair, unrepresentative elections. Given
increasingly lopsided elections and stagnant representation of women
and communities of color, the time has come to overhaul our flawed
electoral systems and seek empowerment through full representation.