(Introduced in the House on November 13, 1997)
HR 3068 IH
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3068
To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system for multiseat congressional districts.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 13, 1997
Ms. MCKINNEY (for herself, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, and Mrs. CLAYTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system for multiseat congressional districts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Voters' Choice Act'.
SEC. 2. MULTISEAT DISTRICTS PERMITTED FOR ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR STATES WITH A PROPORTIONAL VOTING SYSTEM.
(a) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding Public Law 90-196 (2 U.S.C. 2c), a State that is entitled to more than one Representative in Congress may establish a number of districts for election of Representatives that is less than the number of Representatives to which the State is entitled, if and only if, that State uses a system that meets the following conditions:
(1) It meets the constitutional standard that each voter should have equal voting power.
(2) Any group of voters making up at least 50 percent of the electorate will be able to elect at least half of the Representatives in the multiseat district.
(3) It ensures that any group of voters of a size that is at least one vote greater than one-third of the electorate in the multiseat district will be able to elect at least one Representative in the district.
(4) It ensures that any group of voters of a size that is at least one vote greater than one-third of the electorate will be able to elect their proportional share of seats.
(b) NO RESTRICTION ON SELECTION- A State is not restricted to selecting systems that require a group of voters to be at least one vote more than one-third of the electorate. As long as the conditions specified in subsection (a) are met, a State may use systems that allow a smaller group of voters to elect Representatives.
(c) DEFINITIONS- As used in this Act--
(1) the term `voter' means persons casting valid ballots in the election;
(2) the term `group of voters' means voters identified by their votes for the same individuals or same political party;
(3) the term `electorate' means the total number of voters in the multiseat district;
(4) the term `representation threshold' means the electorate divided by one more than the number of seats to be filled in the election for that multiseat district;
(5) the term `proportional share of seats' means one less than the number of voters in a given group of voters divided by the representation threshold, rounded down to the nearest whole number; and
(6) the term `will be able' means that a group of voters of at least the representation threshold will win their proportional share of seats when they take full advantage of the opportunities to elect their proportional share of seats provided by the system in use.
(d) EQUALITY REQUIREMENT- In a State that uses multiseat districts, the number of residents per Representative in a district shall be equal for all Representatives elected.
(e) ONE-SEAT DISTRICTS ALLOWED- A State may use one-seat districts alone or in combination with multiseat districts.
SEC. 3. RELATION TO VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.
The rights and remedies established by this Act are in addition to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and the rights and remedies established by this Act shall not supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.). Nothing in this Act authorizes or requires conduct that is prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).