Proportional Voting Elections Held Around the World

Results Hold Clear Lessons for U.S. Reform

This month, democracies ranging from economic superpowers to those conducting elections for the first time in decades, conducted elections using proportional voting systems. These elections, including those conducted in Japan, Germany, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Poland provide clear lessons for the United States in demonstrating how a switch to a proportional voting system might solve some of the common political problems we face, such as under-representation of women, communities of color, and the full range of the political spectrum, as well as limited voter choice and poor voter participation.

[Read FairVote's Analysis of 2005 International Proportional Voting Elections]

From California to Ohio, Redistricting Reform Heads to November Ballot

FairVote's Redistricting Reform Watch 2005 Analyzes the Impact of State Proposals

With the aftershocks of Rep. Tom Delay's mid-decade redistricting of Texas' Congressional delegation continuing to be felt around the nation, reformers are scrambling to implement redistricting reform proposals. Most recently grassroots groups in California and Ohio successfully gathered enough signatures to place independent redistricting proposals before voters in upcoming November elections.

Over time FairVote has consistently backed non-partisan redistricting criteria, but we believe the process should not end there, as competitive races and increased representation of women and communities of color requires more than just a neutral line-drawing process. Alternatives, such as proportional voting, need to be considered in tandem with redistricting reform, and in the least, reform proposals should not preclude the later use of these public interest electoral systems. In that spirit, our new Redistricting Reform Watch 2005 Center analyzes the effects of the various state proposals on proportional voting plans, competitiveness, and other public interest criteria.

[Redistricting Reform Watch 2005]
[Redistricting Reform through California Superdistricts]

FairVote's First Annual 'Celebration' for the Father of Gerrymandering

On July 20, 2005, Rep. John Tanner and fellow sponsors of the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act met at the Capitol to "gerrymander" a cake in honor the birthday of Elbridge Gerry. Gerry, former Massachusetts Governor and 5th Vice President of the United States, is credited as the source of the term "gerrymandering."

The bill has received bipartisan support from more than thirty House Members. Speakers at FairVote's event included Tennesse's Tanner (D), Jim Cooper (D), and Zach Wamp (R), as well as Oregon's Earl Blumenauer (D), Florida's Allen Boyd (D), California's Jim Costa (D), Louisiana's Charlie Melancon (D), Ed Davis of Common Cause and FairVote's John Anderson and Rob Richie.

[ See pictures from the event ]
[ Read FairVote's Press Release ]
[ More on the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act ]