By Rob Latham
Published November 11th 2003 in The Salt Lake Tribune
Walter Cronkite rightly condemns the rigging of elections through gerrymandering (Tribune, Nov. 2). But the veteran newsman's endorsement of an Iowa-style independent commission misses the point that redistricting is inherently bad no matter who draws the map.
A far better approach would be the creation of multi-member districts, which prevent gerrymandering. If we implemented five-member districts for the Utah House of Representatives, candidates would win seats in proportion to the votes they receive. A vote of 60 percent to 40 percent for Republican and Democratic candidates, respectively, in a five-member district would mean that Republicans would get three seats and the Democrats would get two; majority rule, with fair minority representation.
One problem with existing single-member districts is that Republicans who live in a Democratic district have no representation, and vice versa for Democrats living in Republican districts. Five-member districts would greatly increase the likelihood that the vast majority of voters could elect at least one representative who shares their policy preferences.
A far better approach would be the creation of multi-member districts, which prevent gerrymandering. If we implemented five-member districts for the Utah House of Representatives, candidates would win seats in proportion to the votes they receive. A vote of 60 percent to 40 percent for Republican and Democratic candidates, respectively, in a five-member district would mean that Republicans would get three seats and the Democrats would get two; majority rule, with fair minority representation.
One problem with existing single-member districts is that Republicans who live in a Democratic district have no representation, and vice versa for Democrats living in Republican districts. Five-member districts would greatly increase the likelihood that the vast majority of voters could elect at least one representative who shares their policy preferences.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.