Much ado is being made about the supposed increase in Latino voting
strength as a result of the redistricting plan offered by Secretary of
State Bill Bradbury. Even if the newly drawn District 38 results in the
election of a Latino candidate, there will still only be one Latino
member of the Legislature. This means that Latinos, 8 percent of the
Oregon population, will have one legislative seat out of 90, or will
constitute 1.11 percent of the Legislature. Even with two seats,
Latinos still will be grossly under-represented.
No amount of redistricting will result in the fair or equal representation of women, ethnic groups and independent voters or of all the political parties in Oregon. Oregon, like much of the United States, uses a winner-take-all election system, an ancient form of voting that is inappropriate for the diverse and democratic societies in which we now live.
A number of communities in Texas, for example, use a system known as cumulative voting, which has resulted in increased and more accurate Latino representation. Oregon should consider alternatives to winner-take-all voting to provide fair representation for all Oregonians and to increase citizen participation in the democratic process.
óBlair Bobier
Corvallis
No amount of redistricting will result in the fair or equal representation of women, ethnic groups and independent voters or of all the political parties in Oregon. Oregon, like much of the United States, uses a winner-take-all election system, an ancient form of voting that is inappropriate for the diverse and democratic societies in which we now live.
A number of communities in Texas, for example, use a system known as cumulative voting, which has resulted in increased and more accurate Latino representation. Oregon should consider alternatives to winner-take-all voting to provide fair representation for all Oregonians and to increase citizen participation in the democratic process.
óBlair Bobier
Corvallis
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.