A Center for Voting and Democracy Factsheet
Rep.
Cynthia McKinney in 1997 introduced the Voters' Choice Act (HR 3068), a revised version of
a 1995 bill. The Act would restore the opportunity for states to use proportional
representation (PR) voting systems for U.S. House elections. A state's PR system would
need to: 1) be constitutional; 2) ensure an electoral majority earned a majority of seats;
and 3) provide groups of voters with a fair share of representation -- meaning 20% of
votes for a group of candidates would elect two (20%) of 10 seats, 60% of votes would
elect six (60%) of 10 seats and so on. States also could choose to establish
"semi-proportional" systems. The bill amends a 1967 law that requires states to
use one-seat House districts and thus in effect bans PR and semi-PR elections.
There are strong arguments that adoption
of PR systems would tend to:
• produce a legislature more
representative of the nation's rich diversity --
more women, racial minorities and
political minorities would win seats
• reduce the costs of redistricting
and curtail political gerrymandering
• reduce the impact of money by
allowing candidates to focus on supporters
more than pursuing "swing
voters" through costly, negative campaigns
• increase voter turnout by giving
voters choices among diverse perspectives
• promote governance from the center,
yet increase chances to move that
center by representing diverse views in
legislatures and campaigns
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Terminology of the Voters' Choice Act
Proportional representation (PR): Any of numerous methods of election in which
groups of voters -- as defined by how they vote -- earn representation in proportion to
their share of votes. The great majority of full-fledged democracies around the world use
PR systems, as do some American localities. Some PR systems are candidate-based; others
are party-based. All require some multi-seat districts.
Multi-seat districts: An electoral district with more than one representative, as
opposed to one-seat districts, where only one candidate wins and "represents"
all. If the size of the legislature remains constant, converting to multi-seat districts
means having fewer, but larger electoral districts.
Choice voting: A PR system in which voters rank the candidates they like in order.
Candidates win by reaching a threshold (approximately 1/X of votes in a district of
X seats). A ballot transfers to the next choice when a higher choice cannot win
with it. Choice voting maximizes the number of voters electing a favorite candidate. Used
in Cambridge (MA) and for national elections in Ireland and Australia.
Party list system: Describes several PR systems in which seats are allocated to
political parties in proportion to their share of the popular vote. Most European nations
use party list PR systems.
Cumulative voting: A "semi-proportional" system in which voters can give
candidates up to as many votes as seats being elected. Top vote-getters win. Used in
several localities, cumulative voting was used to elect the Illinois state assembly
(1870-1980); the Chicago Tribune has editorialized for its return.
The Center for Voting and Democracy is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that
promotes fair elections.
The Center for Voting and Democracy
P. O. Box 60037, Washington, DC 20039