Through proportional representation electoral systems, like-minded groupings of voters win legislative seats in better proportion to their share of the population. Whereas winner-take-all elections award 100% of power to a 50.1% majority, proportional representation allows voters in a minority to win a fair share of representation. Proportional representation describes a broad range of methods that require at least some legislators to be elected in districts with more than one seat.

Proportional representation voting systems used in the United States include choice voting (voters rank candidates, and seats are allocated by efficiently distributing voters preferences using a proportional formula), cumulative voting (voters cast as many votes as seats and can give multiple votes to one candidate), and limited voting (voters have fewer votes than seats). Internationally, some proportional representation systems are based on voting for political parties, others for candidates. Some allow very small groupings of voters to win seats; others require higher thresholds of support to win representation. The common thread that defines proportional representation is promoting more accurate, balanced representation of the spectrum of political opinion. More than 100 communities in the United States use proportional representation, the Democrats require states to nominate presidential convention delegates by proportional representation, and almost all emerging democracies have chosen proportional representation. This family of electoral systems is becoming the international norm, with Iraq, Afghanistan, and the entire Eastern Bloc being recent welcome additions to the global community of proportional representation nations.

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January 26th 2000
A Vision For A More Muscular Democracy
the National Press Club

Why is it that we seem to be stuck with two parties? Why is it that most elections seem so off-putting? More than 40 percent of all state legislative races were uncontested in 1998 and more than 20 percent of U.S. House races. Why isn't there more co

January 15th 2000
Political Reform: A Vision for a More Muscular Democracy

FairVote's John Anderson speaks at the College Convention 2000 in Manchester, NH about election reform and calls for instant runoff voting (IRV), proportional voting, same-day registration, and publicly-funded campaigns.

June 13th 1999
With More on Ballot, Runoff Plan Essential
St. Petersburg Times

Martin Dyckman offers his thought on various voting reforms, including instant-runoff voting and proportional representation.

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