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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November 8th 2005
Unique voting getting display today
Cambridge Day

Choice voting, as used in Cambridge, MA, was on display in the November 2005 municipal elections. This article highlights the benefits of the system, including discouraging negative campaigning and fair representation.

October 29th 2005
Iraq election to offer voters legions of candidates
Reuters India

Article discussing the proportional voting system to be used for Iraq's historic December 2005 parliamentary elections.

October 26th 2005
A better system
Northwest Explorer

Steve Withers, National Executive Member of New Zealand's Electoral Reform Coalition describes his countries experiences with dumping winner-take-all for proportional representation.

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