Difference between revisions of "Proportional Representation"

Revision as of 02:00, 11 April 2013

One of the primary goals of the Green Party is to change our electoral system from winner-take-all elections to proportional representation (PR). PR is an over-all strategy for fuller and fairer representation in government, that encompasses several types of voting systems. It is used by most of the world's established democracies.

Our current U.S. winner-take-all system - where the highest vote-getter represents 100% of the electorate - causes many problems. Among them are lack of choice for voters; over-representation for some interests and parties and under-representation of others; gross under-representation of women, and racial and political minorities; low voter turnout; issue-less campaigns; a two-party monopoly/duopoly; corruption of politics by big money; and gerrymandering of legislative districts for incumbents' protection.

PR addresses these issues:

PR gives representation to voters from both minority and majority constituencies. Blocs of like-minded voters win representation in multi-seat districts in proportion to their voting strength. A constituency or party that receives 10% of the vote wins 10% of the seats, 30% of the vote wins 30% of seats, and so on. This way, almost the entire electorate is represented in government, with the majority still ruling.

PR increases voter participation. More people have the ability to elect a candidate who represents them. This gives people more reason to vote and they do. Turnouts average 70% to 90% in PR democracies of eligible voters. By contrast in California, 55.5% of eligible voters turned out for the 2012 general elections, and 43.7% in the 2010 general elections. (http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2012-general/04-historical-voter-reg-participation.pdf). Its worse in the primary elections, especially under the new Top Two system, where only 22.5% of eligible voters turned out in June 2012. (https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2012-primary/pdf/04-historical-voter-reg-primary.pdf). The Green Party's approach of combining PR with same day registration, could greatly increase voter turnout in California.

PR increases diversity in representation. Women in the national and state legislatures of PR democracies often make up between 25% to 50% of the seats. Racial and other minorities are also better represented under PR. This helps legislatures more closely reflect the composition of the general population. By contrast, 83% of the U.S. Congress in 2012-2014 is male and 75% of state legislatures, and representation of racial minorities is also far below their proportion of the population.

PR is an effective campaign finance reform. It reduces the percentage of votes needed to win, thus the amount of money needed to win - which also makes it easier to provide public financing. Green Parties in Europe and elsewhere where PR is in place consistently win fair representation despite spending far less than the major parties.

PR also reduces the problem of gerrymandering - Almost all voters in a district receive representation under PR, regardless of how district lines are drawn. Under the current system, in many states incumbents and their parties get to draw district lines to their advantage. Even in states like California with citizen-based redistricting, the process is limited due to partisan residential patterns.

How does it work?

PR uses multi-seat districts where representatives are elected in proportion to the votes they receive. In the implementation of PR systems, a threshold of votes is usually required to ensure that representatives have at least a minimum base of support. There are forms of PR appropriate for all levels of elections:

List systems - Party based, they elect parties in proportion to their share of the popular vote. These are the most widely used systems, and are appropriate for federal and state legislative bodies.

Mixed systems - Seats are awarded both proportionally and by single-seat districts. These do well in combining geographic and issue-based representation, and are also appropriate for federal and state legislative bodies.

Ranked Choice Voting (also known as Choice voting, Preference voting or Single-Transferable Vote) - Candidate-based, voters list their first, second, third, etc. choices for a particular race. Votes are transferred as candidates are eliminated, thus all votes help select the winner. Applicable to all levels of government. Ranked Choice Voting was successfully used to elect city councils in two dozen U.S. cities, until the 1950's. This success led to its downfall. Political machines resented the loss of control of elections, and anti-reformers resisted diversity, especially African-Americans in government during a time of racial tension and desegregation of schools. But its practice has come back across the country and is in use for municipal and county elections in San Francisco and Alameda Counties.

The Green Party seeks the implementation of proportional representation election systems in California and across the nation:

Seek, in coalition with organizations and individuals, the formation of commissions - at local, state and federal levels - to examine alternatives to the current electoral system, and present the findings to the public.

Initiate a statewide referendum asking voters to decide between the current winner-take-all electoral system, and a system based in PR.

Replace the winner-take-all plurality approach with PR at all levels of government.

Work to implement PR in local organizations and non-government bodies, such as union locals, schools and school districts, civic organizations, etc.

Support legislation that would give a "home rule" option to general law cities and counties in California, allowing them to use electoral systems like ranked choice voting and instant runoff voting (as the state's charter cities already do)

Support the federal Voters Choice Act (HR 3068) that gives states the option of electing their congressional delegation by PR (California elects 52 House members).

Call on Members of Congress to support a bill to establish independent redistricting commissions to draw districts designed for PR elections