Tom Mast, founder Solve American Gridlock
If I were you, I wouldn’t bother to read this article if you love the following results that flow naturally from the electoral systems the U.S. uses to elect its Congress:
Knowing that your district will likely never send a Representative to Congress that you like
Having your state represented by a number of representatives not proportional to the political views of its population
Often having only a binary choice, both of whom you dislike
Knowing that the system is rigged so that it is virtually impossible for a third party with new viewpoints to gain any power
Having a government completely dominated by two warring parties with no visible prospect for change
Knowing that when the power shifts, the winning party will devote much of its energies to undoing what its opponent just finished
Definitions:
Proportional Representation - The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result—not just a plurality, or a bare majority—and that the system produces mixed, balanced representation reflecting how votes are cast. – Wikipedia
Single-member District – A district sized to elect only one member to Congress; this is our present system as mandated by Congress in 1967.
Multi-member District – A district sized to elect more than one member to Congress; such districts might have their number fixed at somewhere from 3 to 6.
Gerrymandering – The process of drawing districts to favor one party, often producing state-wide results not proportional to those of its voters. It has resulted in 85%+ “safe” districts in the House of Representatives, making going to the polls an exercise in futility for most voters. Done every ten years after the census. #gerrymandering
Advantages of Multi-member Districts #congress
Leads to having more than two parties and thus new viewpoints, required collaboration, greatly reduced chances for autocratic control by one party, more effective committees, less overreach, and more proportional representation; should be accompanied by ranked choice voting.
Much better voter satisfaction and turnout
Much better chance that an individual voter will have voted for someone in Congress and therefore have representation
Better representation of minority viewpoints
Puts the brakes on having only two parties whose highest calling is being against whatever the other party wants
The graphic above from www.fairvote.org shows how multi-member districts produce more proportional results.
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