Great article! Wish that these changes could happen sooner. I’ve told people that Lee Druztman’s Doom Loop book could be an instruction guide on how to make the needed changes.
Proportional representation is the only true solution to partisan gerrymandering and has other benefits as well. The idea that independent redistricting commissions could prevent gerrymandering was soundly refuted in California! Doug@MakeModeratesMatter.com
PR would certainly be better than what we have now, but I don't see it happening in our lifetime.
Another alternative is "consensus representation" where we just use a consensus voting system in each district (Consensus Choice Voting, STAR Voting, Approval Voting, etc.) to elect the most broadly-appealing candidate in each district, so they are good representatives of their entire electorate rather than representing only the majority party. Then the legislature would be less ideologically diverse than PR, which might make it more productive and less combative than both PR and the polarized two party system that we have now.
This doesn't require changing from geographic representation to party representation as PR does, either. Reps would still be focused on one district, but would be moderate or centrist relative to the average voter in that district.
Great article! Wish that these changes could happen sooner. I’ve told people that Lee Druztman’s Doom Loop book could be an instruction guide on how to make the needed changes.
Proportional representation is the only true solution to partisan gerrymandering and has other benefits as well. The idea that independent redistricting commissions could prevent gerrymandering was soundly refuted in California! Doug@MakeModeratesMatter.com
PR would certainly be better than what we have now, but I don't see it happening in our lifetime.
Another alternative is "consensus representation" where we just use a consensus voting system in each district (Consensus Choice Voting, STAR Voting, Approval Voting, etc.) to elect the most broadly-appealing candidate in each district, so they are good representatives of their entire electorate rather than representing only the majority party. Then the legislature would be less ideologically diverse than PR, which might make it more productive and less combative than both PR and the polarized two party system that we have now.
This doesn't require changing from geographic representation to party representation as PR does, either. Reps would still be focused on one district, but would be moderate or centrist relative to the average voter in that district.
if you want PR you have to get approval voting or score voting first as a prerequisite.
https://asitoughttobemagazine.com/2010/07/18/score-voting/