
Proportional representation, explained
Proportional representation is an electoral system that elects multiple representatives in each district in proportion to the number of people who vote for them.
October 28, 2022
Policy Advocate
Grant Tudor develops and advocates for a range of reforms to shore up our democratic institutions. He works often with coalitions to influence federal policymaking with an emphasis on advancing accountability, preventing abuses of power, strengthening Congress, and promoting electoral reforms. Grant developed a commitment to fortifying democracy at home after working on various issues abroad, including with UNRWA, a UN refugee agency, and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a group that mediates armed conflict. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and MPP from Harvard Kennedy School where he was a Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership.
Proportional representation is an electoral system that elects multiple representatives in each district in proportion to the number of people who vote for them.
October 28, 2022
Supporters of proportional representation—which is used in advanced democracies such as Australia, Israel, and countries throughout Europe—view the system as a prerequisite for breaking the two parties’ stranglehold on American politics. It would foster coalitional, cross-partisan governance, while larger, multimember districts would all but eliminate partisan gerrymandering. “Your enemies are never permanent. And your friends today might be your opponents tomorrow, and maybe your friends the day after,” Grant Tudor, a policy advocate at the nonpartisan group Protect Democracy, explained to me. “So there’s something structural about a multiparty [system] that depresses polarization, depresses the risk of political violence—that depresses extremism.”
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