Lessons from the history of proportional representation in America

In terms of PR, what matters is that majority coalitions can hold themselves together — be they single-party or alliances of parties.

September 13, 2023

The experiences of New Zealand, Italy, and Japan provide a template, and show how reforming electoral systems can be a powerful way to address problems of parties, legitimacy, and democracy.

September 12, 2023

Proportional electoral systems largely eliminate both the built-in bias inherent to the single-seat model and the effects of partisan manipulation.

September 12, 2023

A myth haunts conversations about proportional representation in America. It is the belief that proportional representation requires a parliamentary system. We’re here to kill this myth.

September 12, 2023

With better representation and more equal weight given to citizens’ votes in elections, the zero-sum nature of politics could begin to change.

September 12, 2023

Under PR, a party’s share of members in a legislature would roughly match its share of the vote in the last election, even for parties that only get 10 or 20 percent of the vote.

September 12, 2023

Proportional electoral systems present viable options for sustaining and building upon the gains in political representation that voters of color have achieved.

September 12, 2023

Proportional representation tends to basically do as the name suggests: ensure that a party’s share of seats roughly reflects its share of votes.

September 12, 2023

From the vantage point of the polity overall, the emergence of a moderate, center-right party would produce much of the upside that PR advocates anticipate.

September 12, 2023

Proportional representation is an electoral system that elects multiple representatives in each district in proportion to the number of people who vote for them.

September 12, 2023