More Than Red and Blue: Preface

George Washington portrait in black and white.

More Than Red and Blue: Preface

This report exists in no small part because of where we are currently in American political time. American politics and indeed American society are highly polarized and deeply divided.

October 6, 2023

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Reports
Barack Obama at his inauguration in 2009.

More Than Red and Blue: Foreword

The idea for this task force was the result of two separate but parallel sets of conversations — one that began during my presidency of APSA, and one that preceded it.

October 5, 2023

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Reports
March on Washington black and white photo.

More Than Red and Blue: Executive Summary

APSA and Protect Democracy have partnered to support the APSA Presidential Task Force on Political Parties in summarizing the existing political science research on responsible political parties.

October 5, 2023

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Reports
Voters voting in 2020.

How electoral reform happens

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

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Analysis
Michigan Stop Gerrymandering booth

Proportional representation and gerrymandering

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

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Analysis
Presidential podium in front of the White House.

Proportional representation and presidentialism

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

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Analysis
Protestors and counterprotestors at a MAGA march in 2020.

Proportional representation and polarization

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

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Analysis
Joe Biden and Donald Trump at the 2020 presidential debate.

Proportional representation and political parties

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

  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Analysis