Proportional Representation

Rebuffing efforts by Mitt Romney loyalists, the Republican State Committee this week changed its policy of committing all the state's delegates to the winner of the presidential primary.

The winner-take-all policy had been championed by Romney backers -- including national committeeman Ron Kaufman -- when it came before a committee… more

Gordon Brown will today spell out his plans for reform of the House of Commons as he seeks to restore public trust in the political process.

In his first full statement to the Commons since becoming prime minister, he will reveal his intention to move power away from the… more

The final seats that decide the balance of power in the 30th Dáil will come down to the crucial but volatile system of vote transfers.Now that first counts are being completed, party strategists will be anxiously studying which candidates get second, third and lower preferences… more

Last month's election provided new evidence that while politicians from the two major parties fight their shrill ideological battles -- egged on by radio and cable television talkers -- they represent ever-shrinking constituencies and thus are becoming increasingly disconnected from the larger society.

The political middle, disenchanted with the confrontational and ultimately meaningless tone of contemporary politics, has been growing. The number of voters who register as Republicans or Democrats in California has remained unchanged for a decade and a half… more

Overview. California’s representative government is plagued by an unprecedented number of noncompetitive elections. The Legislature is highly partisan because over 90 percent of legislative districts strongly favor one political party over the other. Incumbents are not accountable to voters and act without fear of losing re-election.

In the past, states like Arizona, Iowa and elsewhere have attempted to increase competition with independent redistricting commissions. But in recent years these commissions have proven to be… more

The Problem

A number of promising reforms have been proposed for making the California political system more representative and responsive— from independent redistricting, term limits, and open primaries to more modern electoral systems and public financing of campaigns—but all face the same obstacle: entrenched interests, including elected lawmakers, who benefit from the status quo.

One means of removing partisanship and incumbent protectionism from the political reform process is known as a Citizens Assembly, which… more

Under our winner-take-all electoral system, 49.9 percent of voters can be left without a voice in government when their candidate loses. Proportional Representation, which awards seats in government based on the percentage of votes received by each grouping of voters (there are candidate-based and… more