by Ram N.
Overview: This blog post discusses the limitations of our 2-party system of government; a campaign for proportional representation, driven by ProRep Coalition; and insights from IEB’s Nancy Latham about ProRep’s recent Democracy Reform Town Hall in Oakland.
If you’re a Democrat in California, you’re probably used to your party winning most of the races—at least that has been the case for the past couple of decades. But do you feel like a winner?
California has the world’s 4th largest economy yet roughly 35% of its residents live at or near poverty levels. It ranks dead last among all states in housing affordability, with the nation’s largest homeless population and the 2nd highest unemployment rate. We pay the most in taxes, yet our schools and infrastructure are among the worst.
All of the above point to a broken system of government and nearly all of it has occurred under Democratic party leadership…yes, remember that Democrats have had a legislative majority in California for 60 out of the past 65 years. But if your principles are more aligned with Democratic party policies, you’re probably not ready to switch sides anytime soon. At the same time, given the challenges our state is facing, and the burden this places on its residents, who could blame you for feeling ripped off? You do your best to stay informed. You study the issues. You vote regularly. But you still don’t feel like your voice is heard.
Our current electoral system is dysfunctional and exclusionary
A big part of the problem is our two-party system. More specifically, it’s the inability for additional parties—of which there are many—to make a significant difference in our elections. California, and indeed the entire country, lacks an electoral system that truly represents all of its citizens. Let’s look at an example. If a Congressional candidate—say a Republican—gathers 55% of the vote in a general election, then that district is represented in the House by that sole Republican representative. The other 45% of voters have no representation. And even if the candidate that you supported wins, it’s still possible—even likely—that this single elected official holds views on some major issues that are not completely aligned with yours.
This example shows why the will of the people is not fully represented in our current “winner take all” electoral system at the Congressional district levels. Most of us have been in situations where we’d really like to vote for a 3rd party candidate because we genuinely believe he or she is our best choice. But we don’t do so because we know that candidate has almost no chance of winning; we don’t want to waste our vote and ultimately deliver an advantage to the candidate we least favor.
Why is proportional representation more fair and reasonable?
The alternative to our current winner-take-all electoral process is a system of proportional representation that’s used by the majority of the world’s advanced democracies. In this system, the share of seats allocated to a given party directly reflects the share of votes received by that party. Let’s say, for example, that a legislative body was represented by four parties instead of two. If one party wins 40% of the votes in an election, but each of the other three parties wins 20%, then an electoral process with proportional representation would distribute legislative seats in proportion to the votes each party received. The winning party would control 40% of the legislative seats, but each of the losing parties would still control 20% of the seats. The winner may still have the upper hand, but its power is limited proportionally. Multiple perspectives are included and no platform or viewpoint is excluded. In a system with proportional representation, political parties have more incentive to work together to get things accomplished and serve the needs of a greater number of people.
To better understand the proportional representation process, let’s revisit the problem with the two-party system that we mentioned at the outset. At the Congressional district level, the two-party system and its winner-take-all approach leaves a single individual to represent an entire district for the state. A defining characteristic of proportional representation—and the engine which drives multiple parties and diverse representation at the state legislature level—is the ability to support multiple representatives at the Congressional district level. If multiple representatives from different parties can represent a district, then those different parties can fairly represent the diversity of the electorate in the legislature. One way to accomplish this, without increasing the number of representatives in the House, would be to have fewer but larger Congressional districts that would then accommodate more representatives.
This short video clearly illustrates the shortfalls of our two party system and the benefits of proportional representation. There are various forms in which proportional representation is practiced worldwide, but each one still represents a more just and inclusive form of democracy versus our Republican-Democrat duopoly. Isn’t it time to expand our choices beyond parties ironically symbolized by Dumbos and Jackasses?
Most Americans and most Californians want a different system
Voters are clearly dissatisfied with the country’s electoral process and the manner in which we are being governed. According to a survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by NewAmerica.org this summer, about 75% of Americans say that Congress is not working; 53% are dissatisfied with the state of American democracy, and 65% are concerned about gerrymandering. According to the same survey most Americans seem genuinely interested in or open to proportional representation:
- 57% say the country would be better represented with more political parties
- 65% say that lack of competition in elections is a problem
- 61% would prefer larger districts represented by multiple lawmakers rather than districts with a single representative
This broad dissatisfaction across the country is being channeled into action at state and local levels. ProRep Coalition is taking the lead in California, promoting proportional representation as a crucial step in making democracy more effective, responsive and accountable throughout the state. As the name suggests, ProRep is a coalition consisting of numerous organizations that have unified under a common objective. IEB is a member of the coalition. According to ProRep’s canvassing resources, 74% of Californians believe we need more political parties and 60% disapprove of the state legislature’s performance.
ProRep Coalition: Educating and empowering people to reform our democracy
Here in the East Bay, ProRep hosted a Democracy Reform Town Hall on August 19th. It was the second such meeting in Oakland, with additional gatherings slated for Sacramento and Los Angeles in October. The town hall settings represent a true grassroots movement, whereby a small group of community members get an opportunity to interact with ProRep members and each other. Attendees learn how proportional representation works, how it affects elections, and the tradeoffs versus other electoral systems. The town hall forums give citizens an opportunity to ask questions, engage in conversations, debate the issues, and realize that they have a pathway to enact reform—reform that’s driven by and for the people that our government is intended to serve.
A major goal and result of the town halls is education. Once people understand the logic and fairness of proportional representation, it’s easier to get behind it. In the case of the recent Oakland Town Hall, 90% of the participants left the meeting in favor of adopting proportional representation in California’s state legislature (compared with 60% before the town hall began).
A ProRep Perspective
IEB’s own Nancy Latham is a ProRep Coalition board member. She helped lead discussions at the Oakland Town Hall meeting in August. Nancy gave me her take on ProRep’s campaign efforts and provided some highlights from the town hall:
“The ProRep Coalition sees the town halls as an important way for people to learn more about proportional representation so they can become evangelists and spread the word.”
About 30 people attended the Oakland town hall, which doesn’t sound like a lot until you realize that these folks are there because they are extremely concerned about the state of our democracy. They are energized and motivated to enact change. Successful grassroots efforts usually start small but gain momentum behind big ideas.
When town hall participants were asked what they see as the problem with today’s politics, Nancy recalled:
“There was a lot of interest among participants, mostly driven by a deep dissatisfaction with the status quo. Participants overwhelmingly mentioned the public’s extreme cynicism and widespread distrust of government. Not surprisingly they said there’s too much polarization and conflict—among the electorate and the elected.”
One could reason that a system with only two options gets increasingly precarious when those options drift further apart from each other. Compromise becomes increasingly difficult and more people find that neither party speaks for them.
Nancy is pleased with the inroads that ProRep is making but acknowledges that there’s a long road ahead.
“It’s hard enough to make big structural changes, but it’s even harder when those changes aren’t in the interest of those in power: Democrats and Republicans. That’s why we want to use a ballot initiative: the people can have their say, bypassing elected leaders.”
Ultimately, ProRep wants to make sure that proportional representation lands on the ballot for a future election—if not by 2028, then hopefully in 2030. Passage of a proposition would be sufficient to enact the representation shift; no change in the law nor amendment to the Constitution is required!
In the meantime, what can you do to help? First, get informed. Then, at a minimum, if you are interested in seeing this effort come to fruition, you can take the pledge by signing the ProRep Coalition Statement of Support. You can also donate time as a volunteer or contribute to the cause financially to help build a better democracy!
