As the previous option explained, Washington’s dual legislative houses are repetitive and wasteful. Combining them into one makes a world of sense, but would require a constitutional amendment. If that were a possibility (perhaps after a citizens’ initiative converts the legislature to proportional representation under one of the options I described here and here) , … Read more
As the introduction to this series noted, Washington’s constitution is notoriously difficult to amend. Which is why my previous two articles present two options for implementing proportional representation in Washington without a constitutional amendment. But if there were a way to add democracy reform to the list of 83 amendments that have made it through … Read more
As the introduction to this series explained, the Washington state legislature is not as representative of the voters as it could be, and the state has four options for shifting to proportional representation. Proportional representation could give voters more voice, give candidates outside the two parties a shot, ease partisan gridlock, reduce the power of … Read more
As the introductory article in this series describes, Washingtonians have many reasons to adopt proportional representation for their state legislature: to give voters more voice, to ease partisan gridlock, to reduce the power of gerrymandering, to limit the outsize influence of special interests, and to make campaigns less expensive. But how can they do it? … Read more
The opening article in this series laid out some of the many reasons that Washington voters might want to adopt proportional representation for the state legislature. The first path to reform is likely through a vote of the people, and luckily Washington voters could make significant improvements to state government without amending the state constitution. … Read more
Voters across North America feel their votes don’t matter and wonder if the system is rigged. This fall, voters in BC will have the chance to upgrade their democracy by switching to proportional representation—a form of voting where more voters have more choices and the legislature more fairly represents the voters. Washington could make the … Read more
