The last article showed how people of color in Oregon aren’t fully represented on city and county councils or on school boards. Happily, many American cities have shown that switching to multi-winner elections using a proportional voting method can make more votes count and improve representation for people of color. Unfortunately, local jurisdictions don’t always … Read more
Voters often feel their influence is more powerful at the local level than over state or federal decisions. A voter can implore their city council person to fix a pothole or change the noise ordinances and see a tangible result. A voter can elect a school board member who promises to address racial inequities in … Read more
In the fall of 2015, when Canadians were weighing whether to choose Justin Trudeau to be their next prime minister, “sunny ways” were not all the handsome young candidate promised to deliver. One of the most prominent parts of Trudeau’s platform was a commitment to change the way Canada votes. He said he wanted to … Read more
The United States and Canada haven’t upgraded their democratic systems in centuries, leading to some of the most unrepresentative legislative bodies and disenfranchised voters across the globe’s democracies. We can fix this by spreading the use of upgraded voting systems such as proportional representation, including multi-winner districts and ranked-choice voting. These improved systems are already … Read more
Americans of all stripes dislike partisan gerrymandering. But they may not realize the usual solutions—independent redistricting and court challenges—can’t fix it. There is a sure-fire solution. Replacing single-winner districts with larger, multi-winner districts with candidates elected proportionally would bypass the gerrymandering mess altogether. That switch would eliminate safe seats, diminish the power of cracking and … Read more
Hey voters of British Columbia, remember 2001? The BC Liberals got 58 percent of the vote and won all but two seats in the Legislative Assembly. Sure, their votes should have given the party a comfortable majority control—but not near-total domination. The BC New Democratic Party (NDP) and BC Greens won more than 40 percent … Read more
Economies across North America are supposedly doing well, yet lots of people are still feeling the pinch. Many Americans and Canadians are part of a trend of widening inequality. It might not be intuitive, but updating their electoral method could help. Countries that use proportional representation (ProRep) have less inequality and more equality-enhancing policies compared … Read more
Around the world, voters want strong environmental protections. In countries that use proportional representation (ProRep) voting systems, they get them. ProRep countries like New Zealand and Germany are faster to ratify global climate accords than winner-take-all countries like the United States and Canada. They also have twice as much renewable energy and less air pollution. … Read more
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert the other night. Ardern is notable in many ways. As Colbert pointed out, she’s the second-youngest leader of New Zealand—at 37, she’s also the youngest elected woman leader in the world today. She’s one of the world’s 10 women heads of … Read more
As the midterms approach, many of our American readers riveted to US races may be wondering why Sightline is so focused on a referendum happening in British Columbia. If you want to know what proportional representation is all about, we answer your questions here. If you are wondering what the referendum in British Columbia is … Read more
