Proportional Representation

“Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind ... As that becomes more enlightened, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times”

- Thomas Jefferson

Advantages of Proportional Representation for State Legislative Assemblies.

Proportional representation (PR) is a system of electing representatives that strives to ensure fair and equitable representation of diverse political ideologies within legislative bodies. While many states in the world have adopted proportional representation systems for their national or regional parliaments, the benefits of PR can also be extended to state legislative assemblies.

One of the primary advantages of proportional representation is its ability to provide enhanced representation for a broader range of political views. In a traditional winner-takes-all electoral system, the majority party tends to dominate the legislative assembly, potentially marginalizing the voices and perspectives of minority groups. Proportional representation, on the other hand, ensures that each vote counts and that political parties have more influence over who represents their values in legislative assemblies. This prevents candidates from hiding under a political party banner that does not match their votes in the assembly, resulting in more ideological purity in political parties. This also gives smaller parties and independent candidates a fair chance to win seats. This leads to a legislature that better reflects the political preferences of the electorate.

Proportional representation often results in coalition leadership, where multiple parties work together to form a majority. While some argue that coalition governments can be less stable, they often lead to more robust decision-making processes and political stability in the long run. Coalition governments require parties to find common ground and negotiate policy compromises, reducing the likelihood of radical swings in policy direction and promoting consensus-based decision-making. This stability is particularly valuable at the state level, where cooperation and long-term planning are crucial for effective governance.

A proportional representation system promotes inclusivity and diversity within state legislative assemblies. By ensuring that smaller parties and marginalized groups have a fair chance of representation, PR allows for a broader range of voices to be heard. This can lead to better representation of ethnic and cultural minorities, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other underrepresented groups. By diversifying the composition of the legislature, PR creates a more inclusive democratic process that reflects the diverse society it represents.

Gerrymandering, the practice of manipulating electoral district boundaries to favor one political party over others, is a significant concern in many electoral systems. Proportional representation helps mitigate the impact of gerrymandering since the focus is on the overall proportion of votes each party receives rather than the specific boundaries of individual districts. This reduces the ability of political parties to unfairly manipulate the electoral map for their own advantage, ensuring a fairer and more representative distribution of seats.

Proportional representation encourages voter engagement by offering greater choices at the ballot box. In traditional winner-takes-all systems, voters may feel compelled to support a major party to prevent "wasting" their vote on a smaller party or independent candidate. PR eliminates this concern, enabling voters to support parties or candidates that align more closely with their values and beliefs. This expanded choice empowers voters and fosters a sense of ownership and participation in the democratic process. This also allows factional differences in the existing political party structures to potentially manifest as new political parties.

Proportional representation offers several benefits when implemented in state legislative assemblies. It enhances representation by giving a fair chance to smaller parties and independent candidates, fosters inclusivity and diversity, promotes political stability through coalition governments, mitigates gerrymandering, and increases voter engagement and choice. By adopting a proportional representation system, states can strengthen their democratic foundations, ensure a more accurate reflection of the electorate's preferences, and create more inclusive and effective governance.

FAQs

LLCC is focused on a closed list proportional representation process, where the lower chamber or unicameral chamber of a state legislature is selected based on the percentage of a recognized political party’s vote in the general election.
LLCC believes that closed list proportional representation streamlines the PR system, which makes it more accessible to more voters. It also allows individuals who share significant political ideologies to work together to advance a clear and specific agenda and enable political parties to ensure that elected officials accurately represent their policy vision and principles.

The current process dilutes the policy positions of political parties, candidates, and voters, making for a less representative and less effective government. We hope that a closed list system will allow for a more comprehensive vetting process to ensure that voters clearly understand what they are voting for and that elected officials understand what their constituents want.
In a closed list PR system, voters select from a list of political parties. Seats in the legislative body are allocated based on the percentage received by each political party in the general election.

Candidates seated in the legislative body will be determined by a political primary, convention, or caucus earlier in the year, where qualified party electors will rank their preferred candidates up to the number of seats available in the jurisdiction. In the primary or convention, candidates who receive the highest number of votes shall rank number one, the second number two, and so on.

Candidates shall fill the seats allocated to their political party by ranking in the party primary contest earlier in the year.
Convincing elected officials who are currently in office to change the system that was built to protect incumbents will not be an easy task. LLCC and the LLCC Policy Canter will focus on reforming our state electoral systems with four major approaches:

1. LLCC and the LLCC Policy Center will select a small number of states to work towards comprehensive reform. We will identify the jurisdictions most receptive to electoral reform through research, polling, and focus group data and target our resources there.

2. LLCC will actively support candidates who advocate for innovative electoral reforms, primarily proportional representation.

3. LLCC will lobby existing legislative bodies to enact these crucial reforms, educating elected officials and the public about the value of a PR system.

4. The LLCC Policy Center will work in the targeted states to educate the public and to advance citizen initiatives and referendums that will enact electoral reform when legislatures fail to act.