July 7, 2021,
This article is the second in a series examining the benefits of a Proportional Representation electoral system. Make sure to subscribe to receive updates.
Last year marked a moment of reckoning for racial equality in the United States. The murder of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, culminated in renewed demands for racial equity, consideration, and representation, which were echoed worldwide. Lesli Vinjamuri, Director of the US and Americas Program at Chattman House, observes, “The democratic partners of the United States will be hard-pressed to persuade their own people to stand alongside a nation that promotes universal human rights abroad while shortchanging these values at home.”
Indeed, the United States’ role as a protector of human rights and global purveyor of democracy, reflected in decades of foreign policy decisions, will be undermined so long as these democratic values are not reflected domestically. Fortunately, calls for racial equity didn’t go unnoticed by a number of U.S. political leaders. Notably, President Joe Biden vowed to choose a cabinet that reflects America — a cabinet composed of a record number of women and people of color. The fervor of the 2020 racial equality movement came to the forefront of the 2020 Congressional elections, with the 117th U.S. Congress setting records in racial diversity.
Yet, despite recent progress, the United States has room for improvement. While racial diversity in representation is increasing across sectors of the U.S. government, so too is the racial and ethnic diversity of the American populace. In 2018, Pew Research reported that Generation Z was on track to be the most racially diverse generation to date. Modest increases in representatives of color, while valuable, are not on par with the increasingly diverse American population. Instead, the United States must seek a systemic solution to advance active representation of diverse voices in the government. That solution is proportional representation.
In short, proportional representation (PR) is an electoral system that elects representatives proportionally — based upon the percentage of votes each political party or its candidates receive in an election. For the U.S., which has a strong tradition of local representation, Democratism proposes Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP), a form of PR that allocates voters one vote for a local representative and one vote for a national party. For a more complete explanation of PR, check out the first article in this series here.
The United States’ existing electoral system, utilizing a winner-take-all approach, diminishes the voices of women, youth, and people of color by devaluing votes and limiting the number of voters’ choices — disproportionately to a group of older, white men.
Under the existing U.S. system, political alliances with comparatively small majorities in a majority of places win elections. Rural areas, part of one political alliance and comprised of majority white populations, outnumber urban areas with more diverse populations. Not only does this system disproportionately favor less diverse, racially homogenous groups, but it also limits the range of potential candidates to a select number of strong political alliances. The question, then, is if and how a PR system could create a fairer electoral system.
In New Zealand, a country that implemented an MMP electoral system in 1996, the results are promising. In an examination of the political representation of ethnic groups in New Zealand, scholars Fiona Barker and Hilde Coffe concluded that, “MMP appears to have been a success if we are concerned with diversifying parliament and achieving higher levels of descriptive representation that reflect the rapid growth in diversity in New Zealand’s population.”
Equally weighted votes, increased voter efficacy, third-party representation, a larger set of alternatives, and the elimination of winner-take-all elections are among the many reasons PR is an effective solution to systemic inequality present in Congressional elections. With regard to racially diverse representation, research suggests that PR empowers people of color by encouraging coalition building, open dialogues, and negotiations.
The political implications of an electorate comprised of older, white men is policymaking that reflects and favors the interests of this group while undercutting the interests of women and people of color. Put simply, “Diversity of background does lead to real differences in legislating and constituency service.” Indeed, more diverse racial and ethnic representation facilitates greater active representation, supporting a policy agenda better reflecting the broad ranging interests of the American people.
As well, a PR system would mitigate the partisan bias evident in our existing electoral system. Only 26 Republican members of the 117th Congress identify as Black, Latino, Native American and Korean America, compared to the (more than triple) 91 Democrats who identify as Black and Latino. The racial gap — that is, the difference in racial diversity between Republicans and Democrats — is stark. In 2016 Pew Research Center found that, “The Republican Party holds a sizable advantage in leaned party affiliation among white voters,” with 87% of Black voters, 63% of Hispanic voters, and 66% of Asian voters affiliating with the Democratic party. By overcounting Republican voters, our current electoral system favors older, white men.
By making structural changes to our electoral system, the U.S. will embolden more people of color to run for public office and increase their chance of being elected. The Democracy Decree, which would institute a style of PR similar to New Zealand’s, supports racially diverse political representation by making the structural changes necessary to help achieve parity over time.
By signing our petition, you can help us achieve this.
[This post has been edited. It previously stated that George Floyd died at the hands of white police officers, implying that all the officers involved were white. While Derek Chauvin, who physically caused Floyd’s death, is white, not all of the other officers involved were white.]