Have I mentioned recently how much I love my Congressman, Don Beyer? Here’s yet another example why I say that, from a bit earlier today.
According to Fair Vote, Rep. Beyer’s “groundbreaking legislation would reform Congressional elections, defeat gerrymandering, combat political polarization, and most importantly, give voters real voice and choice when electing their representatives.” As described by Rep. Beyer, this legislation would: 1) establish ranked-choice voting for all House elections; 2) replace the single-winner district mandate with multi-winner districts; 3) establishes independent redistricting commissions to make the process “nonpartisan and transparent.” Beyer explains why we need the Fair Representation Act: 1) it “incentives us to work together”; 2) “everybody’s vote counts, not just those people that live in swing districts”; 3) it “reduces polarization and partisanship”; 4) “it gives voters more choices and more accurate representation”; 5) “it creates a system where women and minorities will have a greater opportunity to run and to win”; 6) “it creates a strong reason not to do negative advertising”; 7) “we don’t need to raise as much money.”
Beyer Introduces Fair Representation Act To Reform Congressional Elections
Announces new legislation with co-leads Reps. Raskin and Khanna, representatives from FairVote and Third Way
June 26, 2017 (Washington, DC) – Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today introduced the Fair Representation Act, a bill which would enact a series of measures designed to reform congressional elections.
“The Fair Representation Act is designed to restore the faith which so many Americans have lost in our political system,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “This bill would ensure that every voter has their voice represented in Congress, and make real progress towards bipartisan focus on getting results for the American people.”
Rep. Beyer was joined by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), co-leads on the bill, as well as speakers from FairVote and Third Way.
“The Fair Representation Act is the most comprehensive approach to improving congressional elections in American history,” said Rob Richie, the executive director of FairVote. “It creates an impartial, national standard that gets at the core of FairVote’s mission: Giving voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Americans.”
The Fair Representation Act would move US House elections into multi-member districts drawn by independent redistricting commissions, and elected through ranked choice voting. The multi-member districts would be effective in states apportioned six or more seats in the House, and would elect three to five Representatives each, depending on the size of the state. Taken together, these three measures would incentivize congressional candidates to appeal to a broader range of voters.
“No single reform would create more opportunities for women and people of color from across the spectrum to compete in fair elections,” said Cynthia Terrell, founder of Representation2020. “It is central to our vision of how we achieve parity for women in congressional elections.”
Full text of the bill may be found here, and more resources, including factsheets and FAQ’s, are available from FairVote here.
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