New Report: Reforming Big-City Elections

 Party-list proportional representation can increase party competition and thus government accountability

NEW YORK, NY — Many of America’s most important cities are struggling under local electoral systems that perpetuate single-party domination. Continuous rule by one party creates a lack of responsiveness to public needs. Without the realistic threat of losing power, the ruling party has less incentive to address constituents’ concerns effectively, diminishing governmental accountability. In a new Manhattan Institute report, George Washington University Lecturer Jack Santucci and MI Director of Cities John Ketcham propose a new approach to big-city elections that can end single-party domination and give voters more accurate representation in city legislatures.

Party-list proportional representation (PR) — a system wherein a party receives a percentage of seats in proportion to its share of the vote — could give local coalitions leverage on issues that do not track neatly with national politics and open new opportunities for bipartisan or cross-partisan local democracy. While many associate PR with multiparty politics, its main benefit is that parties can aggregate their votes over larger areas than is possible under single-seat or otherwise small districts. Those winning groups could be minor parties or, as is more likely, identifiable factions of the major parties.

The authors argue this new-to-America electoral system could facilitate lawmaker coordination on difficult policy choices while preserving representation for the large variety of interests that make up the urban electorate. Under list PR, voters and candidates might coalesce more easily under distinct party brands or around specific policy objectives with citywide appeal like housing supply, carbon-dioxide reduction, public safety, and faster subway and bus service. PR also solves a geography issue wherein coalitions that are largely popular across the city but too dispersed among existing districts are unable to win a council majority.

Click here to read the full report.