No More Gerrymanders: Missouri
Lawmakers in Missouri have recently passed a congressional redistricting plan that distorts the state’s political representation in favor of Republicans and institutionalizes a decade of uncompetitive, meaningless elections. While many pundits blame the state legislature for drawing a partisan gerrymander, the root of the worst problems associated with redistricting lies with winner-take-all elections. To address the structural impediments of winner-take-all, FairVote has created an alternative — what we call fair voting — for Missouri’s congressional elections.
Fair voting systems are a constitutionally permissible form of proportional representation and the only way to achieve two fundamental goals of representative democracy in every election: fair representation and meaningful contests. While the state legislature’s plan contains zero inherently competitive districts, every voter in a fair voting system would experience a meaningful election and the great majority of voters would help elect a representative.
