In an era of rising political violence, election reform can help lower the temperature of our politics

Following recent acts of political violence, a September 2025 Quinnipiac poll finds that 79% of American voters say the United States is in a political crisis. 71% think politically motivated violence is a very serious problem, up from 54% in June.

At the same time, our nation appears to be reaching historic levels of polarization. In an October poll from The New York Times and Siena, 64% of voters said our political system is too divided to solve the nation’s problems. In an August Gallup poll, 76% of Republican voters said they are satisfied with the direction of the country, while just 1% of Democrats said the same thing – the biggest partisan gap in over two decades. 

Voters are deeply frustrated – 88% of Americans believe our political system is broken. 

No one reform is a silver bullet, but improving our elections can help lower the temperature and foster a more cooperative politics. Ranked choice voting (RCV) and proportional representation would encourage politicians to reach across the aisle and deliver for their constituents, while giving Americans more voice and more choice in elections.

Check out the video below, in which FairVote CEO Meredith Sumpter explains how ranked choice voting and proportional representation can make politics better, then read on for more information about both reforms.

Ranked choice voting can lower the temperature of our politics

Ranked choice voting – which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference – can move elections away from the mentality of “us vs. them.” RCV rewards candidates for running positive campaigns, rather than making personal attacks. 

With RCV, candidates need to reach beyond their natural base and win majority support. They have an incentive to show common ground with their opponents – since they may need to earn second- or third-choice support from voters ranking their opponent as their first choice. 

Recent elections across the nation have demonstrated how RCV encourages more collaborative and civil politics. In New York City’s RCV primary this summer, Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani “cross-endorsed” with rival Brad Lander – meaning Mamdani and Lander encouraged voters to rank them both on their ballots. Mamdani and Lander released joint ads, held joint campaign events, and made TV appearances together. Mamdani also cross-endorsed with candidate Michael Blake, and helped raise funds for another opponent, Adrienne Adams. 

Candidate collaboration isn’t limited to New York City. Candidates in RCV elections in Alaska, California, Maine, and elsewhere have also cross-endorsed one another, with many going on to win their elections.

Even without formal cross-endorsements, RCV may deliver noticeable improvements in campaign civility and voter engagement. Research finds that voters in RCV cities are more satisfied with the conduct of local campaigns, more likely to be contacted by candidates for office, and less likely to view campaigns as negative compared to voters in non-RCV cities.

This collaborative spirit can remain after Election Day, too. Following Alaska’s latest RCV elections, bipartisan majority coalitions formed in both houses of the state legislature – putting the needs of Alaskans above partisan interests. 

In a discussion on How to Fix It with John Avlon, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Yuval Levin highlighted this feature of RCV: 

The kind of skill you need to build coalitions is also the skill you need to win in a ranked choice election. You need to be able to be some people’s first choice [and] many people’s second choice. That’s the kind of personality you want in politics.

In 2024, State Sen. Cathy Giessel – leader of the Alaska State Senate’s bipartisan majority coalition – shared how RCV encouraged her to reach out to more voters, and ultimately led to a more productive government:

I knocked on doors that I had walked past previously, and I had wonderful conversations. I looked forward to going door to door. Such great ideas, smart people. It was wonderful…. And now we have governance that is very different in the Alaska Senate. We have a bipartisan coalition… Obviously, there was compromise, but we met in the middle and it’s just been very productive.

Where RCV is used, voters say they like it and want to keep using it. In New York, for instance, 76% of voters say they want to keep RCV or expand it to general elections.

Proportional representation can give every American greater voice

Proportional representation can go a step further by tackling one of the biggest drivers of political toxicity and dysfunction in America: winner-take-all elections. 

In traditional, single-winner elections, the largest group of voters is able to elect its candidate of choice. Everyone else gets nothing. In congressional elections – where each district elects just one representative – this leaves tens of millions of Americans without a real voice in Congress. 

Think of rural Democrats or urban Republicans, who might make up 30 or 40% of the population in their districts. They should have a voice, but their preferred candidates are nearly always defeated by candidates from the other party. 

This lack of representation and lack of competition also leads to greater political polarization. The vast majority of districts are “safe” for one party, so elected officials win and hold their seats by appealing to smaller, more partisan primary electorates – because that’s where the real competition is. The officials have little incentive to engage with voters – or other elected officials – outside their party. 

The cycle of polarization – and the futility of voting in a district or state that’s safe for a party other than your own – can result in the loss of “losers’ consent,” or a willingness by the losers of elections to respect the results as legitimate. As the R Street Institute noted in a 2021 report, this can lead to candidates attacking elections as fraudulent, or even to acts of political violence like the January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Proportional representation (PR) combats these problems – giving every voter greater voice and a chance at real representation in their democracy, delivering truly competitive general elections, and encouraging elected officials to work more collaboratively. 

PR, which is used by most democracies around the world, is exactly what it sounds like: Different groups of voters elect winners in proportion to their share of the votes cast. For instance, if about 60% of votes go to conservatives and 40% go to liberals, then about 60% of seats go to conservatives and 40% go to liberals. In a multi-member district with five members, three would be conservatives and two would be liberals.

In addition to PR fostering more competition and fairer results, each multi-member district would have representatives from multiple parties – giving officials new incentives to work together (and across the aisle) for their constituents. 

The path ahead for election reform

RCV is already used in dozens of cities, counties, and states across the nation – including Alaska and Maine, both of which use RCV in presidential elections. Several cities, as well as countries like Australia and Ireland, pair RCV with multi-member districts to achieve proportional representation.

At a national level, the Fair Representation Act (FRA) is the only bill that would implement proportional representation for the U.S. House, combining RCV and multi-member districts. The FRA would also implement RCV for the U.S. Senate. 

State and local RCV groups throughout the U.S. are working to bring these reforms to their communities. Get involved in your community here.