Proportional representation: Lessons from Northern Ireland’s local elections

Local elections in Northern Ireland took place earlier this month on May 18, following a two-week delay due to the coronation of King Charles III. 462 seats were up for grabs across the region. For its local and assembly elections, Northern Ireland uses proportional ranked choice voting (RCV). Proportional RCV lets voters rank multiple candidates, leading to a more diverse range of candidates, parties, and policies. In contrast with our winner-take-all election system, proportional RCV also ensures that nearly every voter helps elect a candidate they support – increasing voter engagement and giving candidates an incentive to campaign beyond their base. 

The Fair Representation Act (FRA), which would implement proportional RCV in United States congressional elections, represents the best way to achieve more representative electoral outcomes in the United States. 

With a plurality of 144 local council seats, the nationalist party Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party in the May 18 election, surpassing The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which only won 122 seats and lost its previous plurality. The DUP faced heavy opposition from rival nationalist parties due to its refusal to establish a power-sharing government since February 2022. 

In a winner-take-all electoral system like the one in the United States, party differences in Northern Ireland would be solely characterized by the largest political cleavage – the nationalist/unionist divide – leaving little room for greater policy diversity. However, proportional RCV enables diverse political parties and candidates to compete. For example, the Alliance Party, Northern Ireland’s third-largest party, defines itself as neither unionist nor nationalist. It focuses on progressive policy stances that cut across the divide. 

Additionally, besides the dominant unionist and nationalist parties, there are also other parties within those categories that differ politically. For instance, the Ulster Unionist Party is a more moderate unionist party than the DUP, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party is a more moderate nationalist party than Sinn Féin.

Within the United States, cities such as Cambridge, MA; Minneapolis, MN; and Portland, OR use proportional RCV to achieve more representative electoral outcomes. The FRA is a national solution that would implement proportional representation for our congressional districts. It would allow candidates and voters to transcend the “red versus blue” division, and bring cross-cutting policies – both within and across parties – to the forefront, as exemplified by Northern Ireland.