The Fair Representation Act would transform Texas’s congressional map from 38 single-winner districts into 8 multi-winner districts. Voters would elect representatives using proportional ranked choice voting.
Gerrymandering would be nearly eliminated, every election would be competitive, and Texas voters would have far more power than they do today.
With more choices in the general election and proportional outcomes, the Fair Representation Act will create more opportunities for urban Republicans, rural Democrats, independents, women, and people of color.
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Improved Partisan Representation
Proportional ranked choice voting elects candidates from each party reflecting the political makeup of that region.
Texas’s statewide partisanship is 45% Democrat / 55% Republican. The Fair Representation Act would preserve the Republican majority but also award a fair number of seats to Democrats and most likely create swing seats in at least two districts.
Better Racial Representation
The Fair Representation Act increases the number of districts where communities of color have the power to elect a candidate of their choice.
In a district with 5 representatives, any candidate earning at least 17% of the vote wins a seat. In a district with 3 representatives, any candidate earning over 25% of votes wins a seat. These thresholds create the opportunity for more groups to have a seat at the table, compared to single-winner districts where candidates need a majority or near-majority to win a seat.
With the Fair Representation Act, Latino voters are over the threshold to elect 11 seats and Black voters are over the threshold to elect 3 seats, meaning both groups have the deciding power to elect several candidates of their choice. The representation for Black voters under the FRA is of particular significance, given Black voters have no sole power-to-elect in any of Texas’s current single-member districts.
The “power-to-elect” threshold represents a floor for representation, not a ceiling: candidates of color are most likely to succeed in these districts, but may also be elected in other districts.
An additional five seats are “coalition seats,” or seats where no individual racial or ethnic group is over the threshold on its own. These seats provide opportunities for coalition-building candidates.
An End to Gerrymandering
Under the Fair Representation Act, the ability to gerrymander for partisan advantage would be drastically reduced. With fewer lines to draw and proportional representation in every district, the redistricting process becomes more fair and the possibility for gerrymandering is nearly eliminated.
More Competitive Elections
With larger geographic districts, it is harder to draw districts in ways that pack partisans together. What’s more, the Fair Representation Act’s criteria for district-drawing encourages fair partisan representation.
Eliminating “winner-take-all” rules will encourage both Republicans and Democrats to compete for votes in every district. Every multi-winner district in Texas would be likely to elect at least one member of each major party.
Even in districts where one or more seats are considered “safe” for one party, candidates from that party will be competing against other members of their party, creating healthy competition both within and between parties.
When elections are competitive, representatives are accountable to voters and have a greater incentive to champion policies that have broad support.
A More Expressive Ballot
In proportional ranked choice voting, voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so forth. Voters are free to express their honest preferences without fear of “spoiler candidates” or “wasted votes”.
Learn more here about how ranked choice in multi-winner districts improves our elections.
