Whose Vote Counts?

In the wake of the 2000 election crisis, a proposal for making election outcomes reflect all Americans Winners take all in the vast majority of American elections, leaving those who voted for losing candidates without representation in government, and disillusioned with politics. Robert Richie and Steven Hill argue that we need a new way of electing our representatives to combat voter apathy and the leveling of political views. Such a system already exists in many parts of the world, including some places in the U.S.: proportional representation.
Leading activists and scholars, including Cynthia McKinney, John Ferejohn, and Daniel Cantor, respond.
NEW DEMOCRACY FORUM

A series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns. The series editors (for Boston Review), Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers, aim to foster politically engaged, intellectually honest, and morally serious debate about fundamental issues-both on and off the agenda of conventional politics.

Edited by Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers for Boston Review

In the wake of the 2000 election crisis, a proposal for making election outcomes reflect all Americans Winners take all in the vast majority of American elections, leaving those who voted for losing candidates without representation in government, and disillusioned with politics. Robert Richie and Steven Hill argue that we need a new way of electing our representatives to combat voter apathy and the leveling of political views. Such a system already exists in many parts of the world, including some places in the U.S.: proportional representation.
Leading activists and scholars, including Cynthia McKinney, John Ferejohn, and Daniel Cantor, respond.
NEW DEMOCRACY FORUM

A series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns. The series editors (for Boston Review), Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers, aim to foster politically engaged, intellectually honest, and morally serious debate about fundamental issues-both on and off the agenda of conventional politics.

Hendrik Hertzberg

The only reason we don't have proportional representation in the United States is that it hadn't been invented yet when the Constitution was written. But the Founding Fathers would have loved it. This book tells why--in language that's lively, accessible, provocative, and full of common sense.

Robert Richie and Steven Hill are executive director and western regional director, respectively, of the Center for Voting and Democracy, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization that promotes reforms to increase fair representation and voter participation.