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July 27, 2009

Poor electoral systems and poor fixes

The city of 200,000, a Dallas suburb, was ordered to reorganize its municipal election system to give Hispanics more voting power. Irving had been choosing its council members through citywide "at large" elections, but U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis ruled that the system diluted the influence of Irving's fast-growing minority population, which is concentrated in the southern half of the city.

He didn't impose a specific remedy but said any new system -- perhaps electing council members by district -- must allow "Hispanics to elect candidates of their own choosing."

With at-large systems, all voters can vote for all seats up for election (i.e. when electing five representatives, voters can vote for five candidates). Depending on the system, all candidates may run against one another, with the highest vote getters winning election, or candidates may run for individual, designated seats. ... At-large systems allow 50 percent of voters to control 100 percent of seats, and in consequence typically result in racially and politically homogenous elected bodies.

At large election systems make for poor democracy. The major purpose of electoral systems is to serve as an information gathering mechanism to aggregate voter preferences. If a simple majority chooses every Representative then minority opinion holders won't have anyone speaking for their views when it comes time to make decisions. Their absence may foreclose simple solutions that would make the minorities much better off at little cost to the majority.

That said, I see little need that Hispanics specifically should elect candidates of their own choosing. If 40% of a town is Hispanic and 40% are pro-gun-control, I see both minorities as equally entitled to representation in elected bodies.

Posted by OneEyedMan at July 27, 2009 7:35 AM

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