SPONSOR: Green Issues Working Group
PRESENTER/CONTACT: Contact Elisabeth info@green247.org
SUBJECT: proportional representation (Green Districts). Involves Key Values Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice and Decentralization.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Each congressional representative has the power to represent many districts at once. That job is too hard when the constituents are diverse. We can make congressional representation easier by giving California voters an initiative to make proportional representation law. That law will enable millions more Californians to be represented in Congress and other legislatures.
Districts by law must be ethnically diverse. That means that ethnic minorities will always be a minority in a district. They cannot get representation unless they become the majority in a given jurisdiction. To the extent that racial minorities share political positions, their political positions will only be represented if they also share the political positions of the majority view in their district. Third parties still don't have a chance unless there is a large concentration in a given area and the lines are not drawn to marginalize them. Multi-seat districts could be just as gerrymandered as the current single-seat districts are.
One way to provide both competitive races and to give minority groups representation is with multi member proportional districts. By guaranteeing that the number of seats a party is accorded reflects its popular support, PR provides incentives for politicians to cooperate with other parties in order to govern.
A switch to smaller legislative districts might also mean more seats for women and ethnic minorities, without having to sacrifice other groups. This could help ease tensions over demographic change, growth and the distribution of political power in the state. And, California would benefit from having new voices and fresh perspectives in the Legislature.
Since 20% of U.S. citizens live in California, 20% of the Congress should represent Californians.
The United States Constitution Article I Section 2 Clause 3: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding the whole Number of free Persons, within every Term of ten Years. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand.
Calculation: 20% of U.S. citizens are free Persons in California. Therefore, out of the about 300 million free Persons in the USA, about 60 million live in California. The constitution permits one representative for every 30,000. So, there should be about 2,000 Congressional representatives from the State of California. Move to the community wherein you are represented.
The GIWG or ERWG shall research the law pertaining to districts to determine the legality of constructing a district by starting an intentional community of people not represented by anyone presently in Congress.
Campaign strategy: The voter has only one vote, while the Electors each have two. Not to mention the lobbyist and campaign contributor. To remedy this situation, each candidate may run for two seats simultaneously. That way, citizens can vote for the Green candidate in one election and for the opponent in another. The Twelfth Amendment allows Electors to vote twice for the same Person for two different seats.(1) Therefore, the Green Party acknowledges that the citizen has the Constitutional right to vote twice for the same candidate for two different seats. The Green candidate who wins both elections, shall take the seat for which the candidate received the most votes. The other seat will go to one of the other winners in that race.
GIWG shall research the Green Party Platform to see if it contains anything that might permit a candidate to say, "By voting for me, you are voting to add a Representative to the State of California who will represent you in Congress according to the United States Constitution Article I Section 2 Clause 3. By voting for me, you are voting for my voice to represent yours on the Floor of the House of Congress, or in the Media and in the Courts. By voting for me, you are voting for the United States Constitution Article II Section 1 Clause 3 Constitutional instant runoff voting procedure. Therefore, if I get enough votes to be considered a winner in this election, I will become an elected Representative of the State of California. By voting for me, you are using the instant runoff voting procedure, which has been used since the signing of the United States Constitution. The voter has only one vote, while the Electors each have two. To remedy this situation, I am running for two seats simultaneously. That way, you can vote for me in one election and vote for my opponent in another. The Twelfth Amendment allows Electors to vote twice for the same Person. Therefore, you have the Constitutional right to vote twice for me. If I win both elections, I will take the seat for which I received the most votes. The other seat will go to one of the other winners in that race. Yes, that gives electors 3 votes. So, shall we even things out by my running in ten elections in this 300,000-constituent region?"
PROPOSAL: GPCA supports proportional representation through certain mechanisms. The GPCA shall hold a Proportional Representation Initiative Construction Workshop - Defining issues and crafting initiative language. The GPCA determines that proportional representation could include
1. every community of 30,000 Greens holds an election for congressional representative and sends an elected Green to Congress. New districts are drawn by a line on a map that encircles 30,000 Greens.
2. adding to the state Legislature 80 more representatives -- a total of 150 Assembly members -- would improve accountability and better reflect California's diverse political and cultural climate.
3. districts that specifically provide proportional representation by party affiliation. By guaranteeing that the number of seats a party is accorded reflects its popular support, PR provides incentives for politicians to cooperate with other parties in order to govern.
4. adding new representatives until Californians are represented in Congress by Greens leaving hopelessly gerrymandered districts obsolete and unenforceable.
5. adding a seat to each of 80 districts.
6. multi member proportional districts, where members act in concert as council members altogether representing the one office.
7. a switch to smaller legislative districts by dividing districts into squares on a map.
8. a single statewide district from which all assembly members are to be elected, so that every candidate who receives 30,000+ votes represents those 30,000+ constituents.
9. the entire elected state judiciary drawing redistricting lines into squares on a map.
10. one state judge is elected by each political party; those judges confer; and together they draw redistricting lines into squares on a map.
11. prohibition of districting along lines other than municipal, county and judicial with councils of assembly members, etc.
12. a single instant runoff election determines the office-holder in each and every election.
13. same as 12 but with rate voting. Rate voting gives each voter the opportunity to vote against candidates. If there are 5 candidates, each voter may give only one candidate 2 points, may give only one candidate 1 point, and so on, with -2 points counterbalancing another voter's +2 points. Only one number per candidate need be sent to the state counter.
14. ideas presented by workshop participants.
COMMITTEE DECISION: The 10/4/05 draft of the proposal was delivered to the agenda committee on 10/8/05 on time for the December, 2005, plenary. It was first posted on www.green247.org in September, 2005. That is when it was presented to the Green Issues Working Group. It was sponsored by the Green Issues Working Group at the October, 2005, teleconference (attended by Don, Elisabeth, Paul and Wes) for the December, 2005, plenary. It was well-received at the Westside Greens meeting on March 3, 2007.
TIMELINE: The text goes into the platform upon approval by the GA. The organizing web page is posted at www.green247.org/balance.htm. This issue paper should be completed in 36 weeks and updated once a year thereafter. GIWG shall release the completed version for distribution by the press secretary and candidates and through campaigns and issue papers.
RESOURCES: The platform is enhanced by up-to-date supporting materials. Platform printing and Platform Committee expenses are included in the 2007-2008 budget. Expenses of the research and updating the organizing web page are included in the proposed 2007-2008 budget.
REFERENCES:
1. "The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--"