By Kit Muehlman, LWV Bellingham/Whatcom County
Is there a relationship between the method used to select our representatives and our later complaints about their actions? Is there an election method that would promote more equitable representation and less political polarization? It was these questions that led members of various local Leagues to consider multi-member districts (MMD) as a means toward proportional representation. To this end, in May 2023, at the LWVWA's Convention in Pasco, members approved a new education project on multi-member districts.
The LWVWA Program in Action supports the "adoption of election methods that produce proportional representation when electing representative government bodies such as councils, legislatures and Congress." But what is "proportional representation?" In a government body, proportional representation means that each political group elects representatives in proportion to its voting weight. In other words, a political group with about 33% of the vote elects about 33% of the representatives.
Currently, Washington does not use election methods that produce proportional representation on a statewide level—47 of our 49 legislative districts send three lawmakers to Olympia from the same political party. This means the majority party in each legislative district gets 100% of the representation, while the minority party gets zero representation. There are only two districts with mixed representation, the 10th and 26th legislative districts.
How does this relate to multi-member districts? Well, to achieve proportional representation, a voting method using MMDs—with multiple winners—is required. When an election contest can have only one single winner, it is impossible to achieve proportional representation.
Multi-Member District History in the United States
Multi-member districts have been used in the United States before. They were used in Illinois for 110 years (1870-1980). Lawmakers there reported bipartisan cooperation and bipartisan legislation, which abruptly ended when voters passed the Cutback Amendment in 1978. Illinois voters passed the amendment after legislators raised their own salaries and it cut representation to one member per district.
In the 20th Century, two dozen cities—including New York City, Cleveland (OH), and Cambridge (MA) used MMDs to achieve proportional representation. With the use of MMDs, these cities began to elect members of traditionally underrepresented groups in far greater numbers. The communities saw increases of Black, Italian, Irish, Polish, and women serving in elected positions.
However, after years of use, there was a backlash against the visible presence of ethnic minorities in government. Persistent local efforts managed to repeal MMDs. Though MMDs remained in Cambridge, 23 cities gave up on proportional voting and returned to traditional party politics.
In November 2024, Portland, OR, used multi-member districts with proportional representation for the first time. Arguably, Portland now has the most diverse and politically balanced city council in the history of the city.
Opposition to Multi-Member Districts
There are those in opposition to MMDs though. Opponents say elections using proportional representation are confusing for voters. However, voters have been successfully using proportional representation in Cambridge and Albany (CA), and now in Portland.
Opponents also believe that proportional representation would weaken the two-party system by allowing independents and third parties to run viable campaigns. However, proponents think that proportional representation will result in stronger parties by allowing more candidates to run, opening the field to find the strongest candidates in one party.
Ultimately though, if we want elections that result in elected bodies that proportionally reflect the political views of the people they represent, we have work to do.
Any local League, or organization to which you belong, is invited to request a presentation of the Multi-Member District Education Project, in person or virtually via Zoom. Contact Kit Muehlman by email or at 360-630-4152.
Multi-Member District Resources
