Electoral reform in the United States
- Electoral reform in the United States
Electoral reform in the United States refers to efforts make changes the U.S. electoral system and American elections.
Currently, the U.S. uses a single member district plurality system to elect the members of its lower legislative house, the U.S. House of Representatives. Both parties have made efforts to gerrymander these districts using computer-generated maps designed to protect incumbents' seats; partially as a result of this, turnover in this house is typically low. The United States Senate and the U.S. President are also elected using the plurality system, although these positions are safe from gerrymandering (with the possible exception of presidential races in Maine and Nebraska, whose electoral votes are partially allocated by Congressional district) due to the fixed borders of states.
Proposals for electoral reform have included abolishing the U.S. Electoral College or nullifying its impact through the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact; implementing Instant Runoff Voting; and electing members of Congress by Single Transferable Vote; among others. The U.S. Constitution gives states wide latitude to determine how elections are conducted, although some details, such as the ban on poll taxes, are mandated at the federal level.
The nonprofit organization FairVote has compiled a report detailing the unique challenges to electoral reform in the United States as well as potential opportunities. [ [http://www.fairvote.org/articles/Richie04/richiehill.rtf The Fair Elections Movement in the United States] , Robert Richie and Steven Hill.]
References
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Electoral reform in the United States Virgin Islands — refers to efforts to change the voting laws in that archipelago. Dwayne A. Callwood called for election reforms to be a priority at the Virgin Islands constitutional convention that would make it easier for ballot initiatives and recalls to be… … Wikipedia
Electoral geography of the United States — The electoral geography of the United States is a description of regional political differences in the country. In recent years this has been popularized by the red states and blue states paradigm.The divide in Presidential electionsThe maps that … Wikipedia
Politics of the United States — United States This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United States … Wikipedia
Puerto Ricans in the United States — Ethnic group group= Puerto Rican American Puertorriqueño Americano caption = Notable Puerto Rican Americans: Joseph M. Acaba·Ana Ortiz·Val Ramos Alexis Cruz·Jennifer Lopez·Rita Moreno poptime= Puerto Rican 4,120,205 Americans [ [http://factfinder … Wikipedia
Israel lobby in the United States — The Israel lobby in the United States is a term used to describe the loose coalition of groups and individuals who attempt to influence American foreign policy in support of Israel and its policies. [The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, John J … Wikipedia
Foreign policy of the United States — United States This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United States … Wikipedia
Conservatism in the United States — For related and other uses, see Conservatism (disambiguation). Part of a series on Conservatism … Wikipedia
Health care reform debate in the United States — See also: Health care reform in the United States, Health care in the United States, and Uninsured in the United States Health care in the United States Public health care Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Indian Health Service… … Wikipedia
Congressional stagnation in the United States — Congressional stagnation is an American political theory that attempts to explain the high rate of incumbency re election to the United States House of Representatives. In recent years this rate has been well over 90 per cent, with rarely more… … Wikipedia
Vice President of the United States — Infobox Political post post = Vice President body = the United States insignia = US Vice President Seal.svg insigniasize = 100px insigniacaption = Official seal incumbent = Richard Bruce Cheney incumbentsince = January 20, 2001 style = appointer … Wikipedia
