Win, Place, or Show For Congressional Voting?

August 9, 2007— -- This week Opportunity 08 takes a closer look at closer look at how the next president should tackle election reform.

In recent years, redistricting by state legislatures has created an extraordinarily high number of "safe" congressional districts, in which the incumbent is highly likely to gain reelection.

That means that the real election is the party primaries where only the most liberal Democrats and the most conservative Republicans are likely to vote.

The result, says former Rep. John Porter, R-Ill., isn't fair to voters who consider themselves independents.

Independents Forced Out of Process

"In a predominantly one-party district, the dominant party's candidate who wins the primary is very likely to win the general election," Porter explains.

"Unfortunately, some 70 percent of the electorate is left out of this process. Many moderate voters don't feel comfortable declaring party affiliation, and many independent voters simply refuse to vote in primaries. And, in some states, people who are not registered with a party -- that is, independent voters -- are barred from voting in primary elections, even if they wanted to."

To bring independents and moderates back into the process, Porter recommends "instant runoff voting" in which voters indicate their first, second, third, and even fourth choice for each position on the ballot.

If one candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, he or she wins. If no one receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes loses those votes to the second-choice candidates of the people who voted for him or her.

The process repeats until one candidate has a majority of the votes. In one day the election is over, no party affiliation needs to be expressed, no later runoff is held.

With the size of the presidential field this year, that's pretty appealing!

A full version of this proposal, as well as supporting background material, is available at www.opportunity08.org.

About the Experts and the Project

John Porter

John Porter, a partner in the law firm Hogan & Hartson and a former member of Congress and the Illinois House, is a member of the Board of Trustees at Brookings.

Porter is an expert on health law and education matters, including administrative and regulatory, international, legislative strategy, and education and health policy. He was Republican chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

Opportunity 08

Opportunity 08 aims to help 2008 presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation, presenting policy ideas on a wide array of domestic and foreign policy questions.

The project is committed to providing both independent policy solutions and background material on issues of concern to voters.