"American politicians, including Georgia’s leaders, need to call a permanent truce in the gerrymandering wars... Other countries use proportional representation because it makes democracy stronger. We should join them." www.ajc.com/opinion/2026...

Georgia Republicans reined in the gerrymandering war. Now change the system.

The current congressional map for Georgia gives nine of 14 House seats to Republicans and five to Democrats, but Georgia is divided politically 50-50. The system must change.

ajc.com

If @sbagen.bsky.social thinks fusion voting is the future of democracy in Michigan, I'd better figure out what it is!

Lee Drutman@leedrutman.bsky.social · 6d ago

This conversation with @sbagen.bsky.social is well worth your time: substack.com/home/post/p-...

This conversation with @sbagen.bsky.social is well worth your time: substack.com/home/post/p-...

No, there are lots of countries w/ multiparty PR legislatures and a presidential system. It's the combination of FPTP legislature and presidential that's the really weird outlier, only the US and a handful of countries in Africa. PR + presidential has many examples. see @leedrutman.bsky.social:

PR and Presidentialism: Yes, We Can

A myth haunts conversations about proportional representation in America. It is the belief that proportional representation requires a parliamentary system. We’re here to kill this myth. As comparativ...

democracyjournal.org

"Today, as states across the South enter another consequential period of redistricting, he is lending his name to an effort aimed at changing not just where congressional boundaries are drawn, but how Americans elect members of Congress in the first place." www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news...

UGA historian says proportional representation could reshape redistricting, Black political influence in Georgia

Renowned historian James C. Cobb told CBS News Atlanta why he joined 500+ scholars urging Congress to rethink winner-take-all elections after SCOTUS's Callais ruling.

cbsnews.com

Fusion voting gives new parties a chance to prove their strength, build constituencies, and earn real influence without acting as spoilers.

This is a cool dashboard.

Brayden@braydecker.bsky.social · 2w ago

I recently took 2024 CES data and mapped out clusters of the American electorate that may form parties if reform were to happen. You can find the simulation here where you can map out different scenarios in the House and see profiles of the different parties: usmultipartysystem.pages.dev?tab=house

Proud to have signed this

Lee Drutman@leedrutman.bsky.social · 2w ago

More than 500 scholars agree: "We write to urge Congress to do what most democracies have already done: adopt proportional representation." proud to be among them. medium.com/@scholars-re...

I signed this, along with many colleagues both on and off this website. PR would go a long way toward addressing the most fundamental problems with American democracy, and Congress can do it without amending the Constitution. It's time we start taking this reform seriously.

Lee Drutman@leedrutman.bsky.social · 2w ago

More than 500 scholars agree: "We write to urge Congress to do what most democracies have already done: adopt proportional representation." proud to be among them. medium.com/@scholars-re...

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Lee Drutman@leedrutman.bsky.social · 2w ago

More than 500 scholars agree: "We write to urge Congress to do what most democracies have already done: adopt proportional representation." proud to be among them. medium.com/@scholars-re...

More than 500 scholars agree: "We write to urge Congress to do what most democracies have already done: adopt proportional representation." proud to be among them. medium.com/@scholars-re...

Letter to Congress: End the Redistricting Wars by Adopting Proportional Representation

Gerrymandering persists because single-member districts allow it.

medium.com

Winner-take-all voting isn’t the only type of electoral system out there. Let’s talk about fusion voting.

Electoral reform in the US has often pursued an anti-party route, but there's a growing critique of how that impulse has been ineffective or even backfired. Instead, party-strengthening and pro-multiparty reforms like PR are gaining steam. I sat down with @leedrutman.bsky.social to talk about why.

Fixing America's Negative Polarization With Proportional Representation: A Conversation With Lee Drutman

Presidentialism plus single-member districts is a bad combination that incentivizes leaders to consolidate power by fueling division.

theunpopulist.net

I was honored to join @leedrutman.bsky.social and James Wallner at Politics In Question for a discussion about my new book and what exactly ideology means in the modern Republican Party

What Happened to the Republican Party? — Politics In Question

In this episode of Politics in Question, Lee and James chat with Seth Masket about how Trump voters fundamentally changed the Republican Party. Masket is a professor of political science at the Univ...

politicsinquestion.com

Also apropos of this, @leedrutman.bsky.social is completely correct that "open primaries" are a reform in the completely wrong direction, and the groups pushing that as a solution should get out of the way of people that know what they're talking about open.substack.com/pub/leedrutm...

“Open the primaries” is the wrong answer to the right question

Why isn't November the election that matters? Single-member districts are the problem. Primary reform doesn't fix that.

open.substack.com

Separate from the need/non-need, the developments Lee wrote about created a chill in the academy and caused any offer of alternatives to be seen as “advocacy.” The analogous situation in medicine might be punishing a physician for writing an op-ed saying people should consider quitting cigs.

Steven S Smith@profstevensmith.bsky.social · 2mo ago

@leedrutman.bsky.social is right--seriously right--about the need for proportional representation for House elections. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Good explainer from @leedrutman.bsky.social on why open primaries as a major reform idea is as Mencken put it, "clear, simple, and wrong." I'd do away with partisan voter registration altogether which inherently opens the primaries, as many states already do. But it makes no difference to outcomes.

“Open the primaries” is the wrong answer to the right question

Why isn't November the election that matters? Single-member districts are the problem. Primary reform doesn't fix that.

substack.com

@leedrutman.bsky.social is right--seriously right--about the need for proportional representation for House elections. substack.com/home/post/p-...

“Open the primaries” is the wrong answer to the right question

Why isn't November the election that matters? Single-member districts are the problem. Primary reform doesn't fix that.

substack.com

More evidence that voters truly do not think about policy in the ways pundits think they do.

G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com · 2mo ago

A new poll from the New York Times shows potential Democratic voters want the party to move to the right, are happy with where it is ideologically, and rate socialism highly. Huh? www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-06-12...

I see we've reached the stage of gladiator fights to entertain the aging and disturbed emperor.

This piece goes nicely with yesterday’s on the NYC charter commission and recent first-round election in Los Angeles. I add to the conversation by asking whether council/chamber expansion should be on the table. www.voteguy.com/2026/06/10/d...

Lee Drutman@leedrutman.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I regret to inform you all that "open the primaries to independents" is an inadequate solution to restoring sanity to Washington. leedrutman.substack.com/p/open-the-p...

I regret to inform you all that "open the primaries to independents" is an inadequate solution to restoring sanity to Washington. leedrutman.substack.com/p/open-the-p...

“Open the primaries” is the wrong answer to the right question

Why isn't November the election that matters? Single-member districts are the problem. Primary reform doesn't fix that.

leedrutman.substack.com

Mark is correct. There are no "fair maps" under single-member districts. leedrutman.substack.com/p/why-you-ca...

Why you can’t just ban gerrymandering

Fair maps require a definition of fair. There isn't one. There are infinite ones.

leedrutman.substack.com

Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · 2mo ago

No. Single member-districts are bad & need to go. It’s fine & probably correct to argue that the immediate solution that is more sellable politically right now is “fair maps,” but that’s a different claim & it’s not a better goal if we actually want to be a fully representative democracy.

“fragmented party systems do not paralyze policymaking; they generate the bargaining space in which policymaking happens. A two-party system offers exactly one available bargain: the other side. When that bargain is refused, nothing moves. A multiparty system always offers another partner.”

Lee Drutman@leedrutman.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"Fragmentation, in short, is not the threat to American governance. Its absence is." electionlawblog.org?p=156552

"Fragmentation, in short, is not the threat to American governance. Its absence is." electionlawblog.org?p=156552

Michael Latner: A Response to Rick Pildes on Proportional Representation and Fragmentation #ELB

The following is a guest post from Michael Latner: Richard Pildes’ thoughtful essay on yesterday’s Election Law Blog distinguishes two lines of debate over the virtues of proportional representation t...

electionlawblog.org

Gerrymandering traps voters in a never-ending doom loop. One way out? Multi-member districts, proportional representation—and yes, fusion voting. @ezraklein.bsky.social @leedrutman.bsky.social @nytopinion.nytimes.com @newamerica.org @politicalreform.newamerica.org www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...

Video: Opinion | How to End the Gerrymandering Doom Loop Forever

The political scientist Lee Drutman argues that we should switch to a system of proportional representation and put an end to our “trench warfare politics.”

nytimes.com

I look forward to a future America when we have proportional representation and wonder what was so special about single-member districts that we kept them around even as they failed at their only purpose: enabling voters to choice their representatives. leedrutman.substack.com/p/a-brief-23...

A brief, 237-year history of gerrymandering in America

Districting has never been “fair.” Maybe the problem is the districting.

leedrutman.substack.com

What gives us hope? Movements that expand democracy instead of shrinking it. We support fusion voting, which gives voters more choices, encourages coalition-building, and creates a politics that’s less polarized and more representative. @msifry.bsky.social theconnector.substack.com/p/what-gives...

What Gives Us Hope?

Seventeen organizers, politicians, academics and media makers from my "This Old Democracy" on how they are coping with our challenging times.

theconnector.substack.com

campaign finance reform has to accompany electoral system reform. And the reform has to encourage healthy parties, not keep gutting them. leedrutman.substack.com/p/campaign-f...

Campaign finance reform for a multiparty America

Some thoughts on managing the money when we upgrade our electoral system.

leedrutman.substack.com

Perhaps a candidate running as underdog this Nov. should say something like: Hey, I'm running as a D/R because we have a two-party system, but if you vote for me, I'll work every day to break this two-party system that you all dislike so much. Who knows: maybe it will break through?