I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1189

To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system for multiseat

congressional districts, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 22, 2001

Ms. MCKINNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system

for multiseat congressional districts, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voters’ Choice Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. MULTISEAT DISTRICTS PERMITTED FOR ELECTION

6 OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR STATES WITH A

7 PROPORTIONAL VOTING SYSTEM.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Act entitled

9 ‘‘An Act for the relief of Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala
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1 and to provide for congressional redistricting’’, approved

2 December 14, 1967 (Public Law 90–196; 2 U.S.C. 2c),

3 a State that is entitled to more than one Representative

4 in Congress may establish a number of districts for elec5 tion of Representatives that is less than the number of

6 Representatives to which the State is entitled, if and only

7 if, that State uses a system that meets the following condi8 tions:

9 (1) It meets the constitutional standard of ma10 jority rule and of individuals having equal voting

11 power.

12 (2) It ensures the election of any candidate who

13 receives a share of votes cast that is at least one

14 vote greater than one-third of the total votes cast in

15 the multiseat district.

16 (b) NO RESTRICTION ON SELECTION.—A State is not

17 restricted to selecting systems that require candidates to

18 obtain at least one vote more than one-third of the elec19 torate in order to be elected. As long as the conditions

20 specified in subsection (a) are met, a State may use sys21 tems that allow a smaller group of voters to elect Rep22 resentatives.

23 (c) EQUALITY REQUIREMENT.—In a State that uses

24 multiseat districts, the number of residents per Represent-
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1 ative in a district shall be equal for all Representatives

2 elected.

3 (d) ONE-SEAT DISTRICTS ALLOWED.—A State may

4 use one-seat districts alone or in combination with

5 multiseat districts.

6 SEC. 3. RELATION TO VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.

7 The rights and remedies established by this Act are

8 in addition to all other rights and remedies provided by

9 law, and the rights and remedies established by this Act

10 shall not supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the

11 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.). Noth12 ing in this Act authorizes or requires conduct that is pro13 hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973

14 et seq.).

15 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING USE OF INSTANT

16 RUNOFF VOTING IN PRESIDENTIAL ELEC17 TIONS.

18 It is the sense of Congress that:

19 (1) A State should award its electoral votes for

20 President and Vice President to the candidates who

21 receive a majority of the votes cast in the State for

22 such offices.

23 (2) An instant runoff voting system is an effec24 tive and appropriate method for ensuring that one

25 set of candidates will receive a majority of the votes
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1 cast in the State. Under instant runoff voting, voters

2 rank their favorite and subsequent choice can3 didates, and if a majority has not voted for one can4 didate, the candidate with least number of votes is

5 eliminated and another round of counting occurs. In

6 the next round and each subsequent round, ballots

7 are counted for the highest remaining candidate

8 ranked on each ballot, and rounds continue until a

9 candidate has received a majority of the votes cast.

10 (3) Each State should adopt an instant runoff

11 voting system for the election of electors for Presi12 dent and Vice President.

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