I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2690 
To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system for multiseat 
congressional districts, to require the use of instant runoff voting in 
certain elections for Federal office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 26, 2005 
Ms. MCKINNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Ad-
ministration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system 
for multiseat congressional districts, to require the use 
of instant runoff voting in certain elections for Federal 
office, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Choice Act of 
2005’’.
TITLE I—PERMITTING USE OF 
MULTISEAT DISTRICTS FOR 
HOUSE ELECTIONS 
SEC. 101. MULTISEAT DISTRICTS PERMITTED FOR ELEC-
TION OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR STATES 
WITH A PROPORTIONAL VOTING SYSTEM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Act entitled 
‘‘An Act for the relief of Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala 
and to provide for congressional redistricting’’, approved 
December 14, 1967 (Public Law 90–196; 2 U.S.C. 2c), 
a State that is entitled to more than one Representative 
in Congress may establish a number of districts for elec-
tion of Representatives that is less than the number of 
Representatives to which the State is entitled so long as 
Representatives are elected under a system which meets 
the following conditions: 
(1) The system meets the constitutional stand-
ard of majority rule and of individuals having equal 
voting power. 
(2) The system ensures the election of any can-
didate in a multiseat district who receives a share of 
votes cast that is at least one vote greater than one- 
third of the total number of votes cast in the dis-
trict.
(3) The number of residents per Representative 
is equal for all Representatives elected in the State. 
(b) NO RESTRICTION ON SELECTION.—Nothing in 
subsection (a)(2) may be construed to prohibit a State 
from using a system under which a candidate may be 
elected with less than one-third of the total votes cast in 
a multiseat district. 
(c) SINGLE-SEAT DISTRICTS PERMITTED IN STATES 
USING MULTISEAT DISTRICTS.—A State establishing 
multiseat districts under this title may establish such dis-
tricts for the election of all Representatives in the State 
or in combination with one or more single-seat districts. 
SEC. 102. RELATION TO VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965. 
The rights and remedies established by this title are 
in addition to all other rights and remedies provided by 
law, and the rights and remedies established by this title 
shall not supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.). Noth-
ing in this title authorizes or requires conduct that is pro-
hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 
et seq.).
TITLE II—INSTANT RUNOFF VOT-
ING 
FOR 
FEDERAL 
ELEC-
TIONS 
SEC. 201. REQUIRING USE OF INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING 
FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OF-
FICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law and except as provided in subsection (b), each 
State shall conduct general elections for Federal office 
held in the State during 2008 and each succeeding year 
using an instant runoff voting system, and shall ensure 
that the voting equipment and technology used to conduct 
the elections is compatible with such a system. 
(b) 
EXCEPTION
FOR
HOUSE
ELECTIONS
IN 
MULTISEAT DISTRICTS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 
with respect to any election for the office of Member of 
the House of Representatives which is held in a multiseat 
district (as provided in title I). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this title, the following defini-
tions apply: 
(1) The term ‘‘Federal office’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 301(3) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(3)).
(2) The term ‘‘instant runoff voting system’’ 
means a system for the election of candidates under 
which— 
(A) runoff counts of candidates are con-
ducted in rounds; 
(B) voters may rank candidates on the bal-
lot according to the order of preference; 
(C) if in any round no candidate receives 
a majority of the votes cast, the candidate with 
the fewest number of votes is eliminated and 
the remaining candidates advance to the next 
round; 
(D) in each round, a voter shall be consid-
ered to have cast one vote for the candidate the 
voter ranked highest on the ballot who has not 
been eliminated; and 
(E) the runoff counts are carried out auto-
matically at the time the votes are cast and tab-
ulated. 
(3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
United States Virgin Islands.
SEC. 202. GRANTS TO STATES TO DEFRAY COSTS OF ADMIN-
ISTERING INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING SYSTEM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—There is 
established a program under which the Election Assist-
ance Commission (hereafter in this title referred to as the 
‘‘Commission’’) shall make grants to eligible States to de-
fray the costs of administering an instant runoff voting 
system or a proportional voting system, including the costs 
of purchasing voting equipment, software, and other tech-
nology necessary for such a system. 
(b) PLAN FOR PROGRAM.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion shall develop and make public a plan describing the 
criteria to be used in the solicitation and approval of appli-
cations for grants under this title and the criteria to be 
used in overseeing the use of funds provided under such 
grants, except that under such criteria the Commission 
may not require a State to match any portion of the 
amount awarded as a condition of eligibility. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A State is eligible to receive 
a grant under the program under this section if it 
submits to the Commission (in such form and man-
ner as the Commission may require) an application 
containing such information and assurances as the 
Commission may require.
(2) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION.—The Com-
mission may not consider an application for a grant 
under this section unless the application is sub-
mitted prior to the expiration of the 60-day period 
which begins on the date the Commission makes 
public the plan developed under subsection (b). 
(3) DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE.—The Commis-
sion shall approve or reject an application submitted 
under this subsection not later than 120 days after 
receiving the application. 
(4) CRITERIA FOR REJECTION.—The Commis-
sion may not reject an application submitted under 
this subsection unless it finds that— 
(A) the equipment, software, or other tech-
nology used to administer elections in the State 
is not compatible with an instant runoff voting 
system or a proportional voting system; or 
(B) the State does not provide for appro-
priate education for voters, poll workers, and 
election officials in the use of an instant runoff 
voting system or a proportional voting system. 
(d) CAP ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of 
any grant awarded to a State under the program under 
this section may not exceed the product of—
(1) the number of residents in the State at the 
time the grant is awarded (based on the most recent 
decennial census); and 
(2) $12. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pro-
gram under this section— 
(1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 
(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 
year 2007 and each succeeding fiscal year. 
SEC. 203. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 
Nothing in this title may be construed to supersede 
or conflict with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
1973aa et seq.) or the National Voter Registration Act 
of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.). 
Æ