The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-17
PLANS OUTLINED TO
END GERRYMANDER
Law Convention Committee
Shows Advantage Of
Proportional Method.
MORE CHOICE FOR VOTES

ALBANY. May 1s.-The constitutions,
convention committee on suffrage n,
which Patrick w. Cullinan OF Oswe,o
Is chairman. has set June 2 for a hear.
ing on the proposal to elect Legislator,
by proportional votes instead Of by d,..
tricts.
Those back of the plan have i,su.d
a brief to show how much faircr thu
proportional method OF election would b.
to the voters than the present system
which permits gerrymanderlng Of dis.
tricts for the benefit OF the party IN
power.
The three main objects Of the pro.
posal are announced as follows
"Frrst-To aprortion the members OF
elected bodies fairly mons the partis,
Our present plan OF electlng representa-.
tives from single member districts nv
a plurality vote gives grossly unfair
results. This unfairness is often agra.
waited by gerrymandering. which Is i'm.
possible under proportional representa-.
ton.
New York city ~ an Example.
Take the case OF New York city. In
1912 1t cast e1O,632 votes to elect twenty.
two State Senators. The number o,
votes which ought to have been re.
quired to elect one Senator WAS therefore
t610,632 plus twenty-two) 27,756. Tina,
number would be called. under the plan
Of proportional representation. the quota
Amy 27.756 voters who desired 10 be
represented in the Senate by "A certain
man ought IN haya h..n ,kt.
bine their votes and elect him withou,
regard 20 how their fellow citizens
voted.
out OF that total vote the Democrats
cast 29s.124. or ten quotas. with a frac.
tional quota OF 20.564 remaining. IN,
Republicans cast 1873. 461, or four quo.
tas with a fractional quota of 22.437
The Progressives cast 1891. or five
quotas, with a fractional quota Of 10.
1877. The Socialists cast 29.93I. or one
quota, with a fractional quota OF 2,l7b
would account for twenty Senators
on full quotas. The remaining two Sen.
ators should ave gone one each to the
Democrats and the Republicans. who
had the largest fractional quotas.
The representation Of the New yors
city parties In the Senate ought there
fore TO have been eleven Democrat,
lNt Rtpubll'dlS, HNe iTpETtsS4Nt~ ann
one Socialist. The actual representation
was twenty-one Democrats and one Pro.
gressive. That was "A simple outrage.
"Secondly-To prevent waste Of votes
and the practical disfranchisemen, OF
voters. Every vote tina fall
TO In the election OF a rep.
resentative is wasted and the voter L.
DISTINGUISHED. In the aboy.
election 1861 Democratic votes, l33,4sl
Republican tail the Republican votes,
130.230 Progressive, and 2?.g3l SoNalls
votes were wasted and the casters %
them d~isfranchised.
"Under proportional representa-
only the fractional quotas Of the Pro
l0.l6l votes. and of the
AIS votes. would have be-'
All the Democratic and Rcpuh-
votes and most OF the Progress
and Socialist would have counted.
More Freedom OF Choice.
'Thirdly-To give the individual vote
a greater freedom of choice. Al present
in voting for Senator or Assemb.y ma,
the voter must practically choose boz
tween two candidates. II he is a good
party man there Is usually only ore
whom ne can vote for. O.
Is Hobson's choice for him, that o.
nothing.
Under proportional representation. IN.
OF fifty single member senate
the state would he divided Int.
say. five or six large Senatorial disiric'y
flecting eight or ten Senators each. The
would vote for one Senator onl,
as now. but he could choose be,ve.r
eight or ten candidates Of his own party
AT present II may he that his part
candidate In his district Is dlstas'efu.
70 him. or II sure of election even with
out his vote, or has no chance at AL ~
while In the next district Is
candidate who needs his vote and 70
whom he would gladly vote bu, cannor
Another advantage OF ~proportion
In this State is that a.
would alleviate the friction he,wee
. York city and tho rest OF the state
While II might not much affect the tot
representations of the parties IN q
II would give more Republ
from the city and moro Democrs"
up the State 70 that the d.,1si
oetween city.and State would not he as
, party division.
proportional representation =
mere theory, II has been tested a.
ound practical" says the brief
has been for some time in use m var,o.-
and has always worked cas-
-