A new report by the Academy’s cross-disciplinary, cross-ideological Electoral Design Working Group recommends moving from a winner-take-all U.S. election system to a system where seats in the U.S. House of Representatives reflect the share of votes received.
This report, Expanding Representation: Reinventing Congress for the 21st Century, is part of the Academy’s Our Common Purpose project, which seeks to advance the recommendations in Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. Those recommendations are intended to achieve more responsive and effective governance and a resilient and healthy civic culture characterized by a shared commitment of Americans to one another and constitutional democracy.
As the report explains, current law requires states to use single-member Congressional districts. The candidate with more votes than any competitor wins the entire district -- they “take all” -- leaving many voters with a representative they did not vote for. The report argues that moving to a proportional system with multi-member districts improves representation for many such voters. It also virtually eliminates gerrymandering, improves voter turnout, and reduces political polarization.
This change only requires amending current law -- the Uniform Congressional District Act, enacted in 1967 by Congress – and does not require amending the U.S. Constitution.
This article highlights legislative action at all levels of government related to this recommendation.
Congressional Efforts
The Fair Representation Act (H.R. 4632) was most recently re-introduced in July 2025. Among other changes, this legislation would move away from the current winner-take-all approach and put in place a proportional system in states with a sufficient number of representatives. The bill is currently being considered by the U.S. House Administration and Judiciary Committees.
The Select Committee on Electoral Reform Act (H.Res. 20) would establish a select committee to examine current methods of electing Members of Congress, consider alternative electoral design methods, including proportional representation, and report appropriate recommendations to Congress and the President within one year of the Committee’s first meeting. The committee would be made up of a bipartisan group of 14 congressional members. The bill is currently being considered by the U.S. House Rules Committee.
Mid-Decade Redistricting
Because proportional systems have a potential to effectively eliminate gerrymandering, looking at this solution now is particularly timely. Several states across the country are undertaking redistricting efforts before the next U.S. Census with an aim to shift the partisan balance of their delegations. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, six states have implemented new congressional maps this year – California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. Two states are taking steps towards redistricting – Indiana and Virginia, and two more have begun taking steps to start the redistricting process – Florida and Maryland. Some states may have to amend their congressional district maps depending on the outcome of court orders – Alabama, Louisiana, New York, and North Dakota. Additional states, including Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, and South Carolina have met with White House officials or with their congressional delegations to discuss these issues.
California recently adopted new congressional maps via ballot measure during the November 2025 elections for the 2026 election cycle. Litigation concerning the new congressional maps is ongoing. Congressional maps for North Carolina, Ohio, and Utah will also be in effect for the 2026 election cycle.
The Florida House of Representatives established a Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting in August. The Maryland Governor reconstituted the Governor Redistricting Advisory Commission this month and had its first meeting. The Indiana Governor called a special session for early-December to consider new congressional maps. In Missouri, opponents of the new congressional maps are working to collect enough signatures by early December to certify a state referendum to repeal the maps. If successful, there will be a special election on the referendum before the maps take effect. Litigation is on-going in Texas over its recently passed congressional maps. In Virginia, new congressional maps passed a first-round of legislative approval. The legislature would have to pass the new congressional maps again during its 2026 session to send a state constitutional amendment to the ballot during the 2026 election cycle.
Voting Rights Act
Uncertainty around the future of the Voting Rights Act has also created a surge of interest in proportional systems. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering a consequential case, Louisiana v. Callais (and Robinson v. Callais), concerning the Voting Rights Act and racial gerrymandering. The case involves whether Louisiana’s current congressional map that added a second majority Black district under Section 2 of the Act is unconstitutional racial gerrymandering under the U.S. Constitution. There are broad implications based on how the Court decides the case, including the treatment of race in future state redistricting efforts. According to the Brennan Center for Justice redistricting litigation tracker, this case also has implications concerning current lawsuits at the state level with them on hold or paused pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. As the Expanding Representation describes in more detail, proportional systems have the potential to improve representation for a variety of minority groups without the need for race-conscious districting.
Conclusion
The Academy will continue to share the new report and promote the benefits of moving away from a winner-take-all system. Proportional representation deserves serious consideration as a viable path toward a more representative and responsive democracy. It won’t solve every challenge in our nation’s current political system, but many more voters will feel that they have a voice.