Proposition 50 and the Deeper Problem: How to End Gerrymandering for Good

Proposition 50 and the Deeper Problem:

How to End Gerrymandering for Good

How Proportional Ranked Choice Voting eliminates gerrymandering, preserves voter choice, and keeps elections fair for everyone.

California's Conversation About Fair Representation

With Proposition 50 now passed, California has entered a new phase in the long-running debate over gerrymandering and fair representation.

Prop 50 temporarily hands redistricting power back to the Legislature—allowing elected officials to draw new congressional maps—after years of maps drawn by independent commissions. Supporters argued it was a necessary response to partisan gerrymanders in states like Texas. Critics warned it risked repeating the same mistakes.

Either way, one thing is clear: as long as elections are built around single-winner districts, the fight over who draws the lines will never end.

The Core Problem

When politicians control how district lines are drawn, they can effectively choose their voters instead of voters choosing them. Even when well-intentioned, independent redistricting commissions can be pressured or captured by partisan interests. The incentives to interfere are enormous—control of Congress can hinge on just a few boundary changes. That’s why every redistricting cycle, across the country, devolves into another round of “gerrymandering wars.”

The Systemic Solution: Proportional Ranked Choice Voting

Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (PRCV) changes the incentives entirely. Instead of fighting over maps, it makes district lines irrelevant by ensuring representation reflects how people actually vote.

How it works:

Voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Multiple representatives are elected in each larger district.
Seats are allocated in proportion to the votes cast. If 60% of voters lean one way and 40% another, each side elects roughly that share of representatives.

What this means:

Gerrymandering becomes ineffective — no one can draw away someone's fair share.
Every voter helps elect a representative they support.
Representation mirrors the diversity of California's communities and views.

At the national level, the Fair Representation Act would apply this model to congressional elections, eliminating gerrymandering from federal elections once and for all. Because it would apply across all 50 states, there would be no more tit-for-tat redrawing to advantage one party or the other.

What Real Fairness Looks Like

Under PRCV, fairness isn't about which party draws the maps—it's about making every voice count.

Conservative voters in deep-blue coastal areas would help elect candidates who share their values
Progressive and independent voters in rural counties would have a voice in regions now represented only by Republicans
Communities of color could reliably elect candidates of choice without needing special district carve-outs
Lawmakers would represent broader coalitions of voters—not just their party's safest districts

In short: PRCV protects representation for everyone, permanently.

How PRCV Ends Gerrymandering's Grip

PRCV eliminates gerrymandering incentives by shrinking the number of district lines to draw and making remaining boundaries irrelevant. Seats are awarded proportionally within each district, so the gerrymandering tactics of packing or cracking fail to skew results. In multi-member setups, every district becomes competitive, as parties and independents earn fair shares regardless of map shapes.

A Proven System, Ready for California

Proportional Ranked Choice Voting isn't theoretical—it's been successfully used for over 100 years in countries like Ireland, Australia, and Malta. In the United States, Portland, Oregon adopted PRCV in 2022 with 58% voter support. Cambridge, Massachusetts has used it successfully for decades.

Research demonstrates PRCV's benefits:

Over 90% of voters help elect one of their top three choices
Women and people of color gain better representation
Voter turnout increases by 5-7 percentage points
Districts become more competitive and elections more meaningful
Communities of color secure fair representation without relying solely on majority-minority districts

Leading political scientists support this reform, with over 200 scholars signing an open letter calling winner-take-all single-member districts "fundamentally broken" and advocating for proportional representation in multi-member districts. The Fair Representation Act, introduced in Congress, would implement this system for the U.S. House of Representatives.

California has already led the nation in adopting Ranked Choice Voting for local elections, with cities around the state using single-winner RCV or PRCV. The next step—expanding to proportional systems for state and federal offices—would give California the most representative, gerrymandering-proof elections in the nation.

The California RCV Institute is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization. We did not take a position for or against Proposition 50. Our mission is to educate the public about voting systems that promote fair representation and stronger democracy.

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