Tell your House Member to cosponsor the Fair Representation Act!

Many U.S. voters are ready to reform our election systems in favor of genuinely representative structures and procedures. As Unitarian Universalists, we want to be at the forefront of calls to improve the health of our democracy and champion the inclusivity our faith calls us to advance. The Fair Representation Act(FRA) (H.R. 7740) of 2024 is a bold solution that addresses the problems of partisan gerrymandering and uncompetitive elections while encouraging politicians to represent everyone, not just their base. 

The Fair Representation Act proposes a significant change to the traditional electoral system used to elect members to the United States House of Representatives. It would use a combination of multimember districts and ranked-choice voting to emphasize proportionality without relying on race-conscious line drawing. It would establish an electoral system that provides all voters—particularly voters of color—with more fair representation. 

Many Americans and most UUs agree that today’s technology and social polarization have exacerbated the negative impact of gerrymandering and diminished Congress's ability to act on critical issues of national import. Further, single-winner districts no longer work well for our U.S. democracy. (Almost 90 percent of congressional districts are safe for the party holding them.) Too many voters feel dramatically underrepresented, with little hope of fixing this at the polls. The Fair Representation Act is an important step needed to roll back the damage done by rampant partisanship.

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. Common Cause that partisan gerrymandering was a political issue beyond the ability of federal courts to decide, the justices encouraged Congress to consider a national solution. An act of Congress is the singular means to deliver fairness to all Americans in all states, and we believe the Fair Representation Act will help address the issues:

• Multi-winner districts would allow every voter to elect someone from the major party they support. 
• Ranked-choice elections are proportional, so the current approach's precise but skewed, computer-driven outcomes will become less prevalent. 
• Every voter gets more real and fair representation in Congress.

Grounding:

Our faith tradition upholds every person's inherent worth and dignity and a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We value the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process. As a consequence of our principles and values, we believe that our democracy should include every eligible voter in the U.S. and that they should have easy access to free and fair elections.

Stop Voter Suppression and Partner for Voting Rights and a Multiracial Democracy, 2021 Action of Immediate Witness, proposed by UUSJ
Our Democracy Uncorrupted, 2019 Statement of Conscience

Fair Vote Materials:

• Overview of the Fair Representation Act
• Sample FRA maps for every state
• Video: proportional ranked-choice voting
• Video: Fair Representation Act with Research Director Deb Otis
• A blog about the issues of "Monopoly Politics"

Other Materials:

• Partisan Gerrymandering

• Modeling the Fair Representation Act

• Many voters say Congress is broken. Could proportional representation fix it?

• The Fair Representation Act, a step forward for American

• Is drawing a voting map that helps a political party illegal? Only in some states

• House Democrats Reintroduce Fair Representation Act

• Partisan Gerrymandering Claims Not Subject to Federal Court Review: Considerations Going Forward

• Supreme Court Rules Partisan Gerrymandering Is Beyond The Reach Of Federal Courts

• U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. Common Cause