All states and all congressional elections currently use winner-take-all rules that often elevate district lines over voters. Legislatures elected by winner-take-all may lead to distortions in partisan representation, the entrenchment of incumbents in safe seats, regional polarization, and low representation of women and racial and ethnic minorities. When combined with multi-winner districts electing at least three members, ranked-choice voting helps to make elections fairer and more reflective in every district. RCV ends the cycle of gerrymandering and creates competitive elections in which every vote counts.

Cambridge, MA, has, since 1941, elected its nine-member Council and six-member School Committee using Proportional Representation (PR). As Cambridge’s voter information brochure notes, “Under PR, any group that numbers more than one-tenth of the voters may elect at least one member of the City Council.” Its ethnically diverse and geographically mixed population makes this form of Ranked Choice Voting particularly attractive to the City of Cambridge.