Redrawing districts - cartoon from San Diego Union Tribune

[question everything]

This relates to California, but I think that is true in many other regions of the country.

[Selatius]

1. This is why I support some form of proportional representation instead

Gerrymandering has a terrible history in the US, especially when it comes to minority rights in this country.

[ProgressiveConn]

2. Problem is is a shift to a PR based system possible?

and even then it does have negative consequences. You wont have your own rep anymore which I think is quite valuable...

I'd like to see an equation based district breakdown nationwide to prevent gerrymandering. Though I wouldn't mind amending the constitution to create a tricameral legislature allowing for a Proportional Assembly. As long as we get Aussie Style ballots and we make election day a federal holiday if not THE federal holiday. =)

[Selatius]

3. There are hybrid systems such as the AMS system that do exist

Here is how it basically works works:

The voter makes two votes: one for a constituency representative and one for a party. In a lesser-used variant, which is used by some of the several States of Germany, both votes are combined into one, so that voting for a representative automatically means also voting for his party.

In each constituency, the representative is chosen using first-past-the-post (that is, the candidate with the most votes, by plurality, wins).

On the district or national level (i.e. above the constituency level), the total number of seats in the assembly are allocated to parties proportionally to the number of votes the party received in the party portion of the ballot. Subtracted from each party's allocation is the number of constituency seats that party won. The number of seats remaining allocated to that party are filled using the party's list. If a candidate is on the party list, but wins a constituency seat, they do not receive two seats; they are instead crossed off the party list and replaced with the next candidate down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Additional_Member_System

[dcfirefighter]

5. I know it as Mixed-Member Proportional

And it's my recommendation.

[bemildred]

4. Yeah, get rid of the districts.

The notion that state leaders should be involved in local
politics is wrong anyway. State leaders should lead the state
and be beholden to the state. The present system allows
divide-and-rule politics to flourish.

[question everything]

6. Similarly, members of Congress should be concerned about the country

as a whole. Can you imagine removing all the "porks" where members of Congress are more concerned about bringing government projects to their districts then about looking whether such projects are even necessary?

[dcfirefighter]

7. The iron is hot, why not make this a plank

Why not put the 'democracy' in the Democratic Party:

PR for primaries? I don't know election law.
PR for in-party votes?
Grass-roots to put the power to the people, and have PR state elections?

How about doubling the size of the HR? Would that stymie, or at least make it more difficult for corps to buy and own congressfolk?