Voters' Choice Act

Voters' Choice Act - Permits a State to establish multi-seat congressional districts only if the State uses a voting system that: (1) meets the constitutional standard of majority rule and of individuals having equal voting power; and (2) ensures the election of any candidate receiving at least one vote greater than one-third of the total votes cast in the district.

Expresses the sense of Congress regarding use of instant runoff voting systems in elections for President and Vice President.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1189 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1189

   To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system for 
       multiseat congressional districts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 22, 2001

 Ms. McKinney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House 
   Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide that a State may use a proportional voting system for 
       multiseat congressional districts, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Voters' Choice Act''.

SEC. 2. MULTISEAT DISTRICTS PERMITTED FOR ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES 
              FOR STATES WITH A PROPORTIONAL VOTING SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the Act entitled ``An Act for the 
relief of Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for 
congressional redistricting'', approved December 14, 1967 (Public Law 
90-196; 2 U.S.C. 2c), a State that is entitled to more than one 
Representative in Congress may establish a number of districts for 
election of Representatives that is less than the number of 
Representatives to which the State is entitled, if and only if, that 
State uses a system that meets the following conditions:
            (1) It meets the constitutional standard of majority rule 
        and of individuals having equal voting power.
            (2) It ensures the election of any candidate who receives a 
        share of votes cast that is at least one vote greater than one-
        third of the total votes cast in the multiseat district.
    (b) No Restriction on Selection.--A State is not restricted to 
selecting systems that require candidates to obtain at least one vote 
more than one-third of the electorate in order to be elected. As long 
as the conditions specified in subsection (a) are met, a State may use 
systems that allow a smaller group of voters to elect Representatives.
    (c) Equality Requirement.--In a State that uses multiseat 
districts, the number of residents per Representative in a district 
shall be equal for all Representatives elected.
    (d) One-Seat Districts Allowed.--A State may use one-seat districts 
alone or in combination with multiseat districts.

SEC. 3. RELATION TO VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.

    The rights and remedies established by this Act are in addition to 
all other rights and remedies provided by law, and the rights and 
remedies established by this Act shall not supersede, restrict, or 
limit the application of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 
et seq.). Nothing in this Act authorizes or requires conduct that is 
prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING USE OF INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING IN 
              PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.

    It is the sense of Congress that:
            (1) A State should award its electoral votes for President 
        and Vice President to the candidates who receive a majority of 
        the votes cast in the State for such offices.
            (2) An instant runoff voting system is an effective and 
        appropriate method for ensuring that one set of candidates will 
        receive a majority of the votes cast in the State. Under 
        instant runoff voting, voters rank their favorite and 
        subsequent choice candidates, and if a majority has not voted 
        for one candidate, the candidate with least number of votes is 
        eliminated and another round of counting occurs. In the next 
        round and each subsequent round, ballots are counted for the 
        highest remaining candidate ranked on each ballot, and rounds 
        continue until a candidate has received a majority of the votes 
        cast.
            (3) Each State should adopt an instant runoff voting system 
        for the election of electors for President and Vice President.
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