Incumbents locked in.
With one seat per district, the person who holds it has every advantage. Most incumbents are men, so the seat rarely opens for a woman.
Proportional ranked choice voting (PRCV) uses a ranked ballot to elect several representatives at once, so nearly every voter helps elect someone they support. It's the gold-standard reform for building a gender-balanced democracy in our lifetimes.
City Council · Elect 3Rank up to 5
Women are underrepresented at every level of U.S. government. Single-winner, winner-take-all rules favor incumbents, polarize communities, and shut out newcomers, especially women, people of color, and independents.
With one seat per district, the person who holds it has every advantage. Most incumbents are men, so the seat rarely opens for a woman.
Party leaders, donors, and media decide early who is "electable." Women, especially women of color, are too often judged unviable before voters weigh in.
When only one candidate can win, women are asked to step aside so they don't split the vote, and fewer women run.
Change the rules, change who wins. PRCV replaces one-winner districts with multi-winner districts and a ranked ballot, removing the barriers that hold women back.
PRCV, also known as the single transferable vote, is ranked choice voting for races with more than one seat. Candidates win by reaching a set share of the vote, and votes move to voters' next choices so they aren't wasted.
Voters rank as many or as few candidates as they like. Any candidate whose first choices reach the threshold wins a seat. In a three-seat race with 100 voters, that's 26 votes, a number only three candidates can reach.
A winner's votes beyond the threshold aren't wasted. They move to those voters' next choices, so supporters of a popular candidate still help fill the other seats.
If seats are still open, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their ballots count for each voter's next choice.
The count repeats until every seat is filled. Most voters see a candidate they ranked win, and the council reflects the range of views in the community.
Two, three, or four women can run in the same race, and more than one can win.
Round 1: first choices3 seats · 100 votes
Ana Reyes passes the threshold and wins a seat.
In a single-winner race, a candidate needs a majority. In a multi-winner race, the share needed to win shrinks as seats are added. That opens room for women, newcomers, and community leaders with a strong base of support, without first winning over half the electorate.
Our research finds that districts with three to eight seats deliver the biggest gains for women.
Share of the vote needed to win
Several women can run in the same race without "splitting the vote." Nobody has to wait her turn.
One decisive election replaces costly primaries and runoffs, and candidates need a share of the vote, not the most money.
With several seats open in each district, challengers have a real path in, and seats turn over more often.
Candidates need second and third choices, so reaching out pays off more than attacking. Campaigns reward building bridges.
Women of color, independents, and community leaders can win with a dedicated base, without first being anointed as "viable."
Urban Republicans, rural Democrats, independents, and communities of color can each elect a candidate of choice in the same district.
Women hold a larger share of seats in multi-winner districts than in single-winner ones, and PRCV has delivered firsts wherever it's been used.
years of continuous PRCV elections in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where women and candidates of color continue to win.
Portland City Council seats won by women in 2024, the city's first gender-balanced council, in the largest PRCV election in modern U.S. history.
more seats in Congress women would likely win under PRCV. [Add research citation.]
“Change the rules, change who wins.”
School Board · Elect 3Rank as many as you like
“Voters express their preferences. The system takes care of the rest.”
Voters rank as many or as few candidates as they like, first, second, third. Ranking a second choice never hurts your first choice. If your top pick has more votes than needed, or too few to win, your vote moves to your next choice.
The ballot is the same ranked ballot used in single-winner ranked choice voting, so PRCV delivers fairer outcomes without making voting harder.
In the early 20th century, PRCV helped women win city council seats for the first time, often alongside immigrants, independents, and communities of color. No other proportional system has as long a track record in American cities.
Ashtabula, Ohio, becomes the first U.S. city to adopt PRCV.
Cleveland and Hamilton, Ohio, adopt PRCV and elect women to their city councils for the first time.
New York elects its City Council by PRCV, and voters send the first woman to the council.
Cambridge adopts PRCV for its City Council and School Committee. It still uses it today.
Most cities repeal PRCV, often after it elects candidates who challenge local party machines. Women's gains stall when winner-take-all returns.
Portland, Oregon, voters approve PRCV and an expanded, 12-member city council.
Portland elects a council with women, LGBTQ+ leaders, and candidates of color across four three-seat districts.
Cities and states from Vermont to Los Angeles consider PRCV, with RepresentWomen making the case for women's representation.
In 2022, Portland voters approved PRCV and a larger city council. In 2024, they elected three council members from each of four districts. The result reflected the city's diversity: women, LGBTQ+ leaders, and candidates of color, in the most representative council in Portland's history. Analyses found high voter engagement and more competitive races.
Women won 6 of the 12 seats, and four of those six are women of color. More than 80% of voters ranked a winning candidate.
Cambridge has elected its City Council and School Committee with PRCV for more than 80 years, the longest-running PRCV elections in the country. Women and candidates of color win seats in Cambridge at higher rates than under winner-take-all, proof that the system delivers diverse representation for generations, not just one election.
We bring the research on women's representation to legislatures, city councils, and reform campaigns considering PRCV.
We presented to a Vermont Senate committee on how PRCV in the Vermont Voting Rights Act would benefit women, and supported the coalition's strategy and messaging.
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Our team testified repeatedly and delivered memos to City Council offices on PRCV as part of council expansion.
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Our testimony, built on local election data, helped make the case for PRCV in Salem.
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We're supporting the campaign's local outreach and civic-education curriculum on election systems for middle and high school students.
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Yes. "Single transferable vote" (STV) is the name used in Ireland, Australia, and much of the research. In the U.S., it's often called proportional ranked choice voting or multi-winner ranked choice voting.
Both use the same ranked ballot. Single-winner ranked choice voting elects one candidate with majority support. PRCV elects several candidates in one district, each with a share of the vote, so the group of winners reflects the voters as a whole.
At least three. Two-seat districts rarely change who wins. Our research finds that districts with three to eight seats deliver the biggest gains for women.
No. Certified software tabulates the rankings, and the process is public and auditable. Like any count that includes mail ballots, final results can take a few days.
No. Cambridge and Portland use PRCV in nonpartisan elections. It works for city councils, school boards, county commissions, state legislatures, and Congress.
Yes. A 1967 federal law requires single-member districts for the U.S. House, and Congress can change that law. The Fair Representation Act would elect the House by PRCV in multi-member districts.
We are the bridge between two movements that need each other. We bring research on women's representation to reform campaigns and legislatures, and we bring reform to the women's organizations, leaders, and candidates who benefit most.
Our research, including the Gender Parity Index and the Parity in Portland report, shows how election rules shape who runs, who wins, and who leads.
We testify before legislatures and city councils and support campaigns for proportional ranked choice voting and other proportional systems.
We bring women's organizations and leaders into the reform movement through the Women's Power Collaborative and state partnerships.
Help us redesign democracy for women, with women.
Research, reports, and analysis from RepresentWomen and our partners.
How Portland's first PRCV election changed who serves
A century of proportional elections in American cities
What PRCV for the U.S. House could mean for women