Across the United States, women remain underrepresented in every level of government. Winner-take-all elections reward incumbency, polarize communities, and lock out new voices — especially women, people of color, and independents. These rules don’t just shape outcomes; they shape who feels welcome to run in the first place.
Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (PRCV) offers a proven alternative. By combining the fairness of proportional outcomes with the accessibility of ranked choice ballots, PRCV ensures that nearly every voter helps elect someone they support. The result is leadership that better reflects our communities — and new opportunities for women to run, win, and lead.
PRCV isn’t just an idea. It has a long history in the United States, helped elect the first women to city councils in major cities, and continues to deliver diverse representation in Cambridge, MA today. And with Portland, Oregon, implementing the largest PRCV elections in modern history, the momentum is growing.
At RepresentWomen, we champion PRCV because it is the gold standard reform for building a gender-balanced democracy in our lifetimes.
Read our 2025 Parity in Portland, Oregon, Report
What is PRCV?
There are many proportional systems worldwide. In the United States, the best fit is Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (PRCV) — also known as the single transferable vote in multi-winner elections.
- Voters rank candidates in order of choice.
- Several candidates win seats in proportion to the votes cast.
- Surplus votes transfer to next choices so ballots aren’t wasted.
- Counting continues (transferring surpluses and eliminating the last-place candidate each round) until all seats are filled.
In multi-winner races, the victory threshold depends on the number of seats. More seats → lower threshold → more room for women and underrepresented candidates to win.
PRCV builds on the principles of proportional representation and shares roots with single-winner ranked choice voting. Together, these reforms offer a toolkit for making elections fairer and inclusive. Learn more about Proportional Representation and Ranked Choice Voting.
Why PRCV Matters for Women’s Representation
Winner-take-all rules magnify incumbency advantages and “viability” gatekeeping that hold women back. PRCV flips that script.
PRCV removes structural barriers:
- No more vote-splitting: Multiple women can run without hurting one another.
- Lower campaign costs: No costly runoffs; more focus on meeting voters.
- Weaker incumbency lock-in: More seats in play = real openings for newcomers.
- Coalitions over conflict: Collaborative campaigning is rewarded.
- Space for diverse leadership: Easier for women of color, independents, and community leaders outside traditional networks to win.
This was shown firsthand in Portland, Oregon, after the city switched to a PRCV system.
Where states use multi-winner districts, women hold a larger share of seats than in single-winner systems.
“Change the rules, change who wins.” — RepresentWomen
Fair Representation for All Communities
PRCV doesn’t just open doors for women — it ensures that more communities across the political, racial, and ideological spectrum have a fair shot at representation.
- In winner-take-all systems, many voters are “shut out” if their preferred candidate falls short.
- Under PRCV, multiple winners mean that urban Republicans, rural Democrats, independents, and communities of color can all elect candidates of choice within the same district.
- The result is coalitions that resemble America itself — women, people of color, and leaders from across the spectrum working together in the same governing body.
Voter Experience: Simple and Fair
One of the strengths of proportional ranked choice voting is that it’s straightforward for voters. Ballots are simple to complete, and every ranking helps shape the outcome. Unlike winner-take-all systems, PRCV ensures that more votes truly matter, giving people confidence that their voices are heard and their communities represented.
Here’s how it works for you as a voter:
- Your ballot: Rank candidates 1, 2, 3… as many or as few as you like.
- Your impact: If your top choice has more votes than needed, or too few to win, your vote automatically transfers to your next choice.
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Your outcome: More voices get representation, fewer votes are wasted, and the results reflect the full diversity of the community.
PRCV delivers fairer outcomes without making voting harder. Voters express their preferences — the system takes care of the rest.
Watch the following video from FairVote to learn more about how PRCV works in practice:
PRCV Opened the Door for Women Leaders
Proportional ranked choice voting isn’t a foreign idea — it has deep American roots and a long history of advancing women’s representation.
Historic Breakthroughs
In the early 20th century, PRCV helped women break into politics for the very first time. Cities like Cleveland, New York, Hamilton, and Cambridge elected women to their city councils under PRCV — often alongside immigrants, independents, and communities of color who had been previously shut out by winner-take-all elections. For women in particular, PRCV lowered the barriers of “viability” and allowed them to run and win in coalition with others.
Check Out Our PRCV Timeline
As this history shows, proportional ranked choice voting (PRCV) has long opened doors for women in politics — and that story is still unfolding. Explore our new interactive Timeline of PRCV in the United States, which traces key milestones and reform efforts from the early 20th century to today. The timeline accompanies RepresentWomen’s latest research brief analyzing how PRCV impacts women’s representation and builds on our ongoing series examining how voting systems shape opportunities for women to run, win, serve, and lead.
Enduring Success
Cambridge, Massachusetts, adopted PRCV in 1941 and has used it continuously for more than 80 years. The system has consistently delivered diverse councils, with women and candidates of color winning seats at higher rates than under winner-take-all rules. Cambridge proves that PRCV is not just a short-lived experiment — it is a sustainable model that strengthens representation over generations.
Modern Momentum
In 2022, Portland, Oregon, voters approved PRCV for their city council, creating the largest PRCV elections in modern U.S. history.
In 2024, the city elected a council that reflected the full diversity of Portland — women, LGBTQ+ leaders, and candidates of color serving together across four multi-member districts. Portland demonstrates how PRCV works not only in smaller cities but also in today’s large, complex urban environments.
Want to dive deeper? Portland’s story is a case study in how changing the rules changes who wins. Read the report here.
The Reform That Delivers for Women — and Democracy
PRCV is more than an election reform. It’s the only proportional system designed for the U.S., tested in our cities, and proven to expand opportunities for women and underrepresented groups. By making every vote count and every community represented, PRCV builds a democracy where women can lead alongside men — not decades from now, but in our lifetimes.
