Political scientist.
- Substack: https://leedrutman.substack.com
- Podcast: http://politicsinquestion.com
- Senior Fellow: New America
- Co-Founder: https://www.fixourhouse.org
- Washington Post Next 50 (2026): https://tinyurl.com/4m95978c
Lee Drutman
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This piece goes nicely with yesterday’s on the NYC charter commission and recent first-round election in Los Angeles. I add to the conversation by asking whether council/chamber expansion should be on the table. www.voteguy.com/2026/06/10/d...
"Fragmentation, in short, is not the threat to American governance. Its absence is."
electionlawblog.org?p=156552
“fragmented party systems do not paralyze policymaking; they generate the bargaining space in which policymaking happens. A two-party system offers exactly one available bargain: the other side. When that bargain is refused, nothing moves. A multiparty system always offers another partner.”
Gerrymandering traps voters in a never-ending doom loop. One way out? Multi-member districts, proportional representation—and yes, fusion voting. @ezraklein.bsky.social @leedrutman.bsky.social @nytopinion.nytimes.com @newamerica.org @politicalreform.newamerica.org www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...
The following is a guest post from Michael Latner: Richard Pildes’ thoughtful essay on yesterday’s Election Law Blog distinguishes two lines of debate over the virtues of proportional representation t...
What gives us hope? Movements that expand democracy instead of shrinking it. We support fusion voting, which gives voters more choices, encourages coalition-building, and creates a politics that’s less polarized and more representative. @msifry.bsky.social theconnector.substack.com/p/what-gives...
The political scientist Lee Drutman argues that we should switch to a system of proportional representation and put an end to our “trench warfare politics.”
I look forward to a future America when we have proportional representation and wonder what was so special about single-member districts that we kept them around even as they failed at their only purpose: enabling voters to choice their representatives. leedrutman.substack.com/p/a-brief-23...
I regret to inform you all that "open the primaries to independents" is an inadequate solution to restoring sanity to Washington.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/open-the-p...
I regret to inform you all that "open the primaries to independents" is an inadequate solution to restoring sanity to Washington.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/open-the-p...
campaign finance reform has to accompany electoral system reform. And the reform has to encourage healthy parties, not keep gutting them.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/campaign-f...
Mark is correct. There are no "fair maps" under single-member districts. leedrutman.substack.com/p/why-you-ca...
Seventeen organizers, politicians, academics and media makers from my "This Old Democracy" on how they are coping with our challenging times.
The following is a guest post from Michael Latner: Richard Pildes’ thoughtful essay on yesterday’s Election Law Blog distinguishes two lines of debate over the virtues of proportional representation t...
No. Single member-districts are bad & need to go. It’s fine & probably correct to argue that the immediate solution that is more sellable politically right now is “fair maps,” but that’s a different claim & it’s not a better goal if we actually want to be a fully representative democracy.
More than 200 political scientists, legal scholars, and historians released an open letter calling on Congress to reject the United States’ winner-take-all elections.
protectdemocracy.org
The level of ambition is correct. I would start with DC statehood.
But see this new paper for why fair maps are a better goal than proportional representation—and how Congress can actually legislate fair maps, if there is a D trifecta in 2029, using partisan constitutional hardball:
<p>What would it take to end the present downward spiral of partisan gerrymandering in the United States? This essay, a revised and expanded version of a
1st 60 days of 2029:
- confirm 4-6 new SCOTUS judges
- DC statehood. DC Gov. appoints 101st & 102nd Senators
- independent prosecutor for 45/47 crimes
- 600-900 member House with multiparty proportional representation teed up for '30 midterms
>>>bigger reforms over 29-30 to follow<<<
Perhaps a candidate running as underdog this Nov. should say something like: Hey, I'm running as a D/R because we have a two-party system, but if you vote for me, I'll work every day to break this two-party system that you all dislike so much. Who knows: maybe it will break through?
Lee Drutman
Dennis Lytton
This is the end state of presidentialism—tyranny
Dems in '28 must run on neutering the presidency & making the House bigger & multiparty via proportional representation, I've argued recently in @liberalcurrents.com
www.liberalcurrents.com/proportional...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-american...
Why we need a smaller presidency and a more powerful Congress.
