Government by the People

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Government by the People

Government by the PeopleGovernment by the PeopleGovernment by the People
  • Home
  • Representation for All
  • Ranked Choice Voting
  • Amendments
  • Action Plan
  • Representation for All MO
  • Our Founders Intentions
  • Duverger's Law
  • Contact

Breaking the Duopoly

Duverger's Law

French sociologist Maurice Duverger conducted extensive studies of political systems and found that systems with “winner-take-all” elections, combined with single-member districts for legislative bodies, nearly always have two dominant political parties and countries with various forms of proportional representation (such as ranked choice voting, with at-large elections or multiple member districts) nearly always had more than two political parties that win seats in legislatures.

Within a two-party system (a "duopoly") it is easier for special interests, especially those with a lot of money, to corrupt the electoral process and gain a controlling interest in the government.   


Both winner-take-all elections, with single member districts, and the two-party systems that result, violate the primary rule of representative democracy - representation for all voters in proportion to their numbers - leaving many voters unrepresented. This is why implementing ranked choice voting is the key to getting all of the other reforms needed implemented.

Maurice Duverger

"Duverger's Law Illustrated

This video does a good job of illustrating how "Winner-Take-All" elections and single-member districts nearly always lead to a "two-party" system.   If we want more than two-parties from which to choose, we must move to ranked choice voting with multiple member districts.      
This video also includes a brief explanation of "gerrymandering" and the "spoiler effect", which can also be eliminated by moving to ranked-choice voting.

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  • Home
  • Representation for All
  • Ranked Choice Voting
  • Amendments
  • Action Plan
  • Representation for All MO
  • Our Founders Intentions
  • Duverger's Law
  • Contact