Intimidation, ostracism certainly was around
To the editor:
Great piece by Kendra Hamilton on white victims of racial discrimination. That fear of intimidation and ostracism was certainly there.
— Chip Brown, Conway, S.C.
Proportional representation may be better for South Carolina
To the editor:
I enjoyed reading your reapportionment article this morning. What is remarkable is how a very large problem has such a very simple solution. As much as where the lines are drawn is an issue, the fact that districts are single-member is just as problematic. The solution is larger districts that yield several members.
Many western European countries use what is called open-list voting. The process is described here: Proportional Representation Systems
Now instead of 124 surgically-drawn House districts, imagine 12 super districts which elect 10 house members each under an open list election method. This way any politically-aligned group in a district that makes up at least 10 percent of the electorate would be assured a representative. This would encourage third parties and independents to run and take some of the governing authority away from the two large platforms currently in power.
This election method would also increase voter turnout as many eligible voters will currently stay home for elections that have already been drawn for the winners. Additionally, and maybe more importantly, this method would increase candidate turnout to challenge the status quo as the number of votes necessary to be competitive (by percentage) is lowered.
Another problem this method would solve is the cost of primaries and primary run-offs. Under this method, there would be no primaries. All candidates of a party would be put on the list and voters would have their chance to state their preference on election day. The money this state loses holding primary elections and election run-offs could be put to better use.
While any election method has its shortcomings, open-list, multi-member super districts solves more problems than it creates.
— Name withheld upon request, Columbia, S.C.
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