A growing number of cities are looking at preference voting (a form of proportional representation) as a way to resolve a crisis of representation among their highly fragmented citizenry. San Francisco's Proposition H, if passed, could mark the death knell of winner-take-all elections in urban America. PNS commentator Rob Richie is executive director of The Center for Voting and Democracy in Washington, D.C. Steven Hill is the Center's West Coast director based in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's most significant initiative this year may also be one of its least known -- a charter amendment in San Francisco that could change the method of voting in cities across the country.

At stake is a shift away from classic winner-take-all elections to a system of preference voting which gives like-minded voters in the minority a real chance to win representation. The term used to describe the new system -- proportional representation -- is often misunderstood by Americans. Yet ever since her support of proportional representation cost Lani Guinier her nomination as civil rights head in the Justice Department, it has been winning converts throughout the United States.

Today in addition to the San Francisco initiative there are two bills in Congress on proportional representation -- one sponsored by Rep. Pat Williams (D-Mont.) and another by Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) -- and many small communities have adopted proportional systems for local elections.

Cities in particular are looking into proportional representation as a way to resolve the crisis over how to enfranchise increasingly fragmented minority groups within their multi-minority populations. Chicago has spent over $6 million to defend its one-seat wards against competing voting rights suits from Latinos and African Americans. Detroit voters recently rejected a move to wards, yet many remain frustrated with the at-large, winner take all system. Los Angeles, New York and Oakland confront an increasing level of diversity that already has sparked bitter, inter-minority battles over ward lines. In many cities the flight of middle class residents is in no small part due to city governments being one-party bastions that silence minority voices.

San Francisco's Proposition H would replace the current winner-take-all, at-large voting system with preference voting. If Proposition H passes, candidates would still run citywide, promoting discussion of city wide policy and coalition building in elections, but they could win with a relatively low percentage of votes: 51 percent of votes would win 51 percent of seats, instead of ALL seats currently allowed. In San Francisco, this would mean that the majority would win six out of 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors, but that 20 percent of voters could elect their fair share of two seats and so on -- thereby guaranteeing representation to self-defined groups of like-minded voters in proportion to their voting strength. Under San Francisco's current system, candidates rarely win with less than 40 percent of the citywide vote.

Under voter preference, voters rank their favorite candidates in order of preference: a "1" for first choice, a "2" for second choice, and so on. If your first choice doesn't win, the vote moves to the second choice; if that doesn't win, your vote goes to your next choice until you elect someone. Preference voting ensures that as many voters as possible will elect someone; most will elect one of their top three choices.

San Francisco has flip-flopped between the current at-large system and ward elections (called "districts" in the city) since the 1970s. A citizens task force appointed in 1994 was widely expected to endorse wards, but the group discovered that given the city's extraordinary diversity -- including over 35 strongly-defined neighborhoods, four major racial groups, a plethora of ethnic sub-groups, gays and lesbians, conservatives, progressives, liberals, moderates and everything in between -- it was almost impossible to draw "fair" district lines.

After a year -long community education process, the Board of Supervisors voted to put two choices before the voters: ward elections (Proposition G) and preference voting (Proposition H). The Board endorsed Proposition H by ten to one as has a wide and bipartisan coalition of major urban groups.

A win is far from assured, but the near sweep of key endorsements has supporters cautiously optimistic. If preference voting is successfully implemented in a city with more voters than seven states, San Francisco could become the model for urban reformers grappling with how to give diverse communities access to the making of public policy.