Black Representation, Winner-Take-All and the Flawed Two-Party System

We started this series by introducing some of the issues with Black representation (both substantive and descriptive) in the current winner-take-all system. In this installment, we look at a roadblock to achieving more representation in a single seat winner-take-all system: the two-party system.

The current single seat winner-take-all system (which we will refer to as winner-take-all) has helped to entrench a two-party system that has not met the needs of Black voters. In a winner take all system, multiple candidates run for a single legislative seat within a geographically-defined district. The candidate who secures the most votes (also known as a plurality) wins the seat and sends a single representative to the legislature. With a plurality vote, you could win with less than the majority of the votes, if you win more votes than any of the other candidates. Only those voters who have supported the winning candidate get to be represented by the candidate of their choice in the legislature, resulting in large numbers of voters not having their interests represented by their legislator in the legislature. Since in winner-take-all no seats in the legislature are rewarded to those who come in second or third place, regardless of how many votes they receive, voters are discouraged from supporting minor parties or independent candidates, even if they align with their views, because they fear “wasting” their vote on a candidate who is unlikely to win. Over time, this dynamic reinforces the dominance of the two major parties which are seen as the only viable options. The two-party system, created by winner-take-all, exacerbates issues of under-representation for minority voters by limiting the options for, and the success of, minor parties that may prioritize their interests over majority groups.

Under the current system, Black voters have been represented by the Democratic Party. Critics of the two-party system suggest that Democratic Party has taken Black voters for granted and not worked to meet its interests, a phenomenon known as “capture.” Black voters consistently favor Democratic candidates, with 83% identifying with or leaning towards the party. They are thus considered a “low value target” during campaign seasons, while white “swing” voters have become the object of focus.

There is evidence that if given the choice of more parties, the Black electorate might make different electoral decisions. A Gallup poll found an 11 point decrease in Democratic affiliation among Black Americans since 2020, which is reflected in the 2024 election results. A 2024 survey from the National Black Voter Project showed majorities of Black voters under 45 think the US needs a viable third party to compete with Democrats and Republicans. Indeed, only 22% of Black Americans feel that the Democratic Party represents their interests “very well.” Seventy-one percent of Black voters identify as moderate to conservative, while only 28% of Black voters self-identify as liberal. This data suggests that while Black Americans remain connected in community, they possess varied policy preferences informed by their intersectional identities–that is: Black Americans are not an ideological monolith.

Additional support for a larger multiparty system can be found through research conducted by the Pew Research Center. In 2021, the Pew Research Center found that if the American electorate were to be divided on ideological preferences, there would be nine political identifications, which would certainly lead to more political parties. Pew’s research found that the left in the country could be divided into four groups ranging from a hyper-progressive party which champions sweeping systemic changes to address economic and social inequality to a more moderate, but still left leaning party. The right would see similar internal divisions and there was a third group of “sideline” individuals who did not easily identify with either side of the spectrum. This is not new research. Political typologies of the U.S. population dating back to 1987 reveal that American voters consistently fall into eight to eleven political groups based on ideological and policy preferences. Sixty-three percent of the American electorate believes there is a need for an option apart from the two major parties. This number has steadily been growing over the last 20 years.

Black voters, like all Americans, deserve to have their interests consistently and accurately represented by their party of choice. Proportional representation is one way to ensure this happens. In proportional electoral systems, the electoral threshold (the numbers of votes necessary to win an election) is lowered such that minor or new parties can elect candidates with a smaller vote share. While in a winner-take-all system an electoral threshold might be as high as over 50% of the votes, in a proportional system, in which multi-member districts elect multiple candidates, the electoral threshold can be much lower. For example, imagine for instance there is a 5-member district that includes a party which champions working class issues evenly distributed throughout the large district. If 20% of the electorate favors this party, it could win one of those seats. In a winner-take-all single member district, the party would be unlikely to win any seats in the legislature. Lowering the electoral threshold is one way in which proportional representation might usher in an era of multiple parties in the United States. As Douglas Amy writes,

“Instead of having only one viable party option in a district–the dominant party–voters could choose among four or five parties that would have the ability to elect candidates to office. And with a wider variety of choices, voters would be more likely to find a party with which they could truly identify. Instead of having to choose between the lesser-of-two-evils of the majority-party candidates, they could choose any candidate and party that they felt accurately reflected their political philosophies and preferences.”

Multiparty systems allow for a wider range of political perspectives to be represented. Research suggests that in systems with proportional representation, racial and ethnic voters often find themselves represented across multiple parties, as the increased competition among parties results in platforms that better reflect the diversity of opinions within these groups. Smaller parties can represent minority groups or particular interests that might be overlooked in a two-party system, leading to more inclusive governance and giving voice to diverse segments of society including members of the Black electorate who do not easily map onto the existing two-party structure. Thus, rather than creating a political landscape where Black voters are siphoned off into one separate party (as has been done with minimal efficacy at various points in United States history), proportional representation could foster a more dynamic system that incentivizes all parties to directly engage with and address the issues that matter most to all, including Black voters, leading to a more competitive and responsive political environment. With more options, Black voters can shift their support between parties with more parties competing for their votes and not be stuck in the current system of capture with only one party representing Black interests.