U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine is aiming to reduce political polarization by convening a group of bipartisan lawmakers to examine current electoral methods and recommend changes.
This week, …
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U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine is aiming to reduce political polarization by convening a group of bipartisan lawmakers to examine current electoral methods and recommend changes.
This week, Golden, a Democrat, introduced a resolution with another Democratic representative, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, to convene this 14-member select committee to assess the effectiveness of the U.S. electoral system and report possible reforms back to Congress and the president.
“Our goal with this bill is to kick-start a conversation about what can be done to improve our electoral process,” Golden wrote in a statement to Maine Morning Star. “Conversations like this and questions like the ones we’re posing are most likely to gain traction after an election — as you can see by all the very public soul-searching and introspection that’s played out in the media every day since November 6. I’m heartened by the interest this bill has received both in D.C. and back home, and hopeful that some good will come out of it.”
It quickly became clear to Gluesenkamp Perez upon arriving in Congress that structural reforms were needed to incentivize nonpartisan collaboration “to deliver for our communities priorities, not just a political agenda,” she wrote to the Maine Morning Star. “These structural problems won’t be solved with inside-the-box thinking or by defending the status quo.”
Among the possible reforms listed in the resolution are expanding the size of the U.S. House, forming independent redistricting commissions and replacing the winner-take-all electoral system with one that includes multi-member districts with proportional representation.
“Fixing our laws to make government more representative doesn’t just sound great on paper: states like Maine have already proven it works,” Golden wrote in a statement when announcing the legislation. Golden’s spokesperson Mario Moretto said Maine’s semi-open primaries, which began this past spring, are one example Golden believes to be a successful reform.
Maine is also one of two states that does not use the winner-take-all electoral system. Instead, Maine splits its electoral votes, with two awarded to the candidate who wins the overall popular vote and then each congressional district awards one to the candidate who secured the most votes in that district.
While Democratic nominee Kamala Harris won Maine’s statewide vote on Nov. 5, its northernmost region, the 2nd Congressional District, went for President-Elect Donald Trump. That same district also voted to reelect Golden, results that were also born out in 2016 and 2020 when Trump ran for president.
While both Democrats, Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez are considered moderates who have consistently proved victorious in Trump country.
The 3rd Congressional District in southwest Washington, which Gluesenkamp Perez represents, also went for Trump this year, as it did the last two times he ran. When first elected in 2022, the Democratic congresswoman flipped a congressional seat that was held by Republicans for more than a decade.
In the lead up to Nov. 5, both representatives declined to tell their constituents who they were voting for for president. Golden said his refusal to endorse was because he was running to represent all people in his district, regardless of who they pick for president.
Meanwhile, the Republicans who unsuccessfully challenged Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez in their reelection bids had been endorsed by Trump.
The realpolitik of Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez’s candidacies offer a contrast to the growing hyper-partisanship across the nation. When asked about any lessons their candidacies provide for bucking partisanship and polarization, Moretto said Golden believes place-based politics are an antidote to both.
“Maine’s 2nd Congressional District is a special place not because it is superior to other places, but because it’s different,” Golden wrote in a blog post in July. “Our communities have more in common with each other than with places in other parts of the country, but even within our vast district, towns and cities have unique identities that are worth honoring. For a member of Congress, place-based politics is about fighting for, and protecting, the things that make your district special.”
However, Golden added that he is not saying political parties don’t matter. “I’m a Democrat because I believe in the power and necessity of unions, in civil rights and in equality,” he wrote. “Place-based politics is about keeping an eye on what makes our places special, the way of life created and sustained within them, and fighting to honor them regardless of whatever partisan loyalties or affiliation you may bear.”
Gluesenkamp Perez wrote to Maine Morning Star that in communities like hers, “we don’t etch an R or a D on our gravestone.” Rather, she wrote, “90% of us agree on 90% of the issues, especially local priorities that affect us most on a daily basis. Stronger, more direct representation has the power to bridge political divides and ensure more lawmakers remain accountable to their communities.”
The representatives also said they proposed a bipartisan committee, as opposed to legislation, to bring both parties together to identify solutions. “As Rep. Golden has said before, no one party has a monopoly on good ideas,” Moretto said.
Gluesenkamp Perez similarly explained, “Rather than D.C. dictating that it already knows the answers — a select committee will more effectively hear from voices reflective of America, weigh the benefits of different approaches, and establish a bipartisan way forward, which is the only way forward.”
More than 170 political scientists agree that forming a bipartisan committee is the right path forward. They wrote a letter of support for the resolution to members of the House, calling the U.S. electoral system outdated and one that promotes an “us” versus “them” approach to politics.
“Changing how we elect our representatives can promote cooperation, temper polarization, and generate more consensus-building in policymaking,” the political scientists wrote.
Citing America’s long history of electoral system reform — such as the U.S. House regularly expanding its size earlier in its history and Progressive Era changes that remain, such as primary elections — they added, “Through thoughtful, bipartisan study, this resolution would embrace America’s tradition of reform.”
This article was first published by the Maine Morning Star, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.