This is the only full-length study to examine how different electoral systems impact the election of women and minorities to public office in the United States. Rule and Zimmerman have brought together leading scholars to show how different systems affect local, state, and national elections. Important demographic changes, new opportunities, and formidable problems are underscored in analyses of the effects of, among many other things, cumulative voting, judicial election systems, multimember and single-member districts, and reapportionment.This study is unusual in combining an overall analysis of electoral systems and case material with proposals for making government more representative, inclusive, and responsive. Criteria are provided for evaluating the equity of electoral systems. The election of women and minorities to Congress is reviewed carefully, and options for increasing this direct representation of minorities and women are considered. Case studies describe legislative elections in several states. In-depth studies deal with local elections, cumulative and limited voting systems, alternative judicial electoral systems, and proportional representation. Academics and professionals who study political parties and electoral systems, minority politics, and women's studies will find this work to be especially intriguing and important.

Rule and Zimmerman have brought together leading scholars to show how different electoral systems impact women and minorities in local, state, and national elections.

PrefaceIntroductionFair Representation for Minorities and Women by Joseph F. ZimmermanSending Women and Minorities to CongressElecting Minorities and Women to Congress by Georgia A. PersonsPreconditions for Black and Hispanic Congressional Success by Bernard Hoffman and Lisa HandleyAnglo and Minority Women's Underrepresentation in Congress: Is the Electoral System the Culprit? by Wilma Rule and Pippa MorrisElecting State Legislators and JudgesMultimember Legislative Districts: Minority and Anglo Women's and Men's Recruitment Opportunity by Wilma RuleBarriers to Representing Women and Blacks in Pennsylvania: The Impacts of Demography, Culture, and Structure by Sandra A. FeathermanFlorida: The Big Election Shakeup of 1982 by Anita PritchardCreative Multimember Redistricting and Representation of Women and Minorities in the Maryland Legislature by M. Margaret ConwayThe Effect of the "Cutback" on Representation of Women and Minorities in the Illinois General Assembly by David H. EversonPatterns of Legislative Opportunity in Arizona: Sex, Race and Ethnicity by Michele A. Saint-GermainAlternative Judicial Election Systems: Solving the Minority Vote Dilution Problem by Richard B. EngstromElecting Local LeadersMinority and Gender Representation in American County Legislatures: The Effect of Election Systems by Victor DeSantis and Tari RennerThe Impact of At-Large Elections on the Representation of Minority Women by Susan Welch and Rebekah HerrickElecting Women to City Council: A Focus on Small Cities in Florida by Susan A. MacManus and Charles S. Bullock, IIICumulative Voting and Limited Voting in Alabama by Edward StillProportional Representation on New York City Community School Boards by Leon Weaver and Judith BaumOptions for Increasing Representation for MinoritiesEnhancing Representational Equity in Cities by Joseph F. ZimmermanElectoral Barriers to Women by R. DarcySelect BibliographyIndex