Voting Representation: Do We Have Enough Representation? Use these links to navigate the main sections of the Voting: Representation section. Links for navigating the entire voting section, as well as the rest of the Law, Diversity and the Vote site are at the bottom of the page. Introduction | How We Choose Our Candidates | Voting Systems | The Electoral College Do We Have Enough Representation? YOU Vote! Population Demographics vs. Demographics of Congress While over half of the country’s citizens are female, only 10 percent of congressional representatives are women. Only one U.S. Senator is an African American and just one is Latino, although these ethnic groups make up 12 percent and 9 percent of the population respectively. Other groups may also be underrepresented as well by the winner-takes-all system, according to the Center for Voting and Democracy. Republicans who live in Democratic districts, Democrats who live in Republican districts, and nearly all third-party supporters can end up without representatives of their choosing. Proportional Representation Takes Center Stage Voting rights cases in North Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas have propelled the issue of proportional representation onto center stage of national politics. In 1993, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Shaw v. Reno questioned the use of racially gerrymandered districts as a remedy for electing racial minority representatives, opening the floodgate for a series of law suits. The Court threw out a majority African-American district in North Carolina which was 160 miles long and no wider than the interstate at some points. Click here for more about Shaw v. Reno >>Youth Citizenship >>Voter Registration >>Representation >>Campaign Reform Conversation | *Voting* | Activities | Resources Online Conversations | Law, Diversity, and the Vote