From my limited studies of comparative government I have come to the conclusion that a winner-takes-all type of pluralistic electoral process is superior to proportional representation for several key reasons. Proportional representation relies on census-based elections rather than consensus. In other words, ask the masses which party they think will do the best job on a ticket where there may be several political parties running and the intern will select their leader from a list based on an individual's loyalty to the party. The pros of proportional representation include an increase in voter turnout based on the premise that every vote counts for a particular party, so you may not get all the representation as in plurality, but you may get some representation, so it gives more choices to the voter. Proportional representation would increase the number of women in office because they make up 50% of the population, and this form of election would decrease the amount of negative campaigning because the competition will shift from all or nothing to all or something (http://www. bianca.com/bcom/eb/article/6/0,5716,63126+1+61565,00.html). An example of this would be that if a politician got 51% of the vote, they would get 100% of the representation. There is no reason for a political party with less than 45% of the vote to make an effort as a party. Why spend money? Plurality on the other hand is a vote of consensus rather than census, in other words, the party with the most votes will be elected. It is easy for voters to understand, allows for quick decisions and is less expensive to operate. The only significant disadvantages include low voter turnout, and the party that has the fewest voters is usually removed, so winner takes all. The disadvantage is that there may not be significant representation among the masses, but at least there is a constraint in the number of parties (http://www.ask.com/main/metaanswer.asp?metaEngine=directhit&origin.html). plurality is ideal for us Americans who are accustomed to a simple yuppie lifestyle with the most complicated decision in our daily existence is what we will eat for dinner.