Across the United States, there is growing interest in structural reform to make our electoral system more responsive and less polarizing. But like so many other issues, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. In each of the fifty states, unique local history, culture, geography, and preferences must be taken into account. In this report from the Rainey Center, Andy Craig takes a closer look at one state in particular: Wyoming.

Building on the state constitution, the state’s strong affinity for its twenty-three counties, and widespread complaints about the current redistricting process, the report proposes a return to multi-member districts in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Instead of arbitrarily splitting up towns and communities, multi-member districts would be able to follow county lines, as Wyoming previously did and the Wyoming Constitution still mandates.

This isn’t a new idea for the Equality State. Instead, it would represent a return to how the state structured its legislature for more than a century, until struck down in federal court after the 1990 Census. But with a few modifications, including the use of proportional representation, the traditional county-based system can be brought into compliance with federal law. In the process, as it once proudly did on women’s suffrage, our nation’s least populous state could show the way for the rest of the country.