Gerrymandering

Kevin's pondering redistricting reform. The best way to fix the system, I think, is to eliminate the concept of a congressional district. Each state should operate as a single district with n members elected via Hare proportional representation. The downside is that it would be a bit difficult to explain the voting system to people the first time 'round. The upside is that you could forever eliminate gerrymandering and redistricting-related litigation. Moreover, it would inject a healthy dose of intraparty competition into American politics. Any takers?

UPDATE: The point that (for financial reasons if nothing else) this wouldn't work in very large states is well-taken. Still, you could divide a big state like California or New York into just a few Hare districts that, in virtue of their size and the nature of the Hare system, would be hard to gerrymander effectively. The claim that this would cut down on African-American representation is just wrong. You're thinking of systems where you have multiple "at large" seats in a single municipality-wide district, a tactic often used to disenfranchise racial minorities (like, e.g., white people here in the District of Columbia). A Hare system works differently and, in fact, would allow for African-Americans to secure reasonable representation without recourse to absurdly shaped districts.