Representatives to the US House are elected through a system of first past the post in a district. Some say that this leaves many people disenfranchized since they have no representation in Congress if their candidate loses with as much as 49.9% of the vote. Furthermore, congressional redistricting and jerrimandering can create "safe" seats with as little as 55% of the vote.
If a state's congressional delegation was elected not by district but statewide, or even nationally, the representation of the electorate would be proportional. In a state with 10 representatives 57% of the vote would yield five or six seats while the balance would go to the other party or parties. Proportional representation would allow more parties to field candidates which may lead to more nuanced choices of policy positions.
In much of Europe the party ranks the candidates in lists. This assures that votes for candidates that do not make it are not lost and are added to other party candidates instead. In the US such "at large" candidates run as individuals and thus weaken the party pool.
What do you think?
Final comment: thanks for your votes and for the well considered comments. There was a fairly even preference between status quo and prop rep. Perhaps some of the status quo folks also prefered STV or variations thereof.