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By Popular Demand:
Revitalizing Representative Democracy through Deliberative Elections
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There are two problems in American politics. The first problem is
that the public doesn't believe that the government represents its
interests. The second problem is that they are right. When elected
officials fail to represent the public's interests, government policies
will not solve our most serious social problems. When the public loses
trust in its elected officials, it becomes difficult for the government
to govern, and citizens withdraw from the political process. By Popular
Demand carefully examines these two problems and suggests how
to
address them.
By Popular Demand
introduces a political reform that enables the
public to discern its underlying interests, record its voice, and link
this voice to collective voting choices. Government institutions could
bring together randomly-selected panels of citizens to deliberate on
candidates, ballot measures, and legislation. Each of the five proposed
citizen panel designs follows a similar process: over four-to-five
days, panelists meet with expert witnesses, deliberate among
themselves, and reach judgments about candidates and issues. Afterward,
election officials communicate the panel recommendations to voters
through Internet sites, bulk-mailed voter guides, and information
printed directly on ballots. If properly designed and implemented
experimentally, these citizen panels could reach deliberative
judgments, provide valuable information that voters would use, and, as
a result, improve the quality of representation and restore public
trust in government.
Watch an interview on By Popular Demand and public deliberation, conducted by Jim Rough's cable access show, Society's Breakthrough.
Follow-up notes on By Popular Demand:
- The Citizens' Initiative Review process established by Oregon's legislature in 2009 is an example of the kinds of reforms proposed in By Popular Demand.
- Political Communication and Deliberation extends the ideas in By Popular Demand by presenting a more comprehensive definition of deliberation.
- The Deliberative Democracy Handbook provides concrete examples of deliberative reforms referenced in By Popular Demand.
