Do Small Towns Hold The Cure For Healing Our Democracy?
This summer, I took part in the New England ritual of an over-the-fence conversation with my neighbor. She and I talked about the kids, how the gardens were doing, and then discussed our community’s approach for holding the COVID-19 delayed Town Meeting.
The plan was to conduct the meeting outdoors on the High School baseball field with seats placed six feet apart, everyone wearing a mask and plenty of hand sanitizer. Voters with fevers were asked not to attend. I mused, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do Town Meetings on Zoom.” She replied, “Ya, we need to catch up with the times.”
The waves of the COVID-19 storm have changed the shoreline of our world. When the pandemic tide recedes, many of those changes will remain as more people embrace the conveniences of online shopping, working from home, and voting by mail. Perhaps it is this environment of change that beckons a long-overdue upgrade to our systems of governance. In the words of democracy modernization activist, Pia Mancini:
“…we are 21st-century citizens doing our very best to interact with 19th-century institutions built with information technology of the 15th-century. I am convinced that it is up to us to design the political and economic systems for the internet generation.” - Pia Mancini
Mancini’s proposal isn’t just to automate the status quo with a new generation of voting machines but to reengineer the governing process with help from 21st-Century technologies like video conferencing, multi-factor authentication, blockchain ledgers, and concepts like Liquid Democracy[1] where citizens can cast their votes directly on proposed legislation.
The goal is to build upon the simplicity of the small New England town meeting, where citizens gather in the local Town Hall, listen to all sides of an argument, and cast their direct yea or nay on proposed articles. The endpoint is a place with no sides of the aisle, no gerrymandering, no one-issue voters, no election cycle, zero gridlock and a redefinition of what it means to be a politician. With success, we can hand the reins of government back to the people. As Winston Churchill once said:
“At the bottom of all tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into a little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper — no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point.” - Winston Churchill
It Won’t Be Easy
There will be resistance from politicians whose careers depend on being the middle-man between the citizen and the vote. Opposition will come from lobbyists and their clients who rely on the middle-man model as a conduit for their influence. And, justly so, there will be warnings of devolution into a tyranny of the majority and the seductions of demagogues — some would say we are already there.
Even the ancient Greeks, who invented the form of government they called demokrati, had their doubts. Socrates was worried about placing too much power into the hands of the ill-informed. His concerns became all too personal when a majority of his fellow Athenians condemned him to be his own executioner by hemlock cocktail. Franklin D. Roosevelt also recognized the danger of an uninformed electorate when he said,
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of Democracy, therefore, is education.” - F.D.R.
Citizens in a town meeting have the advantage of understanding both sides of an issue based on a moderated debate of the facts, not sound bites chosen by media outlets to boost their ratings. Therein lay the biggest challenge to any effort at large scale modernization of democracy — creating a place of deliberation based on truth and civility where politicians become persuaders, not campaigners.
It’s also important to not throw out the baby with the bathwater. State and National Constitutions are imperative to protect fundamental freedoms. Government agencies will still be needed to serve and protect. Checks and balances must always be the guardrails preventing the whole project from rolling into a ditch. The difference is the people are in the driver’s seat.
Some jurisdictions are taking driving lessons. Twenty-four U.S. states, a mix of red and blue, allow citizens to present proposals directly to voters[2]. In the 2016 election, citizen initiatives broke through gridlock with 150 measures on statewide ballots. The results of those votes included tighter gun control laws, increases in the minimum wage, and the legalization of marijuana[3].
Several states have modified their primary voting and, to a lesser degree, general elections to reduce polarization and better reflect the voters’ will. Washington, California, and Nebraska have adopted “Jungle Primaries,” where the top two candidates move on to the general election even if they are from the same party.
Maine, Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Wyoming employ Ranked Choice Voting, where a candidate wins only if they have a majority of the number one ranks. Otherwise, the bottom candidate’s votes are given to the voter’s second-choice until one candidate wins a majority — allowing everyone’s vote to count.
The ride has not always been smooth. California’s Proposition 13 and similar initiatives adopted by many states were a welcome relief to spiraling property taxes. On the downside, these measures have forced localities to make tough cuts to schools, police, fire, parks, and other services[4] — a situation exasperated by COVID-19 revenue shortfalls.
Citizen initiatives come under fire also from politicians as producing bad legislation leading to convoluted implementations with unforeseen consequences. Not surprisingly, these voices are working on measures that would leave the writing of legislation to the professionals[5] — a.k.a politicians. Citizen initiatives are equally victim to miss-information, with many initiatives written to conceal their real intent and, on the flip-side, massive spending on scare tactics by opposing special interest groups.
What can we learn from these forays into direct democracy? First, keep the proposal simple. If things get too complicated or nuanced, the average voter will lose interest or, worse, become a pawn to be played by well-heeled influencers.
Second, find a way to level the spending playing field to keep paid signatures from flooding initiative ballots and keep political advertising from overwhelming the voter’s ability to discern the truth.
Lastly, it all goes back to educated and not easily bullshitted voters. It may take a generation to create an electorate that keeps up more with politics than with the Kardashians. Perhaps it begins with initiatives like Generation Democracy, which seeks to revitalize civic education in our schools.
Making It Happen
Like any upgrade, compatibility with legacy systems will be an issue. It would be relatively easy to apply new concepts to town meetings where citizens already vote directly. It will be harder to retrofit large scale representative democracies. Any endeavor to transform democracy needs to consider these success factors:
Clear Objectives: Any implementation needs to move out of the theoretical space and define a realistic endpoint. Only then can a full assessment of the effort be made. Too many journeys end in disappointment when they begin without a clear destination.
Stakeholder Buy-in: The highest hurdle will be winning over a menagerie of groups affected by any change in hundred-year-old governing traditions. Voters will be suspicious. Those with much to lose will paint the effort as a slide into socialism. Only efforts built upon coalitions dedicated to the common good will succeed.
Trusted Oversight: Trust is paramount for any effort affecting change in democracy. Many may think nothing of handling their finances over the internet, but they hold their vote dearly. It must be clear to all that non-partisan controls are in place to ensure iron-clad, hack-proof voting.
Technology Competence: Of all success factors, technology and skills may be one of the bright spots. We already handle hundreds of billions in secure online purchases each year, and our ability to absorb Black Friday surge demonstrates we have the capacity. Still, It will be a challenge, but there are no insurmountable roadblocks in this lane.
Realistic Funding: Our track record on funding elections is poor. The last time the federal government gave money for elections was a one-time $3 billion appropriation for the Help America Vote Act of 2002[6]. Nationwide, elections run on a hodgepodge of state and local sources, but there is no official bookkeeping, and no one knows how much we spend on elections. Any cost/benefit analysis needs to address this failure of basic accounting principles.
Staged Pathway: The Big Bang approach to reengineering democracy will not work. Understanding and applying a realistic pathway with steps of defined scope that incorporate experiential learning will be essential. Perhaps the migration path starts with that small town meeting — beginning a grassroots effort that slowly expands to cities, states, and federal governments. A key enabler will be a broadband infrastructure that reaches all of our fellow citizens[7].
The saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” hardly applies to today’s electoral system. We all remember the ‘hanging chad’ 2000 Presidential election but of immediate concern is the train wreck of the 2020 election. This time around, we faced a perfect storm of a global pandemic, social unrest, and economic disaster that amplified existing challenges from miss-information and foreign interference.
We saw the warning signs with a failed primary election in Iowa, hours-long waits at polling stations in California and Georgia, shortages of volunteer election workers, and hundreds of lawsuits on both sides. Adding fuel to the fire were tweet storms from politicians seeking to sow doubt in the mind of voters to provide an escape route if the vote tally didn’t go their way.
As this is written, it remains to be seen if there will be a peaceful transition of power in the White House. The building is leaning. Now is the time to fix the foundation before it falls over.
What can you do?
As a parent, review your local school’s curriculum and make sure it includes Civics, so every student learns the rights and duties of citizenship. When your children say, “I’m just not into politics,” remind them that they live in a country whose government is “of the people, by the people, for the people.” They may choose not to be ‘into’ a type of music, but they are duty-bound to be knowledgeable citizens.
As a voter, do your homework and seek truth. Resist tribal pressures to be a single-issue voter. Hold your elected official’s feet to the fire and make it clear you will not tolerate lies and distortions or bumper sticker politics. Remember that this country was founded on compromise. Politics is not a sports team. Loyalty is not above morality. Above all, vote for those with character and ability, not entertainment value.
As an activist, make sure direct voter initiatives are thoroughly vetted for unforeseen circumstances and long-term viability. Look for ways your municipal government can retain the benefits of technologies like online video they have been using for their board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic[8]. Most importantly, make sure your endeavor is well defined, considers all stakeholders, and has the needed controls and resources to deliver on its promises.
As a politician, either old guard or newly elected, try to remember why you chose to serve. Hopefully its not about power and fame and more about finding and delivering solutions. Honestly, did you really sign up for the never ending campaign and endless hours dialing for dollars? Wouldn’t be great to get all that time back and spend it listening to smart and reasonable people on both sides and then deciding with your heart? What we do is what we become. Make sure when you look back on your legacy you’ll feel pride.
In the future
We may marvel at how people embraced the freedom of ‘a la carte’ voting without being held hostage to ‘no substitutions’ party platforms — as Jack Nicholson says in the movie Five Easy Pieces, “Hold the chicken.” Sure, differences will still exist, but they will focus on specific issues and no longer dictate a person’s entire persona. A spectrum of differences will replace polarization.
With success, apathy and distrust of the political system fade away as common sense and common ground flourish. We will marvel at how the pipes of government began to flow as if treated with a good dose of Drano. First, a trickle, then a torrent as we finally tackle the problems of universal healthcare, climate change, clean oceans, and social justice.
Note: This post was revised from the original published on September 20, 2020 at www.prometheusendeavor.org
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[1]Jim Rutt. “An Introduction to Liquid Democracy,” Medium, February 26, 2018, https://medium.com/@memetic007/liquid-democracy-9cf7a4cb7f
[2] Politics. “U.S. states split on allowing citizen ballot initiatives.” PBS, October 31, 2018, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-states-split-on-allowing-citizen-ballot-initiatives
[3] Politics. “Which ballot initiatives passed? Marijuana, minimum wage and more,” PBS, November 9, 2016, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ballot-initiatives-passed-marijuana-minimum-wage
[4] Lav, Byiris and Leachman, Michael, “State Limits on Property Taxes Hamstring Local Services and Should Be Relaxed or Repealed”, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, July 18, 2018, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-limits-on-property-taxes-hamstring-local-services-and-should-be
[5] Vann R. Newkirk II, “American Voters Are Turning to Direct Democracy”, The Atlantic, April 18, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/citizen-ballot-initiatives-2018-elections/558098/
[6] Katy Owens Hubler and Wendy Underhill, “Election Costs: Who Pays and With Which Funds? “, National Coference of State Legislatures, Vol 26, No 11, March 2018, https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/election-costs-who-pays-and-with-which-funds.aspx
[7] Ben Porter and Stephen Hall, “Broadband Internet is Critical to Learning — Getting it to Everyone is the Difficult Task,” Prometheus Endeavor. accessed September 13, 2020, https://www.prometheusendeavor.org/broadband internet-is-critical-to-learning — getting-it-to everyone-is-the-difficult-task/
[8] Douglas Brockway, “The Great Unfreezing, or Necessity is the Mother of Opportunity,” Prometheus Endeavor, August 6, 2020, https://www.prometheusendeavor.org/the-great-unfreezing-or-necessity-is-the-mother-of-opportunity/
