Citizens Assembly News Digest—April 2009
Written by J.H. Snider
(Previous Digests)
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Upcoming Publication: |
News Summary
Since the last issue of the Citizens Assembly News Digest came out some ten months ago, Canada continues to be ground zero of citizens assembly political news, with the province of British Columbia leading the way and Alberta a distant second. A poll by Angus Reid Strategies shows 65% of British Columbia voters supporting the May 12, 2009 referendum item proposed by the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
Elsewhere, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand have the most noteworthy political news. Europe, notably the United Kingdom and France, dominate academic developments.
California's Proposition 11, a referendum to create an independent redistricting commission, passed last November. It marks a watershed in redistricting reform because of its use of random selection, a core feature of citizens assembly based democratic reform.
Contents
· Upcoming Citizens Assembly Events
· Citizens Assembly Events During the Past Year
· British Columbia (Canada)
· Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario (Canada)
· California (United States)
· Academic Conferences and Publications
· News Articles Available on the Web
· Nexis Search Results (only a listing of articles)
Upcoming Citizens Assembly Events
May 4, 2009—The Hudson Institute and iSolon.org are cohosting a conference: Reforming American Redistricting: Lessons from British Columbia. Hudson and iSolon.org expect to post a video of the conference within 48 hours of its completion.
May 12, 2009—British Columbia is holding a referendum on the recommendations of its Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.
September 3-6, 2009—The Representation and Electoral Systems section of the APSA will host a panel on citizens assemblies at the next Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
Citizens Assembly Events During the Past Year
[iSolon.org’s Citizens Assembly Based Democratic Reform Facebook Group tries to list noteworthy citizens assembly events as soon as possible. The list below is for the last year.]
The events below are listed in chronological order. The format is:
1) Type of event: [A] = Academic, [P] = Political
2) Location of event.
3) Date of event and event description.
[P]
[UK]
March 31, 2009—Lord Tyler introduces a citizens assembly bill in parliament.
The bill has many features in common with a British Columbia style citizens
assembly. This includes focusing on electoral reform, having the right to put a
referendum on the ballot, and constituting a large group of citizens who
deliberate for an extended period of time. But a crucial difference is that the
members of the citizens assembly are chosen by a diverse group of elected
leaders.
[P]
[Australia]
February 7-9, 2008—A Citizens' Parliament convenes in Canberra, Australia's
capital. The 150 randomly selected members considered how to strengthen
Australia's political system.
[P]
[Canada, British Columbia]
February 1, 2009—The referendum campaign period begins in British Columbia for
the May 12, 2009 vote on the ballot item proposed by the British Columbia
Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
[P]
[Canada, British Columbia]
January 10-11, 2009—An all-star lineup of Canadian political scientists versed
in citizens assembly based electoral reform speaks at an Electoral Reform
Conference before an audience of activists and citizens assembly alumni seeking
passage of the May 12, 2009 referendum.
[P]
[Canada, British Columbia]
Decemberr 1, 2008—Applications are due in the British Columbia Attorney
General's office to apply to become registered referendum groups and receive
public funding to provide information about their positions for the May 12,
2009 referendum on the ballot item proposed by the British Columbia Citizens'
Assembly on Electoral Reform.
[A]
[France]
November 27, 2008--The Centre for Political Research at Sciences, based in
Paris, France, holds a conference, "Selection by Lottery: Theory and
Practice," which includes a discussion of citizens assembly based
democratic reform.
[P]
[United States, California]
November 4, 2008—California voters passed Proposition 11, a ballot initiative
to create an independent redistricting commission composed of 14 members,
including eight members chosen via random selection after an initial,
multi-stage vetting process. Limited though it is, this is the first use of
random selection to select commissioners for any type of U.S. commission with
legally binding jurisdiction over democratic reform.
[A]
[United Kingdom]
September 10-12, 2008—The Manchester Political Theory Workshop includes a
panel, "Sortition and Public Policy."
[A]
[United Kingdom]
August 18, 2008—Academic Imprint launches a new series of books on sortition
and public policy, including The Political Potential of Sortition: A Study of
the Random Selection of Citizens for Public Office, The Athenian Option, A
People's Parliament, and A Citizen Legislature.
[A]
[United States]
July 14, 2008—The Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy
publishes two working papers related to citizens assembly based democratic
reform (see post below).
[A]
[United States]
May 8-10, 2008—Harvard University's Canada Program holds a conference on
democratic deficits and citizens assemblies.
British Columbia
For those unfamiliar with the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, a short video summary of its proceedings can be found here. The definitive book on it is Designing Deliberative Democracy: The British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly (Cambridge University Press, 2008), which I summarized and reviewed in the Journal of Public Deliberation. The website of the Citizens’ Assembly, which contains an excellent summary of its activities, can be found here.
A Nexis search (see below for listings) found more than 100 articles since June 2008 covering the upcoming referendum on the recommendations of the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly. The overwhelming focus of the press attention is on the merits of the electoral system proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly rather than on the merits of the process the Citizens’ Assembly went through to come up with its recommendation. The academic literature on the Citizens’ Assembly, in contrast, predominantly focuses on its procedural merits.
According to a poll with a sample size of 702 conducted by Angus Reid Strategies from March 9-12, 2009, 65% of voters support the referendum and 35% oppose it.
The major political parties have not taken a public position on the referendum, and the government has given $500,000 each to a designated group that supports and opposes the referendum. The website for the subsidized support group is: www.stv.ca. For the opponent group: http://www.nostv.org. For the British Columbia government’s Referendum Information Office, see http://www.gov.bc.ca/referendum_info.
The supporters of the referendum appear to have a much stronger grassroots operation. The opponents of the referendum appear to be relying more on media and may be holding their firepower until the last week of the campaign, when the general public begins to really focus on the referendum. Labor unions appear to be opposed to the referendum (see STV Group Shut Out of Meeting, Alberni Valley Times, April 23, 2009), but to my knowledge their opposition, to the extent it actually exists, has primarily been passive.
One of the oddest features of the referendum is that the Electoral Reform Referendum 2009 Act Regulation bans political parties and candidates from advertising their position on it. The Elections British Columbia Office sent Ken Carty, who served as the Research Director for the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, the following explanation. Thanks to Ken for sharing it with me:
“The way the Electoral Reform Referendum 2009 Act Regulation is written prohibits political parties and candidates from conducting referendum advertising – either by itself or in combination with their election advertising. That would mean they could not advertise their position on the referendum. They could, however, make speeches expressing their views and political parties could send material to their members expressing their position on the referendum as those activities are not included in the definition of advertising.”
The question on the ballot appears as follows:
The main logo for the Yest BC-STV campaign is a superman figure with a checkmark on his stomach. I believe this is intended to convey the idea that by voting for STV citizens will empower themselves.
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Supporters of the referendum have made extensive use of Facebook as on organizing tool.
The major Facebook groups include:
Yes for BC-STV, which has close to 6,000 members.
On May 12th I'm Voting for Electoral Reform. Vote for BC-STV!, which has more than 3,000 members.
Friends of BC-STV, which appears to include sympathizers outside of British Columbia.
The regional Facebook groups include:
Yes for BC STV Vancouver group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=37133867369
Yes for BC STV Burnaby - New West - Tri Cities group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=34665354764
Yes for BC STV Fraser Valley group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=35817288126
Yes for BC STV North Shore - Sea to Sky group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=35817288126
Yes for BC STV Okanagan group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=39378377022
Yes for BC STV Kamloops group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=32158022721
Yes for BC STV Vancouver Island University Group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=34942291165
Yes for BC STV UBC group
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=22350335943
Fair Vote SFU
http://www.new.facebook.com/groups.php?id=660680506&gv=4#/group.php?gid=29232546518
Fair Voting BC has held several major conferences featuring academics and activists: a conference on April 18, 24 Days to Victory: The BC-STV Referendum and Voting Reform in Canada, and one on January 10-11, BC-STV Conference.
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario
Following Preston Manning’s high profile proposal for an Alberta citizens assembly last year, mentions of citizens assemblies continue to crop up in the Alberta press (e.g., “Tories Holding All the Marbles,” Calgary Sun, February 25, 2009; Renata D’aliesto, “Seeking solutions to Canada’s Worst Turnout,” Calgary Herald, October 4, 2008; Sheilla Pratt, “Group of 20 Redefines Democracy,” Edmonton Journal, October 4, 2008; Roy Clancy, “Premier Needs to Get Serious About Democracy,” Calgary Sun, September 18, 2008). It’s my impression that Alberta is the most likely place for another citizens assembly in Canada. Fair Vote Alberta’s citizens assembly petition can be found here.
In 2007, the former Prime Minister of Saskatchewan’s proposed a citizens assembly. Occasional mentions of citizens assemblies continue to appear in the Saskatchewan Press (e.g., Joyce Green and Fraser Needham, “Electoral system ignores too many voices,” The Leader-Post, December 01, 2008).
Following the 2007 defeat of the referendum proposed by the Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, there continues to be dueling explanations of that event in the Ontario Press but little serious push to hold another citizens assembly.
During spring and summer 2008 there were three so-called “mini citizens assemblies” in Canada, but I believe that a better description of those bodies would have been “citizens’ juries” or even “focus groups.” They were small, had no formal power, and met briefly. An article in the Canadian Parliamentary Review discusses them in depth (Min Reuchamps, “Min Citizens’ Assemblies on the Future of Canadian Federalism,” Vol. 31, No. 4, December 28, 2008).
United Kingdom (UK)
The major news coming out of the UK was that on March 31, 2009 Lord Paul Tyler proposed Bill 34 in the House of Lords, which includes a provision to create a citizens assembly to propose constitutional reforms to be voted on by referendum. The bill has many features in common with a British Columbia style citizens assembly. This includes focusing on electoral reform, having the right to put a referendum on the ballot, and constituting a large group of citizens who deliberate for an extended period of time. But a crucial difference is that the members of the citizens assembly are chosen by a diverse group of elected leaders. In my opinion, then, it’s not really a citizens assembly in the British Columbia tradition. I would describe it instead as a very large multi-partisan commission. Britain’s Electoral Reform Society sent out this press release when the bill was introduced. The bill details follow:
HL Bill 34: Constitutional Renewal bill (pp. 24-26)
Introduced by Lord Paul Tyler in the House of Lords on 31st March 2009
PART 5 – PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTIONS
[From Explanatory Notes] Clauses 47-49 fulfils the Labour Party’s 1997 manifesto promise to provide a referendum on the voting system used for elections to the House of Commons. The referendum question would be set by a Citizens’ Assembly on the basis of recommendations following detailed examination of the operation of all the systems already in use in the UK, and the present system.
General review of electoral system
47 Citizens’ Assembly to review electoral system
(1) In the following provisions of this Part, “Citizens’ Assembly” means a body of
persons to be appointed by the Prime Minister in accordance with section 48.
(2) The Citizens’ Assembly is to have the functions conferred on it by this section.
(3) The Citizens’ Assembly must examine existing arrangements for the holding
of parliamentary general elections with a view to—
(a) making proposals about what changes should be made,
(b) identifying any matter on which a referendum should be held,
(c) framing the question or questions to be put in such a referendum, and
(d) reporting to the Prime Minister on the Assembly’s proceedings.
(4) Matters to be examined under subsection (3) include—
(a) the electoral system used for conducting ballots for parliamentary
general elections;
(b) other systems that are commonly in use to conduct ballots (in particular
the systems for a single transferable vote, additional members and
alternative votes);
(c) existing and other methods for voting (including postal voting and evoting);
(d) methods for encouraging voting at parliamentary general elections.
(5) The Citizens’ Assembly may also examine such other matters in connection
with the holding of parliamentary general elections as the Assembly may
determine.
(6) The Citizens’ Assembly may determine its own procedure.
(7) The Secretary of State is under a duty to make available appropriate
administrative support and assistance to the members of the Citizens’
Assembly in the discharge of their functions under this section.
48 Membership of Citizens’ Assembly
(1) The Citizens’ Assembly is to be appointed as soon as is practicable after the
coming into force of this section.
(2) The Citizens’ Assembly is to consist of at least 100 members—
(a) not more than 30 of whom are to be drawn from persons nominated by
the leader of each registered political party to which ten or more
members of the House of Commons belongs, and
(b) the remainder being drawn from persons who, on the date of
appointment—
(i) are entitled to vote as an elector at a parliamentary election, and
(ii) are not disqualified by subsection (3).
(3) The persons disqualified by this subsection are any member of—
(a) the House of Commons;
(b) the House of Lords;
(c) the European Parliament who is elected in the United Kingdom;
(d) the Scottish Parliament;
(e) the National Assembly for Wales;
(f) the Northern Ireland Assembly;
(g) the London Assembly.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), appointments are to be made by the
Prime Minister so that the number of appointees taken from the list put
forward by each party leader is broadly equivalent to the party’s proportionate
share of the total number of votes cast for all candidates at the last
parliamentary general election taking place before the appointments are made.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), appointments are to be made of persons
selected from the registers of parliamentary electors in accordance with a
scheme set out by order made by the Secretary of State.
(6) An order under subsection (5) is to be made by statutory instrument.
(7) No such order is to be made unless it has been laid in draft before Parliament
and approved by a resolution of each House.
(8) “Registered political party” means a party registered under Part 2 of the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41).
49 Referendum on proposals made by Citizens’ Assembly
(1) This section applies where any matter is to be subject to a referendum in
accordance with section 47(3)(b).
(2) The Secretary of State must by order cause a referendum to be held.
(3) An order under subsection (2) must specify—
(a) the question or questions to be asked in the referendum,
(b) the date of the referendum, and
(c) the referendum period.
(4) The question or questions specified under subsection (3)(a) are to be as
specified by the Citizens’ Assembly under section 47(3)(c).
(5) The date of the referendum—
(a) may be varied or revoked in a subsequent order if the Secretary of State
thinks it is not appropriate for the referendum to be held on the date
specified, but
(b) must not be later than 90 days after the date of publication of the report
under section 47(3)(d) which relates to the referendum.
(6) If the majority of voters in the referendum vote in favour of one or more
proposals made by the Citizens’ Assembly, the Secretary of State must take
such steps as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary to implement the
proposals.
(7) An order under this section—
(a) is to be made by statutory instrument, and
(b) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of
Parliament.
The vast majority of the UK press’s and politicians’ references to randomly selected political bodies are to citizens’ juries. During the past year, the UK government has conducted about a half dozen citizens’ juries, which tended to be critizized in the press as very expensive focus groups for politicians. In July 2008, the UK Ministry of Justice issued a report, A National Framework for Greater Citizen Engagement, which endorsed considering the use of citizens’ juries in public policy deliberation.
I consider such citizens’ juries to be beyond the scope of this news digest, but it is worth noting the extent to which this concept has been deployed in the UK and become a legitimate public policy proposal in the mainstream press and at levels as high as the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
The above UK report also endorsed enhancing citizen participation via a “Citizens’ Summit” made up of 500 to 1000 citizens to deliberate on issues such as constitutional reform. No specific mention was made of random selection in selecting the participants, but such a selection method would be consistent with the goal of seeking “a representative sample of the public.” The Summit would be government funded and able to submit its recommendations to Parliament for a vote.
One article in the Western Mail reported on a new party in Wales seeking to create a Welsh Citizens Assembly as a substitute for an elected parliament (“Party Aims to Sack Politicians and Swap Senedd for a Citizens’ Assembly,” April 6, 2009). Since this proposal seeks to use a citizens assembly as a substitute rather than a supplement to representative democracy, I do not consider it a citizens assembly in the sense used here.
Charles Scanlan continues to write letters-to-the-editor in major British press seeking citizens assembly based democratic reform. He sent me two of them for inclusion here.
From The Guardian (London), October 20, 2008, p. 31:
I share Shami Chakrabarti's delight that the House of Lords has dealt the death blow to 42-day pre-charge detention but such actions cannot legitimate an intrinsically indefensible institution (A victory for human rights and common sense, October 15). There is a different, democratic way to achieve her "healthy balance between election and independence": to replace the Lords with a citizens' assembly chosen by lot from all members of the public who are ready to serve. In any case, individual freedoms should not be dependent on the legislature but should be enshrined in an entrenched bill of rights. These rights ought to be drawn up by a citizens' convention and adopted by referendum.
From The Guardian (London), July 21, 2008, p. 29:
Martin Kettle's dissection of the squalid careerism behind Labour MPs' abandonment of Lords reform was depressing not only in its accuracy but also in its tacit acceptance that this is how constitutional reform has to be decided in our "democracy". On the second chamber, on voting reform, on party funding and on every other question touching the interests of our "representatives", everyone now sees that the only changes that will even be con sidered are those which favour either the entire political class or the most powerful factions within it; the public interest is nowhere.
On all constitutional issues, we should therefore follow the example of the recent citizens' assemblies on voting reform in British Columbia and Ontario. The assemblies were chosen by lot from members of the electorate - excluding parliamentarians and party officials - and, after public consultations, their recommendations were put directly to referendums. As there is no chance of our own parliament voluntarily establishing citizens' assemblies, the only hope for disinterested reform is a popular campaign to demand them. Otherwise, we shall truly deserve the politicians that we shall continue to get.
Australia
Australia held a “Citizens’ Parliament” from February 7-9, 2009. This had a number of attributes in common with a citizens assembly. It was government funded, randomly selected, included more than 100 individuals, and deliberated on democratic reform. But it met only for a few days and its recommendations were purely advisory.
The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation’s February 13, 2009 blog had a nice writeup by Janette Hartz-Karp of the Australian Citizens Parliament, and I’ll leave it at that. The blog includes links to news articles and a two-page summary of the Citizens’ Parliament process. Thanks to Australia’s Lyn Carson for providing me with this information.
New Zealand
The Green Party in New Zealand’s parliament continues to be the main force pushing for a citizens assembly on electoral reform (e.g., “Greens call for more open government and set election date,” New Zealand Press Association, November 3, 2008; “Ways of Sharing Power With the People,” New Zealand Herald, October 24, 2008). But I see no evidence of momentum to pass citizens assembly legislation since the Green Party, with the support of one other minority party, tried and failed more than a year ago.
A new book by Matthew Palmer, The Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand’s Law and Constitution (published April 1, 2009), calls for creating a citizens assembly on New Zealand constitutional reform. Palmer is a graduate of Yale Law School and was undoubtedly influenced by the Yale school of democratic reform.
California
Last November California voters passed Proposition 11, a referendum to create an independent redistricting commission, partially selected through random selection. The redistricting commission consists of 14 members: five Democrats, five Republicans, and four others. The method of selection was more complex, to my knowledge, than for any previous U.S. redistricting commission. For example, in the writeup of redistricting commissions by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the California system requires the most space to explain. This complexity was sold to the public, at least in part, as a method to remove politics from the redistricting process. Here is a summary of Proposition 11 prepared by Cal-Tax:
Selection of Commission Members Is a Multi-Step Process. The commission would be made up of 14 members, including five Democrats, five Republicans and four members who are not registered in either major party. Each member must have been continuously registered to vote in California and not have changed party affiliation in the five years immediately preceding his or her appointment. Each member also must have voted in two of the three statewide elections immediately preceding his or her appointment.
The application process would be run by the state auditor, and would include these steps:
• State auditor opens the process to all registered voters.
• State auditor removes applicants with conflicts of interest (including those who, within the past 10 years, have been political consultants, lobbyists, elected officials, candidates or political donors of $2,000 or more).
• State auditor establishes an Applicant Review Panel of three independent auditors, selecting randomly from a pool of all state-employed auditors licensed by the California Board of Accountancy. Drawing must continue until the three members include one Democrat, one Republican and one member who is not registered with either of the two major parties.
• The Applicant Review Panel selects 60 of the most qualified applicants, including 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans and 20 who aren’t registered with either major party. Selections must be based on relevant analytical skills, ability to be impartial and “appreciation for California’s diverse demographics and geography.”
• The pool of 60 is submitted to the Legislature, and the Democratic and Republican leaders of each house are allowed to strike two applicants apiece from each subpool of 20.
• From the remaining applicants, the state auditor randomly draws eight names, including three Democrats, three Republicans and two independents.
• The eight commissioners chosen in the previous step review the remaining pool of applicants, and select six of them to join the commission. The six must include two Democrats, two Republicans and two independents. Each of the six must be approved by at least five votes of the first eight commissioners, with at least two votes from Democrats, two from Republicans and one from an independent. The six appointees shall be chosen to “ensure the commission reflects this State’s diversity, including, but not limited to, racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity.”
Note that the method of selecting commission members includes two different types of random selection:
1) The selection of those who select the commissioners. Three auditors are randomly selected from all state-employed and licensed California auditors.
2) The selection of the commissioners. From the pool of applicants left after the auditors’ selection of 60 and the legislative leadership’s striking of up to 24, 8 applicants are randomly selected. The 8 applicants then choose the remaining 6: 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 2 others.
To my knowledge, however modest its random selection component, California’s redistricting commission now embodies the most ambitious use of random selection in the history of U.S. democratic reform. The only other use of random selection I know of involves Illinois’s redistricting commission. That commission is only a backup if the legislature cannot agree on a redistricting plan. If the commission, which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, also fails to come up with a plan, then the Illinois Supreme Court selects two persons not of the same political party, one of which is chosen by lot to be the tie breaking member of the commission. This is about as modest a use of random selection as I can imagine.
Academic Conferences & Publications
There have been two noteworthy academic conferences on random selection in politics since last June.
On September 10-12, 2008, the Manchester Political Theory Workshop included a panel, "Sortition and Public Policy." The panel was led by the University of East Anglia’s Barbara Goodwin, the General Editor of the Imprint Academic series on sortition in politics. The series of books was released on August 18, 2008 and includes the following works:
The Athenian Option, Anthony Barnett and Peter Carty, £8.95 (Revised Edition: August 2008)
Justice by Lottery, Barbara Goodwin, £17.95 (published June 2005)
The Nature and Use of Lotteries, Thomas Gataker (ed. Conall Boyle), £17.95, (the 17th Century Treatise; republished August 2008)
A People's Parliament, Keith Sutherland / A Citizen Legislature, Ernest Callenbach and Michael Phillips, £14.95 (Published August 2008)
The Political Potential of Sortition, Oliver Dowlen, £30.00 (cloth; published August 2008)
November 27, 2008, the Centre for Political Research
at Sciences, based in Paris, France, held a conference, "Selection by
Lottery: Theory and Practice," which included a discussion of citizens
assembly based democratic reform. The conference was held in a mix of French
and English. I emailed the conference organizers multiple times to get access
to the papers presented, but I never got a reply.
Here is the information I was able to get:
Selection by Lottery: Theory and practice
Paris,
november 27th 2008
CERI, 56, rue Jacob – 75006 Paris
Salle des conférences
Conference Outline
With the establishment of democratic regimes founded on the principle of representation, the theoretical aspects of selection by lottery have often been neglected in modern and contemporary times. The practice itself, which played a key role in the founding and development of democracy, had almost entirely disappeared until recently.
The last twenty years, however, have been marked by a revival of this bygone procedure which has been used well beyond the collective political sphere. In parallel to this revival, a theoretical reevaluation is underway. There are also an increasing number of plans to use selection by lottery in existence - some of which are utopian and others pragmatic. In 2007, evidence of such can be found in democratic regimes (in Europe, and the United States for example) as well as in authoritarian regimes (China).
This is a one-day small-scale international conference whose aim is to bring scholars working in a variety of disciplines together. It will create a forum for a subject that remains marginal within the various fields represented and will provide an important networking opportunity for researchers active in the area to initiate personal contacts with each other.
With regard to both theory and practice, a first assessment of work already done will be made and the development of concepts initiated. We will also attempt to draw up an inventory of where research on this topic is being pursued and where the procedure has already been tested.
Finally, we will look at the indirect effects this change of perspective might have on the practice and study of politics.
In order to achieve these aims, two guidelines will be adopted. Firstly, a broad approach to selection by lottery will be taken implying that the process will not be treated as simply a substitute for voting or nominating. Secondly, systematic deconstruction or justification will be avoided.
While it is true that the danger of radical deconstruction is minimal, since, for the moment, the procedure is far from being dominant or widespread, it is nonetheless advisable to avoid an overly apologetic approach. Scholarly inquiry, whether it be philosophical, scientific, systematic or ironic, must take precedence over approbation or rejection of the uses made of selection by lottery. This second question should and will be discussed during the conference.
9h00-9h15 : Discours d’ouverture /Opening speech
-Pascal Perrineau, directeur du Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po, (CEVIPOF)
9h15-9h30 : Introduction
-Gil Delannoi (CEVIPOF) :
“Exploring the boundaries of theory and practice”
Mt Matinée / Morning Session 9H30-12h302h30
-Antoine Vergne, (Freie Universität Berlin / IEP Paris) :
“La roue de la fortune : une typologie des processus de selection aléatoire"
-Peter Stone (Political Science Department, Stanford University) :
“Lotteries and Probability Theory”.
-Barbara Goodwin (University of East Anglia) :
“Fair allocation – using lotteries”.
-Gerhard Goehler (Freie Universität, Berlin):
“On Decision by Lot in Soft Control”.
12h30-14h00 : Pause-déjeuner / Lunch time
Après-midi / Afternoon Session 14h00-18h00 -midi / Afternoon Session 14h00-18h0
-Yves Sintomer (Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin) :
“Tirage au sort et délibération”.
-Hubertus Buchstein (Greifswald Universität) :
“The Lots as an instrument for a Reform of the EU Political System”.
-Gil Delannoi (Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po, CEVIPOF) :
“Reflections on Two Typologies for Random Selection”.
Conclusions and round table.
One of the authors, Yves Sintomer, did get in touch with me. In 2007, he published a book, Le pouvoir au peuple: Jurys citoyens, tirage au sort et démocratie participative oir au peuple, including a call to replace the French Senate with a random assembly of citizens. It refers to the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly in Canada. Unfortunately, the book is in French (soon to be in Italian, too), so I couldn’t take a look at it. However, Yves sent me this chapter summary and extract in English:
CHAPTERS
1- An unending representation crisis
2- Selection by lot throughout history
3- A historical enigma
4- A flowering of experiences
5- Renewing democracy
A. Legitimacies, challenges and controversies
B. Change of Republic, change of politics
i. Transforming representation, developing participatory democracy
ii. Opine, control, judge, decide (functions of deliberative organs)
iii. Another world is possible
The extract translated below concludes the "decide" section of 5. A. ii. In it, Sintomer explores a first venue: using sortition at the microlocal level, ex. Berlin citizens’ juries. He then proposes the following second venue.
EXTRACT (pp. 163-164)
"A second venue would be more ambitious. It would require profound institutional changes and a modification of the political balance. This venue would be to replace the Senate with a randomly selected assembly. In France, the higher house does not have the legitimacy it may have in a federal-type system in which federal entities have their own representation. It certainly has a checks and balance role, to countercheck the National Assembly, but its nature destines it to be a conservative figure: the Senate is an Assembly of notables. Its function would be better assumed by an assembly of a completely different nature, more representative of the country, selected by lot every year or every six months amongst the electorate.
Such an Assembly would borrow from the Greek Heliaia and Boulê, from the Roman Tribunal and from the first modern Parliaments. In could work in plenary and in commissions. Its members would be paid the same as present-day senators, they would benefit from prior training in a field of their choice and from a working team (assistants, information and documentation) comparable to that now at the disposal of the Senate. This house would have real powers, but that would be clearly circumscribed. On ordinary laws, it would only have a consultative function of publicizing debates. It could freely convene if important social conflicts occur and make recommendations that would obligatorily have to be discussed by the National Assembly and the government. During the suburb riots and the mobilization against the “first hiring contract” project (contrat première embauche - CPE) in 2005 and 2006, couldn’t such a house have played a role that the Senate was totally unable to be up to? Wouldn’t it have been able to impose that Suburbs’ Marshall Plan which official reports regularly mention, but that was never implemented in the city’s policy after more than two decades? The National Fund for Participatory Democracy (Fond National pour la Démocratie Participative) would be responsible before such a House. It would have the last word in granting legal force to proposals emanating from organizations such as the Audiovisual High Council (Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel). Following in the path and broadening the Canadian example of British Columbia in not giving the majority party power to change electoral rules in its own advantage, the Assembly would be competent to adopt laws on the electoral system, its most important proposals could, if need be, go through referendum. This Assembly would take part in constitutional amendments, just like the Senate does today. Finally, after a constitutional reform, it could assume the role of the Popular Court mentioned above, charged with judging political affairs, and elect members of the Constitutional Court.
Wouldn’t such an Assembly bring a breath of fresh air in French politics, especially compared to the present-day Senate, and wouldn’t it be bound to embody another democracy, more representative, more responsive, more legitimate and, finally, more political?"
Josiah Ober’s Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens, mentioned in a previous Citizens Assembly News Digest, was publsihed September 15, 2008. The book, full of diverse insights relevant to modern democracy, cites the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.
My own interest in the type of elected officials’ conflict of interest warranting a citizens assembly tends to focus on the problem of government legislative information systems. The Journal of Information Technology and Politics will publish my article, “Would You Ask Turkeys to Mandate Thanksgiving? The Dismal Politics of Legislative Transparency,” in its summer issue. The working paper version is available on SSRN.
News Articles Available on the Web
Week of 4/21/09
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Week of 3/17/09
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huh? |
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Week of 3/10/09
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Week of 3/3/09
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BC-STV more
choice for voters |
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BC-STV
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NDP's
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Blogs
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North
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Rural
BC |
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Fruits and
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Week of 2/24/09
Mass Media
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Does
your vote really count? |
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Session
Saturday on single transferable vote |
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MLA
urges voters to examine systems |
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STV
system for voters |
Blogs
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Rabble
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Week of 2/17/09
Mass Media
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Single
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Voting
systems explained |
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Week of 2/10/09
Mass Media
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Voting
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process promoted |
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Making
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Blogs
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40 Percent
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bryanvoell.com »
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Week of 2/03/09
Mass Media
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Province
of British Columbia: Referendum Information Office Now ... |
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Alternative
voting system back on ballot in provincewide referendum |
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Campaigning
begins for BC referendum on electoral reform |
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Fair
voting in BC |
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Campbell's
record on reform falls far short of his ambitious agenda |
||
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Government
funds STV ‘yes’ and ‘no’ organizations |
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Week of 1/27/09
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forum February 21 |
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Week of 1/20/09
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Rankin
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forecast - an NDP government and STV |
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Week of 1/13/09
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STV
Yes Campaign Being Launched |
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||
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Single
transferable voting works well |
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Former
Citizens' Assembly members hold public forum |
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Readers
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Citizens
group reaffirms wish to change voting rules |
||
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system could change |
Blogs
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Local
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Blogs
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Week of 1/6/09
Mass Media
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Voting
system claims misleading |
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Voter
supports new system to make MLAs accountable |
Blogs
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» Blog Archive » Royal Commission on the ... |
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Week of 12/30/08
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Week of 12/23/08
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Critic
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Week of 12/16/08
Mass Media
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Week of 12/9/08
Mass Media
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Problematic
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Address
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Blogs
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Parliamentary
procedures, a proposal. |
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The
sound of one democratic hand clapping |
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1996
election map |
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FairVoteCanada:
flyers for rallies |
Week of 12/2/08
Mass Media
|
Posted By
Gary Dale |
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Parties
prohibited from promoting referendum positions |
|
Electoral
system ignores too many voices |
BlogsTime
To Make Your Voice Heard - Fair Vote Canada |
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Invitation
from Citizens’ Assembly |
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Wards
are not the answer |
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Liberal
Joyce Murray appoint critic for Democratic Reform |
Week of 10/20/08
Blogs
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Online
vote swap aims to stop Harper majority |
Week of 10/6/08
Blogs
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Single
transferable vote |
Week of 9/29/08
Mass Media
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Prop.
11 calls for redistricting overhaul |
Blogs
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Haldimand
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on A Prisoner’s Dilemma for Voters by Chrystal Ocean (Green) |
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citoyens sur la réforme électorale |
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Ontario
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Week of 9/15/08
Mass Media
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Letters:
State representation, taxes, Sarah Palin, Democrats, etc. |
Blogs
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Tatas
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des citoyens sur la réforme électorale |
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Week of 8/11/08
Mass Media
Opposition to citizen's group
on election funding
Radio New Zealand - Wellington,New Zealand
Plans for a citizens' assembly on the Electoral Finance appear in
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its support ...
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stories on this topic
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(Ontario) - Wikipedia, the ...
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Government of the Province of Ontario, Canada, established a Citizens' Assembly
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Citizens Assembly News Digest—April 2009
As of 4/23/09 (a combination of separate searches)
Nexis Search Results
|
|
Results |
|
1. |
STV group shut out of
meeting; Volunteer told group not welcome to present info at all-candidates
meeting |
|
2. |
B.C. voting reform may set
trend |
|
3. |
Uncertain? Confused? No way |
|
4. |
STV referendum part of
election; If passed, the North Shore will be 1 riding with 4 MLAs |
|
5. |
Mixed PR is best |
|
6. |
Lack of understanding is an
obstacle to process change; Electoral Reform: B.C. looks at new voting
possibilities |
|
7. |
STV sparked by urge for
fairness |
|
8. |
STV could lead to the
election of wrong people |
|
9. |
STV concept too complicated
to vote for |
|
10. |
Fact gathering on STV |
|
11. |
STV voting method effective
elsewhere |
|
|
Results |
|
1. |
Residents to vote on
election reform |
|
2. |
Mayor loses job after
criticizing bureaucrat |
|
3. |
STV pro: Ensuring real
representation |
|
4. |
STV con: It just doesn't
fit in B.C. |
|
5. |
STV system reflects voters'
real wishes |
|
6. |
Everything you need to know
about electoral reform but were afraid to ask; On May 12, British Columbia
voters will do more than elect a government. They will get a second
opportunity to decide if they want to keep the current electoral system,
known as first past the post, or change to a new method called the single
transferable vote. Today Times Colonist reporters Lindsay Kines and Rob Shaw
take a close look at the two options, how they differ and what a change might
mean. |
|
7. |
BC-STV: How the math works;
Complicated formulas that distribute votes among candidates will determine
the outcome of an election |
|
8. |
Close vote in 2005 set
stage for second referendum on STV |
|
9. |
Wheezing B.C. vote system
needs STV cure |
|
10. |
STV provides for fair
results |
|
11. |
Let citizens decide what's
best for city |
|
12. |
Voters should support
change to voting system |
|
13. |
Voting 2.0; On May 12,
you'll also be voting on a new kind of election |
|
14. |
It's in your interest to
pay attention during this election |
|
15. |
STV: How does it work? |
|
16. |
This Time Do More Than Just
Vote. Demand Swaraj! |
|
17. |
'No' side of STV
scaremongers |
|
18. |
Letters before blogs;
LETTERS |
|
19. |
Single-transferable vote
means choice |
|
20. |
Putting the pieces together |
|
21. |
Group starts campaign for
electoral reform |
|
22. |
Multiple votes for multiple
voices |
|
23. |
Party aims to sack
politicians and swap Senedd for a citizen'sassembly ; Ordinary people are
likely to make best decisions for Wales assembly |
|
24. |
Ghosts of elections past
still haunt B.C.; A single transferable vote system was used in 1952 and '53
elections |
|
25. |
Get out and vote, and vote,
and vote |
|
26. |
Elections: Citizens
Assembly picked STV |
|
27. |
'STV would be a disaster';
No-side of upcoming referendum starts to ramp up its campaign to have STV defeated |
|
28. |
Second STV vote historic
occasion |
|
29. |
Process is everything in
BC-STV referendum |
|
30. |
Who really won the last
election? Nobody |
|
31. |
Electoral changes may start
democratic reform |
|
32. |
In Your Schools - March 16,
2009 |
|
33. |
STV referendum wording a
problem |
|
34. |
STV may benefit women:
expert |
|
35. |
Empowering voters |
|
36. |
Boundary shakeup adds six
more ridings to province |
|
37. |
Tories holding all the
marbles |
|
38. |
Academy uses STV to arrive
at finalists for the Oscars |
|
39. |
Does your vote really
count? |
|
40. |
Love You to Death
fundraiser |
|
41. |
There's a better way to
elect B.C.'s leaders |
|
42. |
Israel's voting system |
|
43. |
Voting systems |
|
44. |
Province of British
Columbia: Referendum Information Office Now Open For B.C. Voters |
|
45. |
Campbell's record on reform
falls far short of his ambitious agenda |
|
46. |
Electoral Reform 101;
PROVINCIAL ELECTION: Advocates for a new system of electing our provincial
leaders inviting public to get informed about the STV system Monday night |
|
47. |
Reform Virginia Judicial
Selection |
|
48. |
Local voters meet with
pro-STV advocates |
|
49. |
MLA's opposition to
electoral reform expected |
|
50. |
B.C. forecast - an NDP
government and STV |
|
51. |
Campaign for electoral
reform starts now |
|
52. |
Fair Voting B.C. to promote
STV |
|
53. |
Citizens group reaffirms
wish to change voting rules |
|
54. |
B.C. to consider electoral
reform in May referendum |
|
55. |
B.C. could make electoral
history; Voters will be asked in referendum during May 12 election if
province should adopt Single Transferable Vote system |
|
56. |
British Columbia to
consider major voting reform |
|
57. |
Province will consider
electoral reform in May referendum |
|
58. |
B.C. to vote again on
far-reaching voting reform |
|
59. |
Voting system could change |
|
60. |
B.C. to consider
far-reaching voting reform. |
|
61. |
30,000 children in care
cannot be tolerated; "But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have
spread my dreams under your feet; tread soft. . . ." William Butler
Yeats |
|
62. |
The way we vote; A
referendum that could change the face of B.C. politics is coming, but just
try to explain it without people's eyes glazing over |
|
63. |
Former A & B Sound site
turns into impromptu gallery; Abundant space houses large canvases of Attila
Richard Lukacs |
|
64. |
Electoral reform campaign
ramps up for May; PROVINCIAL ELECTION: Group pushing for STV model getting
set to bring information to the public in preparation for election |
|
65. |
Vancouver: Electoral reform
group will meet on Saturday |
|
66. |
Former Citizens' Assembly
members hold public forum; Group will explain why it chose to promote the STV
system |
|
67. |
Books received but not
reviewed January-December 2008. |
|
68. |
Mini citizens' assemblies
on the future of Canadian federalism. |
|
69. |
Fixing our democracy
deficit |
|
70. |
Parties deadlocked over
budget bill |
|
71. |
Krueger example of what
ails system |
|
72. |
Curse or promise, coalition
may be way of the future |
|
73. |
Coalition will be welcome |
|
74. |
Electoral system ignores
too many voices |
|
75. |
Instant-runoff voting is a
phoney reform |
|
76. |
Instant-runoff voting is a
phoney reform |
|
77. |
Candidates who head
alphabet also head polls; Odds are stacked in your favour if you're called
Adam or Ball -- not Wills or Woodsworth |
|
78. |
A word with... Matthew
Palmer |
|
79. |
Voter apathy panel kicks
off Ideas Festival |
|
80. |
GREENS CALL FOR MORE OPEN
GOVERNMENT AND SET ELECTION DATE |
|
81. |
A way to fix Canada's voter
disengagement |
|
82. |
Electoral dysfunction plays
out yet again |
|
83. |
Colin James: Ways of
sharing power with the people |
|
84. |
Group pushes for voting
changes |
|
85. |
Proposed voting system
guards against splinter parties |
|
86. |
Reply Letters and emails:
Left clueless |
|
87. |
Hey, folks! Let's play
Proportional Representation |
|
88. |
Elections need reform |
|
89. |
Voting distortions show
change needed |
|
90. |
Voting distortions show
change needed. EDS: The following editorial appeared in the Calgary Herald
and has not been edited by CNS |
|
91. |
Voting distortions show
change needed. EDS: The following editorial appeared in the Calgary Herald
and has not been edited by CNS |
|
92. |
Province of British
Columbia: December Deadline For Electoral Reform Applications |
|
93. |
Coalitions of the willing |
|
94. |
With a different system, we
wouldn't need to vote strategically |
|
95. |
Strategic voting driven by
negative campaigning; A transferable ballot would let voters support their
preferred candidate |
|
96. |
Keeping the Fair Vote Flame
Alive |
|
97. |
Greens support PR; |
|
98. |
SEN. KEAN, ASSEMBLY LEADER
DECROCE URGE GOV. CORZINE TO REVEAL WHICH DEMOCRATS CONTROLLED SLUSH FUND
GRANTS |
|
99. |
Out of all proportion; SUN
MEDIA'S CHRISTINA SPENCER CLARIFIES WHAT THE PARTIES ARE SAYING |
|
100. |
Lowdown on the 'other' PR |
|
101. |
The Truth Sleuths; You Be
The Pollster |
|
102. |
Lowdown on the 'other' PR;
truth sleuth; |
|
103. |
Out of all proportion |
|
104. |
Out of all proportion; THE
TRUTH SLEUTHS; Sun Media's Christina Spencer clarifies what the parties are
saying; |
|
105. |
Lowdown on the 'other' PR; |
|
106. |
Three ideas for better
elections |
|
107. |
Out of all proportion; THE
TRUTH SLEUTHS; Sun Media's Christina Spencer clarifies what the parties are saying; |
|
108. |
Out of all proportion |
|
109. |
Lowdown on the 'other' PR |
|
110. |
The most ethical form of
democracy; PERSPECTIVES; |
|
111. |
Seeking solutions to
Canada's worst turnout |
|
112. |
Sound Off: What's your
solution for Alberta's embattled voting system? |
|
113. |
Group of 20 redefines
democracy; Individuals cut through provincial apathy to mobilize Albertans as
leaders in climate change |
|
114. |
The Cradle Of Democracy; On
the 250th anniversary of the birth of our parliamentary government, Thomas
Axworthy looks at the history and future of our democracy |
|
115. |
Green Party on Canadian
Copyright Reform |
|
116. |
How our democracy evolved;
CANADA; ELECTION 2008; |
|
117. |
MEET THE CANDIDATES; |
|
118. |
Electoral system partly to
blame for low glass ceiling |
|
119. |
Prince Edward Island;
Legislative Reports |
|
120. |
Premier needs to get
serious on democracy |
|
121. |
Democratic reforms long
past due |
|
122. |
Canada???s Electoral
System: Introduction to Federal and Provincial Elections |
|
123. |
Political party control
threatens democracy itself |
|
124. |
TVO has a unique role |
|
125. |
Help make this the last
time my vote doesn't count |
|
126. |
Another election, another
wasted vote |
|
127. |
AFN National Chief Calls
for Urgent Government Action in light of recent WHO Report |
|
128. |
No ads on the telly - now,
that's perfect democracy |
|
129. |
Did you know? |
|
130. |
Politicians need not be web
savvy; Parliament, political parties, newspapers and television still tend to
shape political opinion |
|
131. |
Going backward on democracy |
|
132. |
Reply: Letters and emails:
We need an electoral mandate to reform the Lords |
|
133. |
The people's Lords |
|
134. |
AFN National Chief joins
Premiers in call for action plan on closing the socio-economic gap for First Nations |
|
135. |
Stelmach disappoints;
Tories move backwards rather than forwards on promises of democratic reform |
|
136. |
Let's Talk Taxes: Free
advice for the premier |
|
137. |
Supersizing the ballot box
leads to unhealthy, fat governments |