Articles on Direct democracy
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From impartial debate mediators to a full-blown ‘algocracy’, we have to think carefully about how AI will impact politics.
Colorado voters considered 14 ballot measures in the November 2024 election, the most of any state.
Amendment 80 could set up a court challenge that may open up the use of public funding for private schools.
Montanans used to split tickets, voting for Democrats and Republicans. Growing partisanship looks likely to kill that tradition, which may mean Democratic Sen. Jon Tester loses his reelection bid.
Citizens’ assemblies bring members of the public into the fold of the difficult trade-offs that need to be made on every decision of public importance.
Voters frustrated by statehouse politics are bypassing elected representatives and enacting laws using direct democracy to preserve abortion rights, raise the minimum wage and rein in state spending.
Election year 2024 will see citizen initiatives on the ballot across the country, some focused on abortion rights. But there’s a growing trend of lawmakers altering initiatives after they have passed.
Those who seek power for the sake of power are less attracted to high office when more people get a say.
Decision-making bodies created by random selection, citizens’ assemblies are creating a sense of optimism about democracy among those who have heard about or taken part in them.
It’s easy to make fun of California politics. But a longtime scholar of those politics says the attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom is part of a long-running attempt to hold government accountable.
Since defending northern Syria from the Islamic State, Kurdish people have established an egalitarian society where women are equal, democracy is direct and religious freedom is guaranteed.
Citizens’ assemblies could be vital in kick-starting the tough steps needed to safeguard a healthy world – but the detail for how they will work will be important.
Mexicans want leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador to transform the country. But the months leading up to his inauguration sent worrying signs about how he he will use the massive power of his office.
Midterm voters in Utah, Missouri, Michigan and North Dakota will decide whether to join the 31 US states that have some form of legal marijuana. But ballot initiatives can only take pot so far.
At a time when our political future is uncertain, the only way to guarantee change is to do it yourself.
While Facebook’s Zuckerberg suggested as much recently, companies run like autocracies cannot fulfill technology’s promise of reinvigorating the democratic process.
While the US is reeling from rampant fake online news, political movements in Europe are using the internet as a powerful democratic symbol to win elections. Will cyber-optimism or pessimism win?
Australia’s national politicians again need to step up and lead the way on the inevitable process of national and global democratic innovation.

















