Category Archives: sortition

Vote for sortition at the Looking at Democracy contest

Please vote for one of my entries to the Looking at Democracy contest Click to see: Towards a Two-Legged Democracy Making Democracy Real – The argument for legislative juries Making Democracy Reality Each is near the 3-minute maximum allowed by … Continue reading

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Why Elections are the Problem and How to Make Democracy Real

I hope you will purchase my just-published essay “Why Elections are the Problem and How to Make Democracy Real”. Or cut & paste: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0081H7JVC The essay begins with a short review of how and why elections inherently produce legislatures which … Continue reading

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Wikimania proposal: Why Elections Are The Problem and How to Make Democracy Real

For those of you who use Wikipedia, notice that ‘Wikimania’ will be in Washington 12-15 July. I have just proposed a presentation: “Why Elections Are the Problem and How To Make Democracy Real”. IF YOU ARE GOING or KNOW ANYONE … Continue reading

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Right-wing conservative proposal to use sortition

Coming from the right-wing in Texas, interesting to see they suggest using sortition to select a ‘super grand jury’ for the sake of, possibly, resisting federal enforcement of what any citizen might want to declare as unconstitutional. 10th Amendment Commission … Continue reading

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One of the concerns expressed about a legislature that is “BY” the people is that ‘the people’ would easily be corrupted and bribed. I don’t think the statistics have changed that much since this 2007 article. http://harpers.org/archive/2007/09/hbc-90001300 Using sortition to … Continue reading

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One of the impe…

One of the impediments to instituting sortitional selection is, I believe, the *dispassionate* nature of the proposal.  It is such a rational and egalitarian idea that I don’t see it igniting the fire of emotional conviction that seems to accompany … Continue reading

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Statistical accuracy in using sortition for a Citizen Legislature

You can find lots of FAQs about sortitional selection on the Common Lot website. Here’s one you’ll find this most recent entry (below) at https://thecommonlot.com/node/56 Question: What is the statistical probability that sortition (random selection) will result in an accurate … Continue reading

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“The Common Lot: Take Off” — a novel about a Citizen Legislature through sortition

I have just completed a novel based on a Citizen Legislature selected by sortition.  It is provisionally titled “The Common Lot: Take Off”.  I have posted the first three chapters on website http://www.TheCommonLot.com. This is an excision, re-write and update … Continue reading

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