Resources – Represent California

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How Random Selection Shaped Democracy

Few people know that randomness was a key political technology throughout the history of democracy. In different times, thinkers and social reformers saw sortition as a way to avoid concentration of power and corruption by special interests.

Democracy-RD

The premier website for information about democracy by lot

California Crack Up

Is California beyond repair? A sizable number of Golden State citizens have concluded that it is. Incessant budget crises plus a government paralyzed by partisan gridlock have led to demands for reform, even a constitutional convention. But what, exactly, is wrong and how can we fix it?

California – A History

California has always been our Shangri-la–the promised land of countless pilgrims in search of the American Dream. Now the Golden State's premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweep of California's history into one splendid volume (Goodreads)

Revisionist History

Malcolm Gladwell podcast. In Bolivia, a political activist radically reforms the voting process for... student council elections.

Making Government Make Sense

1993 document from the California Legislative Analyst's Office proposing A More Rational Structure for State and Local Government

Healthy-Democracy

Working to elevate citizen voices and improve public discourse. In states. In communities. In schools.

Democracy When the People are Thinking

What would democracy be like if the people were really thinking in depth about the policies they must live with? If they really 'deliberated' with good information about their political choices?

Catching the Deliberative Wave

Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions. A report on close to 300 representative deliberative practices

Why-Have-a-Citizens-Assembly

A two-minute video by Extinction Rebellion, a youth-led climate group in Great Britain

The 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention

In 1972, ordinary citizens wrote the Montana constitution. Elected officials were not allowed to participate.

Alabama Removes Racist Language from its Constitution

Efforts to rewrite the State Constitution failed twice before. But last fall, voters — jolted partly by racial justice protests across the country — gave a green light. This month, a committee of lawmakers and lay people began the process of redrafting; their work will go before the voters next year to be ratified before the new Constitution can take effect.

A New Way to Self Govern

Experiments demonstrate a new way to self govern - the selection of representatives by lottery

Reshaping Democracy For The Better

A Movement That’s Quietly Reshaping Democracy For The Better Citizens’ assemblies can help us better address societal challenges, overcome polarization and strengthen trust.

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