The Citizens’ Panel on COVID-19 did just that.
Everyday Americans worked together, without playing politics, to find common ground and point a way forward—providing a glimpse of what democracy can and should be.
The original vision for democracy in ancient Athens used lotteries to select representatives, to counter the corruption and division that came with elections. Now democratic lotteries are making a comeback, in response to the distrust and division of modern times.
“the appointment of magistrates by lot [lottery] is thought to be democratical, and the election of them oligarchical” – Aristotle
The Citizens’ Panel on COVID-19 worked across political differences to produce a final report of 12 recommendations to guide the response to the pandemic.
And because these citizen-representatives didn’t have to play politics, they were free to honestly engage with each other and the issues.
Think about it. Elected politicians have to obey their party, repay their donors, and constantly score political points.
But everyday people selected by lottery don’t owe anything to anyone and can’t run for reelection. So they are free to actually listen to, learn from, and work with each other to address our issues.
“Compared to having elected politicians in Congress, everyday Americans selected in a democratic lottery would be…”
The same high percentage of conservatives and liberals embrace this vision—and its even higher among independents.
“I have always dreamed of this type of leadership. The whole game of politics is a ludicrous concept. I would be so honored to serve in this capacity…”
59-year-old liberal woman from the suburban Midwest
“That every voice is heard throughout the nation instead of these politicians who think they can get away with murder and do whatever they want.”
40-year-old politically disinterested man from the urban Midwest
“The idea of truly draining the swamp excites me beyond reason… an actual chance to see what the common citizen can accomplish.”
41-year-old conservative man from the Suburban South
59-year-old liberal woman from the suburban Midwest
40-year-old politically disinterested man from the urban Midwest
41-year-old conservative man from the Suburban South
This is a vision for lawmaking bodies at the local, state, and national level.
And although this vision principally applies to city councils, state legislatures, and Congress, there are also ways to replace partisan primaries for executive positions—like mayor, governor, and president—with lottery-drawn Citizens’ Commissions.
Instead of voters and campaigns, these representative and deliberative bodies of everyday citizens would field, vet, nominate, and possibly even select executive candidates.
From city councils to Congress, lawmaking bodies deal mostly with questions of morals, values, and priorities. How do we want to live together? How should we spend our hard-earned tax dollars? What kind of future do we want for our children?
Answering these questions requires a deep understanding of our communities and our country, and firsthand knowledge of the challenges we face. And when it requires expert knowledge about a specific issue, these citizens can call on expert testimony—just like elected politicians do. Experts can advise, but they shouldn’t decide.
The people who live like us and share the same hopes, dreams, and concerns as us are the ones who are most qualified to truly represent us.
And when it comes to executing policy and running government day-to-day, we do need professional administrators, but there are also promising ways to use lotteries to take parties and politicking out of the selection of mayors, governors, and the president.
Democratic lotteries use proven polling techniques that track the census and the most accurate projections to guide the selection of those picked. This ensures accurate representation across age, gender, geography, income, and race. It creates a true portrait of the population.
We can verify its accuracy just by looking at who gets selected, rather than having to blindly trust faulty and hackable voting booths.
After being selected, the decision to serve would be voluntary. Some may choose to opt-out for whatever reason. For example, they may be running a small business that depends on them. But given our country’s massive population, we can count on there being millions of Americans hoping to get selected and ready to serve.
A minimum age and a restriction against folks who have been convicted of corruption or violent crimes would probably make sense. So might some other basic requirements. We are against qualifications that discriminate and exclude, but ultimately America will have to decide what requirements to put in place.
First, this really doesn’t happen. Citizens’ Panels and Assemblies have shown again and again that when given respect, responsibility, and a chance to listen and learn from one another, people selected by democratic lottery are sensible and civil. And they tend to think passionately about what’s best for everyone.
Second, the large size of legislative bodies, the need to collaborate, and single term limits would mean that extreme views and bad apples wouldn’t make much progress.
Third, for extremely rare cases, there are already rules and procedures on the books that could be maintained and improved to allow the rest of the group to discipline and remove disruptive members.
To start with, no campaigns means no outright buying of representatives.
In addition, one crucial difference that sets this system apart is that since these people represent America simply by being representative of America, they can make their decisions using a secret ballot, just like we do on election day.
This would powerfully defend against corruption once in office by preventing the trading of votes for favors or bribes, the way politicians currently do. Think about it – would you try to bribe someone if you could never confirm if they upheld their end of the deal? It would free our decision makers to truly do what’s right.
Up until this point, those working to advance democratic lotteries have largely focused on convincing politicians of the need for more consultative Citizens’ Panels and Assemblies. As you might imagine, they’ve encountered some resistance along the way. And of the work that has been done, there hasn’t been much in the way of compelling documentation.
In contrast, of by for* is focused on powerfully communicating the promise of this vision for democracy directly to everyday people and taking a true grassroots approach to creating change.
The real goal when selecting representatives in lawmaking bodies is to find people who represent us and our values. A democratic lottery achieves this far better than elections ever can, because it’s real people who look like us and live like us, with no ulterior motives. It’s not out of touch politicians saying whatever, and taking money from wherever, just to win our vote.
Voting could still be used to select executive positions that require specialized skills like mayor, governor or president. Although there are promising ways to use lotteries to take parties and politicking out of that selection process too.
We’re a non-partisan, non-profit working to replace politicians with everyday people. That’s it. We don’t take sides on any issues and we don’t take money with strings attached.
We began as a few regular people who’d had enough of our divisive and dysfunctional politics. We want to see America heal its divide and rise to its challenges. We have different views on substantive issues but we’re united in our conviction that government should be of, by, and for the people.
Adam has a decade of experience in this field and is on the Coordinating Committee of Democracy R&D, a network of close to 40 organizations advancing democratic lotteries in 18 countries around the world.
Before dedicating himself to of by for*, Adam co-founded Democracy In Practice, whose work reinventing student government with democratic lotteries was a finalist for the Council of Europe’s 2016 Democracy Innovation Award, and was recently featured on Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast.
Adam also brings to of by for* his on-the-ground experience of having been involved in the Occupy Wall St protests and having witnessed the 2019 popular uprising in Bolivia.
Adam has a decade of experience in this field and is on the Coordinating Committee of Democracy R&D, a network of close to 40 organizations advancing democratic lotteries in 18 countries around the world.
Before dedicating himself to of by for*, Adam co-founded Democracy In Practice, whose work reinventing student government with democratic lotteries was a finalist for the Council of Europe’s 2016 Democracy Innovation Award, and was recently featured on Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast.
Adam also brings to of by for* his on-the-ground experience of having been involved in the Occupy Wall St protests and having witnessed the 2019 popular uprising in Bolivia.
George has a decade of experience working as an artist and designer leading complex, interdisciplinary projects.
His large-scale public artworks have re-imagined San Francisco’s most iconic public spaces – including Civic Center and Grace Cathedral - and consistently moved people of all ages and backgrounds. His work has been featured in TIME, NPR, WIRED, FastCompany, and more.
In 2018, he set aside his art and design practice to dedicate himself to the study of social movements from past to present.
George has a decade of experience working as an artist and designer leading complex, interdisciplinary projects.
His large-scale public artworks have re-imagined San Francisco’s most iconic public spaces – including Civic Center and Grace Cathedral - and consistently moved people of all ages and backgrounds. His work has been featured in TIME, NPR, WIRED, FastCompany, and more.
In 2018, he set aside his art and design practice to dedicate himself to the study of social movements from past to present.
We’re guided by dozens of accomplished specialists in different fields, who bring diverse perspectives and expertise to our work.
David Schechter – Democracy R&D
Lynn Carson – newDemocracy Foundation
Yves Dejaeghere – G1000
Chris Ellis – MASS LBP
Terry Bouricius – Vermont House of Representatives (formerly)
Hélène Landemore – Yale University
Brett Hennig – Sortition Foundation
Marcin Gerwin – PhD & Citizens’ Assembly Practitioner
Manuel Arriaga – Fórum dos Cidadãos
Liz Berry – Pol.is
Jay Costa – Voters’ Right to Know
Perry Rosenstein – Hustle
Patrick Chalmers – All Hands On
Renn Vara – SNP Communications
Michael Pappas – San Francisco Interfaith Council
Jamie Kelsey-Fry – Extinction Rebellion & New Internationalist
Oscar Olivera – Fundación Abril
Sally Morton – Sunrise Movement
Douglas Atkin – Airbnb & Purpose
Chelsea Robinson – Generation Zero
Rahmin Sarabi – Commonweal
Micah Daigle – Students for Sensible Drug Policy
of by for* is an active member of Democracy R&D, an international network of organizations (see map) and individuals working with Citizens’ Panels and other similar processes.
We’re a non-partisan, non-profit working to replace politicians with everyday people. That’s it. We don’t take sides on any issues and we don’t take money with strings attached.
We began as a few regular people who’d had enough of our divisive and dysfunctional politics. We want to see America heal its divide and rise to its challenges. We have different views on substantive issues but we’re united in our conviction that government should be of, by, and for the people.
Adam has a decade of experience in this field and is on the Coordinating Committee of Democracy R&D, a network of close to 40 organizations advancing democratic lotteries in 18 countries around the world.
Before dedicating himself to of by for*, Adam co-founded Democracy In Practice, whose work reinventing student government with democratic lotteries was a finalist for the Council of Europe’s 2016 Democracy Innovation Award, and was recently featured on Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast.
Adam also brings to of by for* his on-the-ground experience of having been involved in the Occupy Wall St protests and having witnessed the 2019 popular uprising in Bolivia.
Adam has a decade of experience in this field and is on the Coordinating Committee of Democracy R&D, a network of close to 40 organizations advancing democratic lotteries in 18 countries around the world.
Before dedicating himself to of by for*, Adam co-founded Democracy In Practice, whose work reinventing student government with democratic lotteries was a finalist for the Council of Europe’s 2016 Democracy Innovation Award, and was recently featured on Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast.
Adam also brings to of by for* his on-the-ground experience of having been involved in the Occupy Wall St protests and having witnessed the 2019 popular uprising in Bolivia.
George has a decade of experience working as an artist and designer leading complex, interdisciplinary projects.
His large-scale public artworks have re-imagined San Francisco’s most iconic public spaces – including Civic Center and Grace Cathedral - and consistently moved people of all ages and backgrounds. His work has been featured in TIME, NPR, WIRED, FastCompany, and more.
In 2018, he set aside his art and design practice to dedicate himself to the study of social movements from past to present.
George has a decade of experience working as an artist and designer leading complex, interdisciplinary projects.
His large-scale public artworks have re-imagined San Francisco’s most iconic public spaces – including Civic Center and Grace Cathedral - and consistently moved people of all ages and backgrounds. His work has been featured in TIME, NPR, WIRED, FastCompany, and more.
In 2018, he set aside his art and design practice to dedicate himself to the study of social movements from past to present.
We’re guided by dozens of accomplished specialists in different fields, who bring diverse perspectives and expertise to our work.
David Schechter – Democracy R&D
Lynn Carson – newDemocracy Foundation
Yves Dejaeghere – G1000
Chris Ellis – MASS LBP
Terry Bouricius – Vermont House of Representatives (formerly)
Hélène Landemore – Yale University
Brett Hennig – Sortition Foundation
Marcin Gerwin – PhD & Citizens’ Assembly Practitioner
Manuel Arriaga – Fórum dos Cidadãos
Liz Berry – Pol.is
Jay Costa – Voters’ Right to Know
Perry Rosenstein – Hustle
Patrick Chalmers – All Hands On
Renn Vara – SNP Communications
Michael Pappas – San Francisco Interfaith Council
Jamie Kelsey-Fry – Extinction Rebellion & New Internationalist
Oscar Olivera – Fundación Abril
Sally Morton – Sunrise Movement
Douglas Atkin – Airbnb & Purpose
Chelsea Robinson – Generation Zero
Rahmin Sarabi – Commonweal
Micah Daigle – Students for Sensible Drug Policy
of by for* is an active member of Democracy R&D, an international network of organizations (see map) and individuals working with Citizens’ Panels and other similar processes.