Citizens Assembly

As you ride the bus or freeway to work tomorrow, ask yourself: Can the person seated next to me, or driving past me, be trusted with the job of redesigning California's basic political and budgetary rules? Are "average Californians" ready to don the white powdered wigs to become the Founding Mothers and Fathers of a new California?

All reform proposals for making California government more representative and responsive face the same obstacle: Entrenched interests, including lawmakers, who benefit from the status quo.

The best means for overcoming those interests is a citizens assembly, a body of approximately 160 average citizens -- randomly selected like a jury pool to ensure diversity and impartiality -- empowered to formally propose electoral reforms via a statewide referendum to their fellow voters.

The citizens assembly members study political reform recommendations for nine months, listening to experts and holding public hearings.… more

In the movie Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray character, a weatherman who is doomed to repeat the same day over and over, asks a question that haunts redistricting reformers in California: "What would you do if you were stuck in one place and everyday was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?"

With the recent failure of the Legislature to place redistricting reform on the ballot -- for the second year in a row -- reformers are scrambling for… more

The conference, which was co-sponsored by  the New America Foundation and CommonSense California, explored the emerging field of deliberative democracy, which uses tools such as citizen dialogues, deliberative polling and citizen's assemblies to engage regular citizens in policy issues. Deliberative democracy methods seek to break through partisan gridlock, overcome special interest domination, and rekindle a sense of civic ownership in the conduct of government.

The conference brought together leading policy makers and opinion leaders, provided a space to meet with… more

Below the surface of all the big issues facing California -- education, prisons, transportation, immigration, political reform -- lies the disturbing reality that the grassroots of citizen political involvement are drying up. In recent years, alienation between Californians and their government leaders has burned like a wildfire across the state, melting voter turnout and heating up cynicism toward the political establishment in Sacramento...

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger renews his call for an independent redistricting commission, a new opinion poll finds that California voters overwhelmingly support improvements in the election process, but there's a catch -- it depends on who is proposing them.

A statewide survey commissioned by the nonpartisan New America Foundation found that 70 percent of voters are more likely to support recommendations made by a panel of average citizens than they are to support the ideas of a government committee or… more

A survey commissioned by the New America Foundation finds that nearly three-quarters of California voters would like to see the creation of a citizen’s panel to explore ideas for making the state’s election process more fair and competitive.

More than three out of four voters also said the system favors Democrat and Republican candidates and is unfair to independents or minor party candidates. And nearly 60% said the system needs improvement and that government would perform better if… more

Contact: Steven Hill (415-6655044) or David Lesher (916-448-3721)

The poll analysis, survey questions and results are available for download in PDF format.

SACRAMENTO, CA – As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for more competition in elections, a survey commissioned by the New America Foundation finds that nearly three-quarters of California voters would like to see the governor and the Legislature create a citizen’s panel to explore ideas for making the state’s election process more fair and competitive. If lawmakers did… more

A number of promising reforms have been proposed for making the California political system more representative and responsive— from independent redistricting, term limits, and open primaries to more modern electoral systems and public financing of campaigns—but all face the same obstacle: entrenched interests, including elected lawmakers, who benefit from the status quo.

One means of removing partisanship and incumbent protectionism from the political reform process is known as a Citizens Assembly, which… more

Choiceless elections. Suspicious voting equipment. Partisan election officials. Superficial political debate. Unresponsive government. Author Steven Hill says that American democracy has been working about as well as the levees around New Orleans. Yet most Americans don’t know what to do about it. Here, finally, is the plan -- 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy.

In his inspiring blueprint for renewing America, Hill makes a stirring call for national election standards, voting equipment overhaul, nonpartisan election officials, a voting day… more