If Democracy 2.0 is only about more discussion then nothing is really going to change. We need binding elections on issues, that is, we need national ballot initiatives. In 24 states, we have ballot initiatives. Ballot initiatives permit public policy to catch up with public opinion (as measured by polls) more quickly than in a purely representative system of government. Moreover, ballot initiatives have indirect effects of bringing accountability to representative legislatures, educating citizens about public policy issues, and fostering more creative solutions to the problems we face. The National Initiative for Democracy (http://ni4d.us) is a proposal to add ballot initiatives at the federal level and in all jurisdictions.
NI4D is modeled on direct initiative as practiced in many states, but also introduces three key reforms: (a) NI4D outlaws corporate contributions to campaigns for or against an initiative, reversing the Supreme Court decision in First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978). (b) In existing direct initiative procedures, initiative language is finalized prior to signature collection. There is no informed deliberation, no consensus-building, and no compromise. To address this procedural weakness, NI4D incorporates a public hearing and deliberative committee (a.k.a. citizen jury). The committee has the power to rewrite the initiative, incorporating feedback from all stakeholders. (c) NI4D includes an option to qualify initiative proposals by polling. In large jurisdictions, polling is less expensive and more accurate than signature collection.
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