Problems

The problems What is broken in how democracies listen Persistent problems in how democracies listen, each examined with evidence and honest limits. All problems

Trust and informationPolarizationWhy sides stop listening Trust in electionsConfidence and doubt MisinformationFalse claims, corrections Local news collapseWhen nobody covers city hall Silence between electionsYears with no voice

Who takes partUnequal participationWho shows up, who does not Low local turnoutSmall turnout, big stakes Youth participationWhy the young vote less Ballot accessRules that shape who can vote Voter intimidationPressure and threats

How decisions get madeMoney in politicsWhose priorities get funded Agenda captureWho decides what gets decided GerrymanderingDrawing lines to choose voters GridlockWhen nothing can pass The representation gapPolicy versus priorities

Framework

The framework My priorities. My opinion. My vote. Three different things with three different sharing rules. Understand the framework

The three partsPrioritiesWhat matters, how much OpinionsViews shared only by choice Private votingA decision that stays secret

How it worksStart hereThe framework in five minutes The whole frameworkDefinition and boundaries ProposalsFrom issue to ballot item Participation over timeBetween elections, too TradeoffsPriorities versus budgets

FoundationsRepresentationResponsiveness and judgment The secret ballotHow private voting came to be Athenian democracyLot, assembly, exclusion Access and exclusionWho was kept from voting Participation historyConsultation and budgets

Subjects

Subjects What the public prioritizes, and who decides Ten subjects: who decides, and what the evidence shows. All subjects

Daily life

EducationSchools, teachers, outcomes

Economy and workJobs, wages, prices

Health and careAccess, cost, caregiving

Housing and communitiesHomes, rents, neighborhoods

Infrastructure and transportRoads, transit, water

Society and the state

Environment and energyClimate, power, land

Safety and justicePolicing, courts, prisons

Government and rightsElections, speech, privacy

Immigration and citizenshipBorders, status, belonging

Defense and foreign affairsSecurity, alliances, aid

Cases

Case studies What happened when the public was asked Real cases from around the world, the successes and the failures. All cases

DeliberationIrelandAssemblies and referendums vTaiwanOnline consensus building British ColumbiaAn assembly on voting FranceThe climate convention OstbelgienA permanent citizens dialogue

Direct democracySwitzerlandVotes several times a year CaliforniaInitiatives at scale BrexitOne question, long effects Taiwan referendumsTurnout thresholds New Zealand 2020Two referendums, one election

Voting technologyEstoniaInternet voting since 2005 ColoradoRisk limiting audits Swiss e-voting trialsHalted, then rebuilt Washington, D.C. 2010A public test, broken BrazilElectronic voting nationwide

Trust

Trust Privacy first, and honest about the limits Your vote is never shared. Opinions only by your choice. Privacy and data

Privacy and consentPrivacyDifferent data, rules ConsentPurpose specific and revocable Published releasesScheduled, no raw feed IntimidationCoercion and vote buying

SecuritySecurityThreat model and honest limits Identity and registrationSign-in is not eligibility HardwareDevices, keys, tampering Audits and verificationChecks that keep secrecy

AccountabilityGovernanceWho answers for the operator JurisdictionsLayered laws and districts StatusWhat exists today

Learn

Learn Graduate depth, plain language first Reading paths, a twelve week seminar, research methods and sources. Reading paths

Start learningReading pathsFor every kind of reader Hard questionsDirect answers to objections GlossaryStable definitions Seminar guideTwelve weeks of readings Research notesShort, dated, sourced

Research methodsQuestion designHow wording shapes answers MeasurementRankings and missing data Collective prioritiesAggregation and its limits EvaluationDoes any of this work?All researchEvery methods chapter

Search Start here

Search My Vote Forward

ProblemsWhat is broken in how democracies listen

All problems

Trust and information

PolarizationWhy sides stop listening Trust in electionsConfidence and doubt MisinformationFalse claims, corrections Local news collapseWhen nobody covers city hall Silence between electionsYears with no voice

Who takes part

Unequal participationWho shows up, who does not Low local turnoutSmall turnout, big stakes Youth participationWhy the young vote less Ballot accessRules that shape who can vote Voter intimidationPressure and threats

How decisions get made

Money in politicsWhose priorities get funded Agenda captureWho decides what gets decided GerrymanderingDrawing lines to choose voters GridlockWhen nothing can pass The representation gapPolicy versus priorities

FrameworkMy priorities. My opinion. My vote.

Understand the framework

The three parts

PrioritiesWhat matters, how much OpinionsViews shared only by choice Private votingA decision that stays secret

How it works

Start hereThe framework in five minutes The whole frameworkDefinition and boundaries ProposalsFrom issue to ballot item Participation over timeBetween elections, too TradeoffsPriorities versus budgets

Foundations

RepresentationResponsiveness and judgment The secret ballotHow private voting came to be Athenian democracyLot, assembly, exclusion Access and exclusionWho was kept from voting Participation historyConsultation and budgets

SubjectsWhat the public prioritizes, and who decides

All subjects

Daily life

EducationSchools, teachers, outcomes Economy and workJobs, wages, prices Health and careAccess, cost, caregiving Housing and communitiesHomes, rents, neighborhoods Infrastructure and transportRoads, transit, water

Society and the state

Environment and energyClimate, power, land Safety and justicePolicing, courts, prisons Government and rightsElections, speech, privacy Immigration and citizenshipBorders, status, belonging Defense and foreign affairsSecurity, alliances, aid

CasesWhat happened when the public was asked

All cases

Deliberation

IrelandAssemblies and referendums vTaiwanOnline consensus building British ColumbiaAn assembly on voting FranceThe climate convention OstbelgienA permanent citizens dialogue

Direct democracy

SwitzerlandVotes several times a year CaliforniaInitiatives at scale BrexitOne question, long effects Taiwan referendumsTurnout thresholds New Zealand 2020Two referendums, one election

Voting technology

EstoniaInternet voting since 2005 ColoradoRisk limiting audits Swiss e-voting trialsHalted, then rebuilt Washington, D.C. 2010A public test, broken BrazilElectronic voting nationwide

TrustPrivacy first, and honest about the limits

Privacy and data

Privacy and consent

PrivacyDifferent data, rules ConsentPurpose specific and revocable Published releasesScheduled, no raw feed IntimidationCoercion and vote buying

Security

SecurityThreat model and honest limits Identity and registrationSign-in is not eligibility HardwareDevices, keys, tampering Audits and verificationChecks that keep secrecy

Accountability

GovernanceWho answers for the operator JurisdictionsLayered laws and districts StatusWhat exists today

LearnGraduate depth, plain language first

Reading paths

Start learning

Reading pathsFor every kind of reader Hard questionsDirect answers to objections GlossaryStable definitions Seminar guideTwelve weeks of readings Research notesShort, dated, sourced

Research methods

Question designHow wording shapes answers MeasurementRankings and missing data Collective prioritiesAggregation and its limits EvaluationDoes any of this work?All researchEvery methods chapter

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My priorities. My opinion. My vote.

An educational framework for understanding public priorities, choosing what to share, and protecting the private vote.

Problems

Polarization
Trust in elections
Unequal participation
Money in politics
Gerrymandering
All problems →

Subjects

Education
Economy and work
Health and care
Housing and communities
All ten subjects →

Framework

Start here
The framework
Priorities
Opinions
Private voting
Proposals
Representation
Tradeoffs

Cases

Switzerland
Ireland
Estonia
California
All case studies →

Trust

Trust overview
Privacy and data
Consent
Security
Published releases
Governance

Learn

Reading paths
Hard questions
Seminar guide
Glossary
History
Research methods
Research notes
Sources

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