Democracy is more than voting and two minutes at the mic. Citizens’ assemblies and open online tools let residents work through decisions together.
AlternativeWhat do we mean by democracy?
5ways a democracy can let “the people rule”
Democracy means the people rule, but there are at least five ways they can. This article is about the last one: neighbors weighing a decision together, after hearing the facts and each other.
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Two minutes at the council mic is participation: you speak, and the council decides. Deliberation is different. Residents hear the evidence and each other, then weigh the choices together.
Where the five come fromV-Dem, a research institute in Sweden, scores every country on these five each year.
The city might sayResidents already have a say: they elect the council and can speak at its meetings.
Being heard and deciding are differentElections let us choose who decides. Public comment lets us be heard. Neither asks residents to work through a decision with each other.
The five types of democracy can pull against each other. More public meetings favor people with free evenings, which works against equality. Each community has to find the balance that fits it.
Source: V-Dem Institute (University of Gothenburg), principles of democracy; Johnny Harris, “I don’t get democracy”, YouTube, Sept. 10, 2026.
AlternativeWhere has it worked?
7,890Bowling Green residents who weighed in online
Citizens’ assemblies draw residents by lottery to study one question and recommend; online tools like Pol.is let thousands more weigh in. Both are already working, from Ireland to Kentucky to Wisconsin.
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Assembly members hear experts and both sides, then vote on recommendations. Pol.is maps the ideas that every group of residents agrees on.
Close to home85% of Eau Claire County’s assembly members called it worthwhile. Milwaukee’s is run by UW–Madison’s community assembly program.
The city might sayAssemblies take time, and they only advise: the council still decides.
A barometer for the councilAdvice still tells us something. When a random mix of residents weighs the same evidence, we can see whether the council’s votes match what residents want, or something else.
Source: IFES ElectionGuide (Ireland, 2018); MIT Technology Review, Apr. 15, 2025; Wisconsin Community Assemblies (UW–Madison); A. Wichowsky, Wisconsin Counties, July 2026.
AlternativeWhere are we now?
86%of voters say the two sides don’t share basic facts
We tend to hear from people and feeds that agree with us, and AI chatbots often reinforce what we want to hear. Deliberation puts people who disagree in one room, working from the same facts.
| Deliberating | Arguing | |
|---|---|---|
| One briefing both sides check | Facts | Sources from our echo chambers |
| A random mix of neighbors | Who | Mostly people who agree |
| Understand, then decide | Goal | Win the argument |
| 22 of 26 gaps narrowed | Result | Sides can’t agree on facts |
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In 2019, 523 voters spent four days at “America in One Room.” Working from briefings vetted by both parties, Democrats and Republicans moved closer on 22 of 26 divisive proposals and rated each other more warmly.
Big tech isn’t the fixDo you know who you’re talking to? Over half of web traffic is now bots, a security firm found in 2026, and some are built to pass as people.
The city might sayPolitics is divided everywhere. A city can’t fix that.
Here, we canSt. Francis can’t fix national politics. It can give neighbors one fair place to work through a local question.
Source: Pew Research Center, June 22, 2016, Oct. 10, 2024 and Oct. 1, 2025; Imperva, Bad Bot Report, 2026; Fishkin et al., American Political Science Review, 2021; Cheng et al., Science, Mar. 26, 2026.
AlternativeHow do we bring everyone in?
45%of St. Francis renters spend 30%+ of income on rent
Weeknight meetings reach people with free evenings. Many residents are stretched too thin: nearly half of St. Francis renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
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Online, a parent can weigh in after bedtime and a shift worker on a break. Connect St. Francis checks that every member lives here, with no ads and no algorithm deciding what you see.
The city might sayOnline forums draw the already-engaged and the loudest voices.
Then bring your neighborsEveryone has access, any hour. If an issue matters to you, ask your neighbors to weigh in. You can change who gets heard today.
Public comment skews older: a study of Massachusetts planning meetings found speakers were older than their neighbors, mostly homeowners and far more likely to oppose new housing. In St. Francis, 45% of households rent.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024, tables B25003 and B25070; Einstein, Palmer and Glick, Perspectives on Politics, 2019; Connect St. Francis.
Questions, corrections, or a neighbor’s story about this? Talk about it on Connect St. Francis.