e-lectorate project – improving democratic participation
How do you the gap between the people and their elected representatives in a democracy? The principle of democracy is that everyone has their say in the decisions that are made but in reality this is far from the way a modern democratic society works.
Instead, we opt for a system of elected representatives whereby we vote every four-ish years for new people to represent our political interests. Occasionally we might get a referendum - but these are not guaranteed. So a modern democracy is one where the people have a say at extreme lengths of time and occasionally in the middle.
In between these elections the electorate have to put immense time and effort in to influence political decision making. Even then lobbying political groups is done at great expense of huge organisations who can afford to spend a fortune in time and capital lobbying politicians. The average voter is then priced-out of the democratic process, they have less equity in the democratic society, and their voice - which should be equal – is drowned out.
This is far from a true democracy, a direct democracy, a democracy where all people have a say in all decisions that impact them equally.
But, a direct democracy where everyone has a say in everything is surely a logistical impossibility. I think most people would agree with this statement, mainly because a large portion of the population would rather not get involved in Politics. But with the technological advancements of the 21st century is a direct democracy more achievable?
This is what the e-lectorate project is researching, how to make democracy more direct and more efficient using social networking technology.
Direct access to democracy is a lofty ideal but it is the ambition of the e-lectorate project. Driven by the firm belief that the more people can interact with the institutions that govern them the more the people can have a an active voice in democracy. If that active voice is meant by a listening ear, democratically elected representatives can better represent the people they govern.
Currently the e-lectorate project is in the early stages of testing the e-lectorate application. People based in the UK can download the e-lectorate app from the Apple App Store and Google Play and start to test the platform and provide feedback to shape the project.
You can find out more information about the e-lectorate project by visiting https://www.e-lectorateproject.uk.
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