CitizenGroups.org and VoteFast.org

Henry Williams
VoteFast.org

     Full text: Not available
     Last modified: March 15, 2005

Abstract
Better government will come from voters’ ballot decisions being based on concrete information and deliberation, not sound bites and ads. Citizens have different levels of interest in political and community issues, varying amounts of time to devote to research and deliberation and different preferences for methods of deliberation. A range of opportunities for individuals to participate and to receive information is needed. Large public and online forums exist and are being improved. In addition, local small discussion groups are needed, as well as sources of concise information for time-constrained voters.

CitizenGroups.org is a web site in development that will provide a structure for the formation and operation of small, local discussion groups (similar to book clubs) either online, in person, or a combination of both. The site will provide information on various issues and channels for the groups to share the results of their deliberations, interact with other groups and receive feedback.

CitizenGroups.org is a follow-up to an existing demonstration web site, VoteFast.org, which was designed for San Diego County voters during the November 2004 election. VoteFast.org targets voters who don’t have the time or inclination to study election issues, but still want to make informed choices. On the site voters can quickly see various organizations’ recommendations on ballot issues. The site has received positive response. However, it only includes the recommendations of well-financed groups that already have significant influence in government. CitizenGroups.org will provide grassroots majority and minority opinions as additional input for users of the VoteFast.org website. CitizenGroups.org and VoteFast.org together offer effective tools to enable online and face-to-face deliberation to contribute to better government.