Deliberative voting guides in referendum elections: A reliable way to enhance democracy and improve public policymaking

Referenda are a common tool for mass participation in decision-making at scale, but their effectiveness hinges on how informed citizens are, with few built-in measures to ensure this. Since 2010, many US states and local governments have experimented with a democratic innovation called the Citizens' Initiative Review (CIR), to help referenda more reliably achieve democratic aims. A typical CIR gathers twenty residents to examine a ballot initiative or referendum for four days, then provides a one-page analysis for use by voters in an upcoming election. Dr. Gastil and colleagues have studied the CIR extensively, particularly in Oregon, where this process became state law in 2010. This talk will discuss the key findings of this research, such as the CIR's effect on voter knowledge, voting choices, and public attitudes toward government.