Would it be possible, with computers in most homes, to have a "true" democratic process?

Question

With the invention and now wide spread prolifiration of computers in American households, is it or will it be possible to relieve our corrupt legislative systems of some of their responsibility with voting online by computer? Seeing how this country is being taken in a direction that the vast majority disapprove of, I believe this may be a way to regain the democratic spirit our forefathers envisioned. Most of the processes they implyed (representatives) were due to the vast distances between settlers and the inability to fully include everyone.

Answer 1

Though the idea of government by plebiscite or referendum seems good, and an ideal form of democracy, I must wonder if we are ready for it.

While we may be close on the technological front (though the poor are far behind the middle class and rich) I don't know if we can handle tough policy decisions in such an egalitarian manner.

Look at how many poorly thought out questions and answers appear on a site like this. Look how much hatred, partisanship and knee jerk thinking is behind many of the postings.

Would these people think more soberly if they were actually casting a vote?

Governance of modern, complex societies require a lot of complex policy decisions. Though many people have the intelligence and education to understand these complexities, they do not have the time to acquire that depth of comprehension for each issue. They are busy being engineers, lawyers, technicians or whatever else they spend their time earning money at. This is the reason for a professional class of politician, who deepen their understanding of complex issues in order to make informed decisions about them.

Of course, as we can see, that doesn't work all that well either. Still, I'm not sure we should throw the baby out with the bath water.

Answer 2

I don't think that would work very well in a country this large. In order for it to truly be a democracy, the government would have to provide an identical computer and internet connection to every single registered voter in the US. The work week would also have to be shortened by at least a day, probably two, so that voters would have a chance to research any questions slated for voting. And then, the government would have to wait for all the votes to come in. From a population of 300 million, that could take a long time.

If America were a true democracy, I think you'd find that the country would grind to a halt. Being a representative republic has its advantages and disadvantages, but overall, I think it is the most efficient option for a country of this size and varied population.

Answer 3

Actually, despite the proliferation of computers and the internet, is would still not be possible to have a true democracy.

The problem with a true democracy is that people would have to spend so much time reading about proposed laws or rules, etc. and voting, that they wouldn't have time to do their jobs or even to sleep. I mean, do you realize how many different things are decided by the local, state, and federal governments every day?

That is why we have a representative republic. We elect people who we think we vote on the things we would vote for anyway, to do all that work for us. Unfortunately, most people don't take the time to truly keep tabs on what their elected representatives are doing. If people don't like what their representative is doing, they should vote him out of office and put someone in place that will do what the people want. This is not usually the case in this country.

Answer 4

I think I said something like your question somewhere earlier and I was joking because It's impractical due to many security concerns about the Internet being a public worldly domain.

But seriously, since the Internet was developed as a military project, a separate intra-network or let's call it WeGov network that hooks up every constituent household via phones to a special metropolitan servers where votes about laws are taken on daily basis at specific hours, these servers should be monitored by non-partisan committees made up of jury-like groups. In addition to data integrity technical experts who serve in a round-robin manner, to guarantee no security tampering is carried out by power craving groups in the intranetwork.
All votes can be relayed or gathered in a mainframe system so that American say her final word instead of using corrupt think tanks and PR lobbying to influenct lawmakers, media on everyday of our lives. Oh, the President is no longer needed, how about a chancellor?

For that to work you need DNA Voting Cards handed over to the constituency so that the dead don't vote anymore and no more cheating.

Do you think the paid politicians in DC would like it when you say that you're planning on firing them for the rest of their political lives?

Answer 5

I like this idea. It would take some time to work out the logistics, but the questions posed by Al Gore and Stephen Hawking showed that a lot of people do think about the serious questions, and have some ideas about how things could work. And it would help me. I have to go through a serious song and dance in order to vote, because I reside in Great Britain.

Answer 6

I think you have to approach it from three perspectives; college education and its availability and affordability, retirement and what the future holds for them and how bad it could be as opposed to now and the way it is for their parents living on fixed incomes or about to live on fixed incomes, thirdly-the environment. While these things are not directly related all three hold huge social and financial impact for the younger adults of this country that will affect them for many years to come after they are well past their mid 30s and 40s an into their retirment years even. By becoming involved and helping and taking a hand now with the decisions and policies that will be made they are helping to set the course for THEIR future.

Answer 7

Not unless every one had a computer. Those of us that are rich enough to own a computer and internet connection are really not a majority of the people.

Answer 8

Well what happens if two people vote on the same fu**ing computer. I mean Good G*d

Answer 9

Too many dead people show up this way.!!