This is a belated posting of a Democracy Works interview conducted with John Gastil and Robin Teater about the CIR and deliberative democracy. It’s a goode interview, conducted by Jenna Spinelle, who’s been winning all sorts of awards for this show. Winning the “democracy...

This podcast interview on the CIR just went live. It’s done by the Scholars Strategy Network, a group that aims to bring scholarly work into the public conversation. It’s 23 mins long. Enjoy!...

South Dakota’s legislature is considering establishing a Citizens’ Initiative Review Commission, but the name is possibly the only family resemblance to the CIR process created in Oregon. House Bill 1007 explains that “the Citizen Initiative Review Commission shall be composed of eleven members appointed by the State Board of Elections.” That includes former and current legislators, with Commission members serving four...

South Australia is considering a potential nuclear waste facility, and a randomly-selected body of 365 persons recently convened to deliberate on the issue. After reaching a two-thirds majority opposed to the proposal, the jury’s recommendations may or may not elicit a response from the government. What may happen next is a statewide referendum on the question. In a recent op-ed on the subject, Luca Belgiorno-Nettis of the newDemocracy...

2016 Oregon CIR panel, with facilitators Mike and Mary in top-right corner, and Gracie the Dog front-center. The 2016 iteration of the CIR is the fourth cycle of this process in Oregon, which began with the 2010 election. The result was a balanced statement (with an 11-9 split in the panelists’ vote) on Measure 97, which proposed a dramatic rise in gross receipts tax to boost the state’s general fund, which principally goes to...

Suffolk student intern Elainy Mata has produced a short animation explaining the Citizens’ Initiative Review pilot in Massachusetts. Update: the issue to be studied has been chosen, and it’s marijuana...