User:DvDemocracy/Designated Voter Democracy

Designated voter democracy is a form of direct democracy except, instead of directly voting for legislation, voters form groups of like-minded voters that vote as a bloc. Each group has a member called the designated voter who is responsible for actually casting the group's bloc of votes.

The Designated Voter
The designated voter is chosen by the group. The designated voter is both a member and the representative of a group of like-minded voters that. The designated voter has three main responsibilities to the group:


 * Staying up-to-date and informing the group on current legislation.
 * Recommending that the group support a particular bill.
 * Contributing the group's bloc of votes toward that bill once the group agrees to support it.

The Group
Each individual voter can only be a member of a single group and can leave or join a group at any time. The group reserves the right to reject or deny membership to any citizen. It is up to the individual group to decide their membership policy.

Writing and Sponsoring Legislation
The designated voter can also write and sponsor legislation and invite other designated voters to collaborate on a bill. Once a sponsored bill is written, it is then officially introduced by being posted on an official website. The designated voters and their groups can then decide whether or not to contribute their votes towards the bill. Voting is not anonymous. Once a vote is contributed, the voter's name is attached to the bill. The bill becomes law once enough votes are contributed by the designated voters to reach a majority. The bill has four years to reach a majority or it expires.

Voting Against The Group
Voters who don't want to vote for a bill recommended by the designated voter (and supported by the group) can opt out and thus their vote would not be contributed to the bill by the designated voter. The voter can also contribute their vote to a bill that the designated voter decides not to support. Voters can also withdraw their support from a bill at any time as long as they do so before the bill becomes law.

Voting is Public
Anytime a citizen's vote is contributed to a bill, the name of the citizen becomes attached to the bill. This means that there is no anonymous voting in this system.

History
The idea of the designated voter was first introduced in a Youtube video by a user named DvDemocracy. According to the video, the problem with representative democracy is that politicians can technically pass any legislation they choose regardless of public opinion. This lack of public control of the legislative process results in the hijacking of democracy by banks and corporations.