Democracy 2.1

Democracy 2.1
Abbreviation D21
Founder Karel Janeček
Location
Services Voting system
Website web.d21.me/en/

Democracy 2.1 (also known as D21) is an electoral system and organization created by Czech mathematician and political activist Karel Janeček.[1][2][3] The system was developed ostensibly in response to corruption within the Czech political system.[4] As opposed to a single-vote system, D21 offers voters the opportunity to cast both multiple and negative votes.[5][6] Though it has not yet been used in any general elections, D21 has found use in several participatory budgeting programs conducted by cities and countries around the world, including New York City.[7][8][9] The game Prezident 21 was introduced in 2016 in order to help familiarize people with the D21 system.[10]

Background

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2013, a majority of Czech citizens believe political corruption in the country to be widespread.[11] In March 2011, Janeček founded the Endowment Fund Against Corruption (NFPK) whose stated objective was exposing prominent cases of corruption.[12] It was suggested that the country's voting system itself needed to be revamped[4][13] so the basis of "Democracy 2.1" was formulated in 2012 and was beta tested the following year.[14]

Rules of the system

The general definition of Democracy 2.1 is stated as follows:[15]

  • Only one vote may be cast for any candidate.
  • For every minus vote cast, voters must cast at least twice as many plus votes.[16]
  • Voters typically receive twice as many plus votes as there are winners and may only receive up to half as many minus votes as there are plus votes.
  • All votes are weighted the same in absolute terms.

The inability to cast all of one's votes on a single candidate encourages voters to use their remaining votes on other candidates, with whose positions they agree even if they are of a different party affiliation.[4][17]

Incentives

The multiple-vote system is supposed to exhibit a "gaming aspect" that encourages greater voter participation.[18] It is also meant to "increase voter satisfaction" due to the increased likelihood that at least one of a voter's choices is eventually elected.[4]

A minus vote is meant to be used against undesirable options[4] and may serve as a countermeasure against support for corrupt candidates.[13]

Official proposal

The proposal to utilize Democracy 2.1 and two-seat voting districts was submitted to the Czech government, and rejected. As of 2015, D21 has not been used to decide any major general elections in the country or elsewhere.[13]

Development

In April 2015, D21 worked alongside Stanford University in creating digital ballots for participatory budgeting programs in several New York City districts. In addition to the actual ballots were experimental ones that tested the voting algorithm, which were said to showcase the system's increase in voter consensus as well as satisfaction.[4][7]

D21 was one of many digital tools included in a 2016 study conducted by the Democratic Society of Scotland in regards to participatory budgeting. According to the study, participants found that the system increased voter engagement by making them think more carefully about decisions and furthermore helped clarify voter priorities.[8] The system was considered for participatory budgeting experiments in Cascais, Portugal.[9][13]

Criticism

Negative voting has been described described as "ill-advised" in cases where it could be used against a religious or ethnic minority.[17] Concerns have also been raised that the minus vote could encourage negative campaigning.[18]

Political scientist Karel Sál has criticized Democracy 2.1, claiming Janeček's assumption that a new electoral system alone could cleanse Czech politics is "at least naive," and further criticizes the system's basis on the ideals of rational choice theory. Sál also highlighted the technical difficulty of amending the Constitution of the Czech Republic in order to implement D21 into Czech elections.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lidi, pojďte si hrát! Karel Janeček nabízí hru Prezident 21, snesitelnou lehkost bytí". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  2. ↑ Šenk, Michal (2016-03-05). "Brzy to bude miliardový byznys, věří svému projektu Demokracie 2.1 Janeček". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  3. ↑ "Z globálního hlediska je v současnosti situace na hraně | Téma". Česká Pozice (in Czech). 2016-05-21. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alumnus Gives Voters A Better Way to Decide - News - Carnegie Mellon University". Carnegie Mellon University. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  5. ↑ "Potom, co jsem vymyslel Demokracii 2.1, jsem si dal jointa, přiznal Janeček". Deník.cz (in Czech). 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  6. ↑ Šenk, Michal (2015-04-10). "New York, Říčany i první firmy už volí podle modelu českého miliardáře Karla Janečka". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  7. 1 2 "New York City Tests Digital Ballot in Participatory Budget Vote". Civic Hall. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  8. 1 2 The Democratic Society for the Scottish Government (February 2016). Digital tools and Scotland’s Participatory Budgeting programme (PDF) (Report).
  9. 1 2 Pincha, João Pedro. "Lex Paulson: "Nova Iorque tem muito a aprender com Cascais"". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  10. ↑ "Online hra Prezident 21 spustila prezidentskou volbu v reálném čase". Tyinternety.cz (in Czech). 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  11. ↑ "Czech Republic 2013 - World's largest opinion survey on corruption - Transparency International". Transparency International. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  12. ↑ "Anti-corruption campaigner 'targeted' by Prague underworld | Téma". Lidovky.cz. 2012-01-31. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Cunningham, Benjamin (2015-08-13). "Recalculating democracy". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  14. ↑ "ParticipateDB: The Digital Engagement Tool Directory". www.participatedb.com. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  15. ↑ Janeček, Karel (2016-08-29). "Democracy 2.1" (PDF). D21.me. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  16. ↑ Sweeting, David (2017-03-15). Directly Elected Mayors in Urban Governance: Impact and Practice. Policy Press. pp. 209, 216. ISBN 9781447327011.
  17. 1 2 "Czech philanthropist exports own-developed election system | Prague Monitor". praguemonitor.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  18. 1 2 Haury, Caroline (2014-10-31). "Democracy 2.1: The idea of empowering voters through a new election system". Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Brussels. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  19. ↑ Sál, Karel (2015-05-29). "The Democracy 2.1 election system under the magnifying glass". e-politics.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2018-04-17.
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