… In the modern era, the relationship between elected officials and their constituents has become critically strained. President Abraham Lincoln held office hours for constituents. That seems more than a little quaint today. …
Carefully designed online platforms can more effectively embed elections in ongoing conversations about public policy and the future of the republic. In our new book, “Politics With the People,” we show how to build new communication channels between elected officials and constituents. This helps representative democracy become more than just a Darwinian electoral struggle. …
We tested whether we could foster deliberation under modern conditions by developing an online town hall platform that gave constituents an opportunity to have direct interactions with their current member of Congress. CONT.
Michael Neblo, Kevin Esterling & David Lazer, Monkey Cage