Juries for democracy

Posted on December 19, 2025 by Yoram Gat

Sam Wang tells the story of how a grand jury refused to indict a man for assault by sandwich, segues to allotted electoral districting commissions and concludes with the following

Jury-style mechanisms may be one of our best remaining tools for fair governance.

Filed under: Elections, Juries, Press, Sortition | 1 Comment »

Bouricius in Jacobin

Posted on December 19, 2025 by Yoram Gat

Coinciding with their interview with Alexander Guerrero, Jacobin magazine has an article by sortition advocate Terry Bouricius. The article’s title is “Sortition Can Help Cure What Ails Our Democracy”. Here is a short excerpt:

The truth is, elections are a trap. Far from a democratic process, they concentrate power in the hands of elites. This was widely understood in past eras; classical and modern political philosophers observed that elections are tools of oligarchy. The liberal theory of consent of the governed, which elections claim to achieve, is about elevating a “special” caste of rulers. That’s the opposite of self-government. And when you consider the cost of campaigns in time and money, the idea that most working people can run for office — let alone win — is a joke.

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