Weekly “What if?” 18.2: Citizen Score

What if our democracy were more of a creative collaboration?

• What if our democracy were more inclusive of and responsive to the voice of the people — not just the vote, but the voice behind it?
• What if ours was less of a purely representative government and more of a continuously collaborative government?
• What if the feedback loops within our system of democratic governance were shorter and faster?
• What if those feedback loops were more information-rich than just a yes or no vote?
• What if we had something called a “Citizen Score?”
• What if one point was added to our Citizen Score every time…

…we voted Yes (A “Yes” Vote)?

…we voted No (A “No” Vote)?

…we voted Yes, and then added an idea that would make the bill or law or initiative or candidate platform even better? (A “Yes, and” Vote)

…we voted Yes, and then shared the rationale for our vote? (A “Yes, because” Vote)

…we voted Yes, and then expressed any caveats or concerns we had about it? (A “Yes, but” Vote)

…we voted No, and then explained why? (A “No, because” Vote)

…we voted No, but explained what might change our mind? (A “No, but” Vote)

…we abstained, and explained why? (A “Not yet, because” Vote)

…we suggested an entirely new idea or opportunity on our ballot? (A “What if” Vote)

…we submitted an unmet or undermet need to the Citizen Score “portal”?

…we submitted an idea for a solution?

…we submitted an idea for how to implement a solution?

• What if we used data science tools like natural language processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis/opinion mining to comb through these augmented votes, needs, and ideas to identify patterns and key insights? (Thanks to my data science guru buddy Christian Perez for introducing me to these tools.)
• What if the resulting insights were presented to our lawmakers as well as the general public to inform the next round of legislation and initiatives?
• What if we highlighted both common themes as well as outlier ideas and reasoning to better understand what motivates citizens to vote the way they do?
• What if this inspired a generation of data scientists — one of the hottest careers nowadays — to apply their brilliance and insight to making their country more democratic, inclusive, and responsive?
• What if this encouraged a generation of citizens to be more engaged in policymaking, current events, and the handling of the most pressing issues?
• What if our Citizen Score influenced our tax rate?
• What if it influenced our personal or professional social media priority?
• What if it influenced our access to public goods and services?
• What if our Citizen Score became as well-regarded as our academic degrees? Or as important for critical life moments as our credit score?
• What if we could redeem our Citizen Score points for utilities, mortgage payments, tuition or student loans, or non-profit donations?
• What if we could simply turn our Citizen Score points into cash, or at least some restricted form of payment like food stamps?
• What if this enabled a more citizen-aligned, citizen-centered governance?
• What if, to enable and encourage all of this, we made election days federal holidays? (I mean, come on…)

Every week, I write about an idea I developed, discussed, or discovered that week. Writing it down in this format is sort of like a personal “Yes, and!” session for me, where I can explore and develop the idea more. Some posts are quick and punchy, some are long and detailed.

Add your own “What ifs” in the comments below!