Facilitating LA’s First Mock Mini-Civic Assembly
On September 28, Public Democracy Los Angeles (PDLA) and Los Angeles Democracy Vouchers (LADV) led a mock election and civic assembly at the Congress of Neighborhoods at Los Angeles City Hall. With around 25 participants, the event highlighted two innovative democratic tools—democracy vouchers and civic assemblies—that PDLA views as stepping stones toward more local engagement on addressing key issues that directly impact communities.
What are Democracy Vouchers and Why Are They Important?
Democracy vouchers offer a novel approach to political engagement by providing voters with a set of coupons, which they can distribute to candidates as if they were campaign contributions. This system reduces the influence of wealthy donors and empowers more people to run for office. During the session, participants used democracy vouchers to select a candidate, and a key issue that candidate hopes to address if elected. Although the elections took place in fictional Harmony Heights, each issue was designed to reflect real Angeleno concerns to encourage applicability to participants’ actual lives.
The experience sparked valuable conversations about how this tool can reshape political funding dynamics. Interestingly, many participants divided their vouchers among several of the candidates, rather than focusing on a single candidate and their issue. This unexpected result demonstrates the potential for democracy vouchers to encourage more engagement in the campaign process, creating a fairer political process for all candidates.
Diving into a Civic Assembly: Weighing Housing Solutions
After selecting a housing issue, participants were divided into teams of four and given a brief that presented four approaches from various perspectives—government, advocates, and those directly impacted. In small groups, participants suggested improvements and had the opportunity to propose new recommendations, shaping the solutions collaboratively. Each group then analyzed one proposal, considering its feasibility and trade-offs such as cost, time, and community impact. Though a full assembly would involve deeper discussions and more iterations, this exercise offered a valuable glimpse into how thoughtful deliberation can help reach consensus on complex issues. It also demonstrated how the process generates a sense of agency, as participants could directly influence the recommendations by suggesting their own ideas, asking clarifying questions, and suggesting re-wordings.
Participants review pros and cons of recommendations and vote on a scale from really disagree to really agree.
Compared to previous exercises, this modified approach—where participants analyzed and evaluated each option in writing—greatly improved the speed of decision-making. Once the results were posted on the wall, everyone was given markers to rate each analyzed and modified approach. Despite the time constraints of the session, which allowed only 25 minutes for group deliberation, all teams managed to converge on a solution, though they expressed a desire for more time.
Energy in the Room: Collaborating for Solutions
The energy in the room was palpable. What made this event particularly special was the sense of collaboration among participants. One audience member, who expected team members to act as opponents, was surprised to find that everyone treated the problem, not each other, as the challenge to overcome. This demonstrated the power of civic assemblies to foster cooperative problem-solving rather than divisive debates—a stark contrast to the polarization often seen in political discussions.
Building Local Engagement with Neighborhood Councils
Some participants were members of neighborhood councils and expressed interest in using these methods in their communities. They noted the need for more logistical understanding, which pointed to opportunities for further refining the process. These neighborhood council leaders are vital to deepening community engagement, and their participation marks a key step toward PDLA’s broader goal of promoting deliberation and civic assemblies as tools for tackling local issues. Additionally, two participants who were church ministers were interested in trying out the methods in dealing with issues faced by church congregations, as the methods also seemed useful for non government organizations.
Positive Feedback and Momentum
The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Many participants appreciated the hands-on, experiential nature of the session, with one person commenting, "It is, by far, the most informative, forward-thinking, and engaging breakout session I've experienced." The interactive format clearly resonated with the audience, again highlighting the power of civic assemblies to shift the conversation from divisive debates to collaborative problem-solving.
PDLA looks forward to building on this success, refining our process, and continuing to expand these conversations to broader communities. Through these efforts, we aim to empower Los Angeles residents to engage more deeply with local governance, tackle pressing issues together, and create meaningful, lasting change.
Interested in having a mock assembly in your institution? Please reach out to Alexandra Levy (aglevy13@gmail.com) for more information.