that you care about.
“You mean that we have to vote on all the legislation that comes before Congress? That takes committment?”
This is usually the first question people ask about NVD.
Rest assured. NVD is not a second or third job or burden of any kind. It is a new right that we are defining for ourselves. Like our right to vote in general elections, it is up to us when and if we vote online at NVD. In fact, at NVD, we vote ONLY on the questions that we personally care about. We vote only if and when we are motivated to do so. There are no standards of performance for members. It’s a formal right that we can exercise whenever we please. We may never actually vote - but we always have the right to do so, and to have that vote actually count in determining the outcome of the issue. We’re not running opinion polls at NVD for politicians to respect or ignore depending on who donates to their campaign chest. Instead, we have created a new structure and mechanism of strict citizen control over the legislaltive branch of the government. And now we are working to elect as our Representative in 2006, Daniel Rosen, who has pledged to abide by and honor our vote when he casts his own vote in Congress.
Real democracy depends on good communication and the availability of information. The online presence of NVD is a gold-mine of information about the issues of the day. And, if you subscribe, you will receive email updates to keep you constantly informed about when these issues come up for a vote. Members will usually have weeks or months to vote on each issue. During this time, members will be allowed to change their vote, for a change of mind is always possible as new information becomes available. But by the time Mr. Rosen votes in Congress, the decision of NVD members will be recorded and he will act accordingly.
For example, if Mr. Rosen is scheduled to vote in Congress on an education reform measure on Friday, members will receive email on Monday so that they may vote by Thursday. In the meantime, you as a member can avail yourself of the informational materials that we provide on this website. You can also discuss the issue with others online in our discussion forums and chat rooms. You may use these venues to try to influence how others vote on the issue. In this “for example” case, the vote would be calculated at the close of the NVD polls on Thursday, and on Friday Mr. Rosen would vote in Washinton, D. C., according to the wishes of the majority. [Email alerts are optional, and you may instead keep informed by checking in at NVD whenever you wish. We’re always online, and our software is always up and running, ready to record your vote, or your discussion, or your Motion for Action (members may also suggest new legislation for submission to Congress by our Representative), etc.]
It is natural to be skeptical about the practicality and desirability of a new invention. As you consider this new technology, you will surely have many questions. We have tried to answer some of these on our Frequently Asked Questions page (FAQ). But there are many questions that simply cannot be answered before we have had an opportunity to answer them together as a group in an ongoing deliberative process. In some instances, NVD we have provided answers to some of these questions provisionally, and it is understood that the answers will be revised as time goes on.
For example, at present, there is no minimum quota established for the number of members who actually have to vote on any given question before their majority decides it. After all, if only five people are actually affected by a decision, shouldn’t their vote alone be sufficient to decide it? But it is easy to envision situations in which it would be prudent to insist that at least half or two thirds of the members vote before a decision is recorded. NVD Bylaws establish only a provisional answer to these questions.
You may have more far-ranging social questions. You may wonder if this system may disenfranchise citizens who are disabled, or who for one reason or another have no computer. These questions need to be discussed by all of us together, and there certainly are measures that we could take to deal with all of these issues. They represent practical problems, and as such, they have practical solutions. We look forward to working them out cooperatively together with you.
Lastly, some of you will wonder if this is just one more way of isolating people. But, could we not table a Motion to have a get-together as easily as anything else? And think how lovely it will be to go to a meeting where there is no order of business and agenda, and all the rest, since that is already done at our perfect convenience online. When we meet it will be only to celebrate and congratulate ourselves on having made the world a better place.
Please remember our candidate’s pledge: “As your Representative in Congress, I will vote only as you direct me to vote on this website: no ifs, ands or buts.” - Daniel Rosen, Stateline, Nevada