"True political participation is only achieved when a person’s voice counts as much as his or her vote.”
For the last 10 years, The White House Project has looked closely at how adding women to our nation’s leadership could transform our democracy. The Internet Age gives us a rich opportunity not only to bring more women into leadership positions across this country, but also to enhance and extend what they bring when they serve. Here are a few examples of ways the Internet is broadening participation for traditionally marginalized groups.
Instant Runoff Voting
Instant runoff voting on the Internet is one way that women and other outsider groups have a greater chance of winning elections. By allowing voters to cast their vote for a number of candidates in priority order, their preferred candidates have a better chance of winning when a majority win is not attained for any one candidate. This would be particularly effective in local and county-wide races, which are the typical entry points into politics for outsiders, including women.
Opportunity to Comment on Proposed Legislation
One of the most important attributes women bring, as measured by research institutions such as American University and the Center for American Women and Politics, is engaging more people in the process of formulating legislation and testing to see that proposed bills and resolutions actually benefit those they are supposed to serve. The Internet offers new ways of bringing that kind of inclusion about. For example, if all voters in a district were given the opportunity, via the Internet, to comment on proposed legislation, the product would be more likely to improve. This has the dual benefit of connecting more citizens to democracy and makes for a richer civil society by ensuring that bills are more like to be constitutionally sound.
The inclusiveness of the Internet offers the possibility of fostering a stronger, more equitable democracy that could benefit both women and men on many fronts. For example, there is the urgent matter of ensuring that judges are able to weigh in on the constitutionality of bills—which the Internet age now allows for, but which, in the past, has been difficult to guarantee. In a session the White House Project held at Ohio State University with several former and current judges, I was told that an extraordinary amount of legislation had been passed by the legislature and put in place that actually contradicted the state constitution.
The same could be said when it comes to economic initiatives. Legislation is often passed that actually ends up costing more money than it saves, despite its being passed precisely because it was purported to save state or district money. Transparency, and increased engagement of a wide swath of citizens on these matters, will be the key to change. And both are greatly facilitated by the spread of technology.
Public Debates Online via Blogging
Holding public hearings and debates on important issues via a form of Internet blogging could also sharpen the debates on legislative proposals, and, again, bring women into the process. Women are less likely to see themselves as experts on policy because they have too few examples of women serving as leaders in their state and local governments. But increasingly, women are finding their voice by blogging and commenting online about how our democracy functions. A lively online blogging debate will include the voices of more women(especially young women, who are high Internet users) and refine their thinking—as well as public policy—through their input. Women are known to be “outside the box” thinkers—so having their ideas at the forefront of political and legislative debate might bring the online community the quality of innovation that women bring to every other table at which they serve.
True political participation is only achieved when a person’s voice counts as much as his or her vote. The Internet has proven to be an immense avenue for inspiring a more robust, diverse, and spirited political landscape, encouraging previous “outsiders” to lay claim to the political process. As the connections between technology and politics continue to unfold, it is important that women take the lead in the process of exploration. America’s political system may have been forged by a small, elite group of men, but the Internet offers an expansive and fresh opportunity to create new entry points and forums towards the creation of an entirely new type of politics.
“Multi multa sciunt et seipsos nesciunt.” (Many men know many things, but know themselves not at all.)
About the Author
Marie C. Wilson is founder and President of The White House Project, co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® Day and author of Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World (Viking 2004).