DATE: 2015.
TEAM: Belmer Negrillo, Hilary Braseth, Marcos C. Alencar.
TEAM: Belmer Negrillo, Hilary Braseth, Marcos C. Alencar.
Special thanks to Sean Hewens and Pedro Andrade
How might we enable voters to allocate their votes proportional to what they wish to become a reality?
It’s time to shift democracy.
In a world where our economy is global, our communications cross-continental and our challenges increasingly complex and universal, a one-dimensional vote hardly does justice to, nor reflects the nuance of a voter’s political preferences. The world in which we live can hardly be defined so clearly.
Votax proposes an alternative voting system, elevating it to a multi-faceted, participatory platform and creating a new way for citizens to allocate decision power proportional to what they wish to become a reality.
The basic principle is the same: every citizen holds the same decision power, but instead of one person, one vote, each person decides how to allocate what would be her share of budget.
The proposed process shares the same mental model one would use to decide how to spend the disposable income of their household.
This way, people can “spend” different amounts based on preferences, priorities, and pressing needs. Rather than choosing ‘either/or’, Votax permits ‘both/and’, enlivening our public sector and allowing a more precise expression of the people’s will.
Initially designed to improve the representation of people in Participatory Budgeting, Votax is an upgrade on how people express their opinions.
Democracy starts with better listening.
