A pilot in directly representative democracy — bringing verified voters and declared candidates into genuine dialogue.
This pilot is a continuation of the work begun by political scientist Michael Neblo and his colleagues at Ohio State University, documented in Politics with the People: Building a Directly Representative Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
The people most disengaged from conventional politics — those turned off by partisan conflict who felt the system didn't hear them — became the most willing to participate when given a structure that genuinely recognized and rewarded their engagement.
— Neblo et al., 2018
Neblo's term for the civic potential that exists in the public but goes unrealized because existing institutions fail to deserve it. This pilot is designed to activate that capacity.
Drawing on cognitive scientist John Vervaeke's concept — a mode distinct from debate (arguing to win) and discussion (exchanging positions). In dialogos, participants think together, and insight emerges that no individual could have reached alone.
How this pilot extends Neblo's original experimental design into a live electoral context.
Every participant is a verified, registered voter in NV-1. The WeVote platform handles identity verification and voter registration confirmation. No anonymous accounts, no bots, no participants from outside the district.
Citizens submit questions via the discussion feed, which opens one week before the event. An AI assistant clusters submissions to identify priority themes. Moderators filter for redundancy and breadth — but never filter on substance. The screening shapes the flow, not the content.
Andrew Curran and Dr. Sondra Cosgrove welcome participants on live video. They frame the event — what it is, what it isn't, and the ground rules. Brief explanation of how to participate.
Structured, moderated engagement between candidates and voters, organized by topic.
The floor opens to voters. Citizens can be promoted from the discussion feed to live video to speak directly. This is the dialogos phase — voters speaking to each other and to any candidates who remain present. The conversation belongs to the citizens.
Summary of what was discussed. Direction to where the conversation continues on the platform. Framing of what comes next — including the post-event report.
Selected based on: (1) issues within direct congressional authority, and (2) issues combining moral and technical dimensions where deliberation can advance the conversation beyond entrenched positions.
The United States has been conducting military strikes against Iran since February 28, 2026, in coordination with Israel. Congress voted on War Powers resolutions on March 4th (Senate) and March 5th (House) — both were rejected. The Senate vote was 47-53; the House vote was 212-219. Congressional war powers are the most fundamental exercise of legislative authority under Article I of the Constitution.
Most urgent federal policy question at the time of this event
Oil prices have crossed $100/barrel for the first time since 2022, driven by the conflict in Iran and disruption to the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices have surged nearly 60 cents in one month. Median home costs in Las Vegas have doubled since 2019, and corporate investors own roughly 11% of single-family home rentals — triple the national average.
Enhanced ACA premium subsidies expired on December 31, 2025. The House voted on January 8, 2026 to extend them for three years (230-196, with 17 Republicans crossing over), but the Senate has not acted. Approximately 95,000 NV-1 residents were receiving an average of $465 per month in savings. Nevada also recently launched a state public option with over 10,000 enrolled.
Following the event, we will produce a report evaluating the pilot against Neblo's five criteria for directly representative institutions.
Who participated? How did the pool compare to NV-1 demographics? Did the format attract a broad cross-section?
Did background materials and the pre-event feed contribute to more informed engagement?
Did genuine exchange occur? Were participants open to reasoning together? Did anything resembling dialogos emerge?
How many participants did the platform support? What would change to run this across multiple districts simultaneously?
What were the barriers? How did the virtual format affect who could participate? Did the text-based feed lower barriers?
Candidate participation rate, pre-event engagement, live polling results, and qualitative assessment of the citizen forum.
CEO, WeVote Foundation
Event moderator and project lead. Building the platform for directly representative democracy.
President, Vote Nevada
Event co-host and co-moderator. History professor and civic engagement leader with Vote Nevada and the League of Women Voters.
Monday, March 16th at 6:30 PM PT — exclusively for verified voters in Nevada's 1st Congressional District.
Get Your InviteThis document is a living project brief. It will be updated as the pilot develops and will serve as the basis for the post-event evaluation report.