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Some related links: Markam election 2003: http://www.markham.ca/vote2003/index.htm Stephen Coleman, Oxford: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/staff.shtml http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/msg00557.html Past articles: http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/edemocracy3.htm Steven Clift: http://www.publicus.net Updated article on "local" forums: http://www.e-democracy.org/do/commons.html From: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2003/200309/20030902.html (See bottom of this page for a link to this 23 minute radio program.) The Current: Part 2 E-Democracy – Markham It's no secret that in many of the world's democracies, fewer and fewer people are actually interested in the old ways of doing politics . . . such as voting, for example. Countries like Canada and Britain are quickly catching up to the low voter-turnout levels long associated with the United States. All this voter apathy has led some people to look to the promise of the Internet as a way to engage average citizens in everyday politics. And their vision of so-called "e-democracy" is gathering steam. In this half-hour, we'll examine the potential . . . and pitfalls . . . of bringing democracy online. A little later, we'll head to Britain to hear about some bold experiments there. But first, a little closer to home . . . to Markham, Ontario. It's preparing to hold Canada's first municipal election in which residents will be able to avoid the queue at the ballot box and vote with the click of a mouse instead. Frank Edwards is the Assistant to the Returning Officer for. E-Democracy – Britain Well, as we heard Markham, Ontario, is taking some of its cues about online voting from Britain. Earlier this year, Britain became the first country in the world to experiment with Internet voting in a public election. And the birthplace of parliamentary democracy is leading the way in other areas, too, from online consultations to MPs' Web logs. One person watching all these changes very closely is Stephen Coleman. He's a professor of e-democracy at the University of Oxford's Internet Institute and he joined us. E-Democracy – Grassroots Well, from government to the grassroots . . . many e-democracy advocates say it's up to average people, not just their elected officials, to bring political participation online. Steven Clift is one of the leading proponents of e-democracy. He's a founder of Minnesota E-Democracy, a citizen-based organization that tries to improve democratic participation. He joined us from St. Paul, Minnesota. Listen to The Current: Part 2 Real audio link from: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2003/200309/20030902.html ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - M: +1.612.203.5181 Join my Democracies Online Newswire: http://e-democracy.org/do *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
