An analysis of problems, solutions, and ideas for the future to improve on the effectiveness in democracy in the town of Andover Massachusetts, who is potentially the largest town in the United States that has an Open Town Meeting where the residents vote directly on legislation / articles as opposed to elected representatives.
More context can be found here:
https://tomhartwell.wordpress.com/2021/02/24/can-direct-democracy-in-andover-be-inclusive-informative-and-flexible-on-ways-to-participate/
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“Do you have any suggestions on how the Town of Andover could improve the conduct of
its Town Meetings?” response from 2019 Town of Andover Survey
99 out of the 314 suggestions (32%) was to
abolish / change structure of Town Meeting
71 out of the 314 suggestions (23%) was to
have remote attendance / voting / online
voting
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“Could you please tell us why you have not attended any Andover Town Meetings within
the last three years?” response from 2019 Town of Andover Survey
130 out of the 288 reasons (45%) were too busy /
no time / kids at home / work conflicts / etc
Editor's Notes
Crazy Excel Spreadsheet available to review.
See the Town Governance Citizen Feedback Analysis excel spreadsheet for all the gory detail
When mapped to the UMASS Lowell Survey – there are great similarities, even with that survey being heavily weighted by citizens currently attending Town Meetings, which I believe is not a representative eligible voter sample.
See:
Town of Andover Survey 2019
Andover 2019 Report
Questions on 2019 Town of Andover Survey Umass Lowell Center for Public Opinion of 1,004 responses:
“Have you attended any Andover Annual or Special Town Meetings within the last three years?” (Yes / No)
- If Yes, “Do you have any suggestions on how the Town of Andover could improve the conduct of its Town Meetings?”
- If No, “Could you please tell us why you have not attended any Andover Town Meetings within the last three years?”
It should be noted that the survey results of this sample size claim to have 34% of the respondents attend a Town Meeting (the reality of attendance is 1-2%) and only 18% not voting in any elections in the last 12 months. (Based on 2020 elections (which did have record turn outs) and assumptions about voting age, it may be more like 23%) https://andoverma.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1439 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/andovertownessexcountymassachusetts ) – so, there is significant tilt in already active participation in this survey of people that are already engaged in Town Meetings, which is not representative of reality for potential participants in town. There are also more active voters than not.
Questions on 2019 Town of Andover Survey Umass Lowell Center for Public Opinion:
“Have you attended any Andover Annual or Special Town Meetings within the last three years?” (Yes / No)
- If Yes, “Do you have any suggestions on how the Town of Andover could improve the conduct of its Town Meetings?”
- If No, “Could you please tell us why you have not attended any Andover Town Meetings within the last three years?”
It should be noted that the survey results of this sample size claim to have 34% of the respondents attend a Town Meeting (the reality of attendance is 1-2%) and only 18% not voting in any elections in the last 12 months. (Based on 2020 elections (which did have record turn outs) and assumptions about voting age, it may be more like 23%) https://andoverma.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1439 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/andovertownessexcountymassachusetts ) – so, there is significant tilt in already active participation in this survey of people that are already engaged in Town Meetings, which is not representative of reality for potential participants in town. There are also more active voters than not.
What is a good participation metric goal to target? 14%? Higher?
Is 2 weeks before a vote too much / too little time? Possible?
When we have an approved article, it should be posted on the website.
The article should have an owner name with the preferred way to outreach to the individual if a resident has questions (e.g., email, phone, social media, carrier pidgeon)
When Selectmen or committees vote, it should be posted on the website w/ references to minutes and video
We should facilitate somehow online tool(s) to allow residents to provide feedback publicly on an article. (I would want name and address to be a requirement to participate to validate a resident and keep trolls out)
We should allow people to subscribe to any article if there are any changes that occur
We should have educational tools to get residents to understand how our government works, how to engage, where to go, what they have to put on their calendar. Videos, links, and a resource to contact are pertinent.
