ABSTRACT
We argue that integrating citizen deliberation structures into the pre-referendum phase can deliver systematic improvements in democratic outcomes such as alignment between values and vote. Using data from three Irish referendums, the research examines the potential of deliberative mini-publics to deliver more informed electorates. An emerging branch of literature argues that direct and deliberative democracy can be mutually supportive. It demonstrates that there is much potential to be realised when the fields of deliberation and the practice of referendums are brought together. Greater understanding of referendum issues can be achieved by mini-publics extending the time allocated to discussing issues, producing rigorous and informed materials and delivering decisions which stem from citizens who are more likely to approximate the general public and therefore be more trusted by ordinary voters. Ultimately we argue that deliberative processes enhance subjective and objective knowledge and this leads to referendum outcomes where a larger share of voters cast ballots which align with their fundamental values. The analysis demonstrates that there was greater alignment between the core values of voters and their vote decisions when a deliberative phase was introduced into the constitutional referendum process; and furthermore that this alignment grew as deliberation became more embedded and normalised.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Jane Suiter is Associate Professor in the School of Communications at Dublin City University. E-mail: Jane.Suiter@dcu.ie.
Theresa Reidy is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Government, University College Cork. E-mail: t.reidy@ucc.ie.
Notes
1 The mini-public which sat in 2012–2014 and dealt with marriage equality was called the Constitutional Convention. The mini-public which say in 2018 dealt with abortion and was called the Citizens’ Assembly.
2 Midpoint voters are those who are 5 on an 11-point scale, its not possible to classify these voters as aligned or unaligned and so they are not included in the discussion.
3 The corresponding figures for unaligned yes and no being 0.74 and 0.76 respectively.
4 The corresponding figures for the Unaligned Yes category being 0.7 and Unaligned No 0.13
5 In terms of demographics, being male increases the odds of being either an Unaligned No voter (0.4) or an Aligned one (0.6). Increasing in age by one category, generally 10 years, also increases the odds of not being in the Aligned Yes camp, with significant results amongst all voter categories.