Citizens’ assembly: a randomly selected body that deliberates and recommends

A citizens’ assembly is a body of ordinary residents, selected by lot so that it resembles the population, that hears evidence, deliberates, and makes recommendations on a public question. Ireland and British Columbia offer well-documented examples. An assembly is usually advisory: its influence depends on what the government, legislature, or voters do with its recommendations.

Definition

The site’s Cases chapter defines a citizens’ assembly (a type of mini-public) as “a group of residents selected by lot, usually with quotas so it resembles the population, which hears evidence, deliberates and makes recommendations.” Three features distinguish it:

• Selection by lot (sortition), often stratified by characteristics such as gender, age, and region.
• Deliberation over weeks or months, with expert input and facilitation. See Deliberation.
• A collective output, such as recommendations or a proposed text, delivered to a defined authority.

Origin and history

British Columbia (2004). The Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform was “an independent, non-partisan assembly of citizens” created by the provincial government with unanimous support from the Legislature.⁠¹ It had 160 members, “one man and one woman from each of B.C’s 79 provincial electoral districts,” plus two Aboriginal members, chosen by “random draw,” and its chair was a 161st member.⁠¹ After 11 months of work in 2004, it recommended a new electoral system called BC-STV and submitted its final report on December 10, 2004.⁠¹ The referendum, held with the provincial election on May 17, 2005, required approval by “60% of all voters” and a simple majority in 60% of the 79 districts.⁠¹ The assembly’s own site does not state the result, and this page does not report it; the point here is that a government-set threshold, not the assembly, determined what approval would require.

Ireland (2016 to 2018). The Irish Citizens’ Assembly’s terms of reference, agreed by the Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2016, set a membership of “a Chairperson to be appointed by the Government” and “99 citizens entitled to vote at a referendum,” randomly selected to be “broadly representative of Irish society”.⁠² It considered the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, an ageing population, fixed-term parliaments, how referendums are held, and climate change.⁠² The terms required the Government to respond to each recommendation and, if it accepted one, indicate a timeframe for any related referendum.⁠² Ireland has since held further assemblies, including on gender equality (2020 to 2021), biodiversity loss (2022 to 2023), and drugs use (2023).⁠³

How citizens’ assemblies are run and assessed

Assemblies are judged on process and impact:

• Selection: Was the lottery fair, and do members resemble the population? Who declined the invitation, and how might they differ?
• Information: Were materials balanced and were opposing experts heard?
• Deliberation: Did facilitation give all members a real voice?
• Response: Did the authority respond publicly to each recommendation, as Ireland’s terms required?

Critics raise objections from different directions. Some argue that unelected members lack democratic authority and cannot be held accountable at the next election. Others argue that assemblies are too often advisory, letting governments ignore inconvenient results. Supporters respond that random selection produces a body more like the public than elected legislatures, and that recommendations returning to voters or legislatures preserve accountability.

Common confusions and neighboring terms

• Citizens’ assembly vs. deliberative poll. A deliberative poll measures individual opinion change; an assembly produces collective recommendations.
• Citizens’ assembly vs. legislature. A legislature is elected and makes law; an assembly is selected by lot and usually advises.
• Citizens’ assembly vs. referendum. A referendum puts a question to all voters; an assembly may recommend that a referendum be held.
• Citizens’ assembly vs. jury. A trial jury decides a case under law; a citizens’ assembly addresses policy and has no legal verdict.

How My Vote Forward uses the term

My Vote Forward does not convene citizens’ assemblies. It treats them as a complementary practice: an assembly could deliberate on subjects that a priorities system shows people care about, and an assembly’s recommendations could be presented as proposals with their authority and status. The history and design questions are in Participation between elections.

Unresolved questions

• How binding should an assembly’s recommendations be, and on whom?
• What share of invited people must accept for an assembly to be credibly representative?
• How should an assembly’s recommendations be weighed against priorities expressed by a much larger, self-selected group?