Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Westchester

A hallmark of our Democracy is our system of periodic elections.  Elections should provide long-term accountability, but increasingly, elections are dominated by wealthy and powerful special interests with choices among candidates who have sought out power.  In Lottocracy - Democracy Without Elections, Alex Guerrero advocates for government by random selection.  What if we abandoned congressional elections and instead filled the House of Representatives with 435 Americans selected lottery-style from the population?  Guerrero argues that injecting random assignment into politics is a smart and straightforward way to reduce short-term incentives, negate elite capture and generate policies that are responsive to the majority of people.