> The People’s Candidates
November 13, 2007

Our goal is to field a diverse set of citizen candidates who have been nominated and chosen by the people for elected office.

We shall seek out, find and induce the citizens who are best suited to serve for the public good. We shall ask them to serve for a limited time and then return back to their private lives.

The voting process in Collaborative Democracy is a 6-Step process:

1. Citizens assure themselves that the citizens in the district who are registered to vote are lawful residents of the district.
2. The people who actually vote are who they say they are.
3. Citizens assure that the voting mechanism is accurate and all votes are properly recorded and reported.
4. Voting takes place.
5. Public counting and recounting of the votes.
6. Citizens assure that their votes are properly applied to the related elections.

All nominations for citizen candidates for elected office start on a local basis. Choosing citizens for elected office starts at the municipal level and in the case of cities, the precinct level. Once local support has been attained, the election process works its way progressively through all the upper political subdivisions.

For example, to be a viable candidate of the people for President a citizen candidate is first nominated by another citizen to become the nominee of their municipality for President.

Citizens are nominated by gaining the support of political subdivisions in succession culminating with an election held in the final political subdivision by the citizens.

Collaborative Democracy Candidate Framework

Step 1: Nominate Nominate a Citizen for Elected Office A. Nominate a citizen for an elected office with the nominator's name attached. B. Describe with precision how the citizen nominee is uniquely qualified for the job so a common citizen can understand why they are the best choice to represent the citizens. C. Describe the verifiable record of accomplishments and skills the citizen nominee possesses with details of how these skills will help advance civilization or protect it while representing the citizens

Step 2: Detail Detail goals, weaknesses, and resources A. Describe with precision what the candidate's goals are and include the details of how they plan on attaining their goals and why their plans will be successful. B. Describe any weaknesses the candidate may have that could cause them not to accomplish their goals as an elected representative For example, lack of experience, weak financial skills or poor health. C. Describe the resources that are required to make the candidate and their unique qualifications known to the electors

Step 3: Budget How will this candidate's nomination be funded? A. Assign dollar amounts to each line item in Step 2C. B. Describe the sources of the funding with details of who the ultimate source of the funding is with a complete biography of these people. C. Explain what the candidate has done to assure the electors that the candidate will represent the citizenry's needs exclusively.

Step 4: Feedback Publish the information on your proposed candidate for comments and opinions. A. Have the candidate clarify and answer any questions that are asked by the citizens. B. Consider if you should abandon or go forward with the proposed candidate based on the feedback you have received. C. Form a large minority of 10% of the eligible voters who support the proposed candidate to get them on the next ballot.

Step 5: Vote Discover the will of the people. A. The candidate is scheduled on the next ballot. B. Make sure potential voters know when your candidate is up for vote and what they are all about. C. Participate in a public counting and auditing of all of the votes.

Step 6: Elected Representative Supervision Discover if the elected representative is the right person for the job. A. Deploy the resources that are required to supervise the elected representative. B. Measure the effectiveness of the elected representative and their rate of success in attaining their goals through regular auditing of their performance. C. Report if the elected representative is performing up to voter expectations, if they are not go back to 1A and start the Nominate a Citizen for Elected Office process.

On the municipal level of voting the nominee(s) must garner a large minority of ten percent or more of municipal citizens to be on the ballot of the election. Then an election is held no later than the 15th of the following month. The winner of that election becomes the official nominee for President from that municipality.

For instance, if there are 6,000 citizens within a municipality the nominee must gain the support of 600 or more citizens. In the event that more than one citizen nominee garners a ten percent large minority of citizens, an election is held within the municipality. The winner of that election becomes the official nominee for President for the municipality.

On the county level of voting the nominee(s) must garner a large minority of ten percent or more of those municipalities to be on the ballot of the election. Then an election is held no later than the 15th of the following month. The winner of that election becomes the official nominee for President from the county.

For instance, if there are 40 municipalities within a county the nominee must gain the support of 4 or more municipalities. If more than one citizen nominee garners a ten percent large minority of municipalities, an election is called within the county. The winner of that election becomes the official nominee for President for the county.

On the state level of voting the nominee(s) must garner a large minority of ten percent or more of those counties to be on the ballot of the election. Then an election is held no later than the 15th of the following month. The winner of that election becomes the official nominee for President from the state.

For instance, if there are 27 counties within a state the nominee must gain the support of 3 or more counties. If more than one citizen nominee garners a ten percent large minority of counties, an election is held within the state. The winner of that election becomes the official nominee for President for the state.

On the national level of voting the nominee(s) must garner a large minority of ten percent or more of states to be on the ballot of the election. Then an election is held no later than the 15th of the following month. The nominee(s) of that election who wins the support of ten percent or more states become the official candidate for President from those states.

For instance, if there are 50 states within a country, the nominee must gain the support of 5 or more states. If one or more citizen nominee(s) garners a ten percent large minority of states, an election is held within the country. The winners of that election become the official candidates for President for the country.

The official candidates for President then run in a national election where the winner is chosen by the popular vote of citizens voting in all of the states.

For instance, if there are three official candidates for President and when the final votes are tabulated one official candidate gets 52 percent of the vote and the other two get 28 and 20 respectively, the candidate with 52 percent wins the election and becomes the next President.

This same process is applied to all elected positions; municipal, county, state and federal, with citizen nominations and voting within their political subdivisions. In the event of a vote for vote tie the election is held again with all the candidates who received ten percent or more of the votes.

If the citizen nominee is running for an elected office and other citizens also have a large minority of citizens who support them for that elected office, they all appear on the same ballot in the general election. If an incumbent already holds that elected office but is not able to gain the support of a large minority of ten percent of citizens they do not appear on the ballot. They no longer have the support and confidence of the citizens and are replaced by the citizen who gains the majority of votes in the election.

This same process is applied when citizens propose changing existing policy and legislation and when creating new policy and legislation, which is superior to any legislation and policy that elected officials may pass.

Any citizen, or group of citizens can create or modify an existing law or policy using the Collaborative Democracy Framework.