Citizen Assemblies • Democratic Design
Citizen Assemblies vs Referendums: When Each Makes Sense
Citizen assemblies and referendums are often presented as alternatives. In reality, they serve very different democratic purposes. Understanding when to use each — and when to combine them — is essential to making legitimate, informed public decisions.
Series context: This article builds on What Is a Citizen Assembly? , The Benefits of Citizen Assemblies , and Global Case Studies .
What referendums are designed to do
Referendums are blunt but powerful tools. They ask the public to make a direct decision on a specific question, usually framed as a yes-or-no choice.
- Strength: clear democratic mandate
- Strength: simplicity and scale
- Strength: legitimacy for decisive outcomes
When a decision is already well understood and the trade-offs are clear, referendums can be appropriate and effective.
The limitations of referendums
Referendums struggle when issues are complex, emotionally charged, or poorly understood. Voters are asked to decide without shared learning or structured deliberation.
- Oversimplification of complex policy
- Susceptibility to misinformation
- Binary outcomes for non-binary problems
- Little insight into why people voted as they did
What citizen assemblies are designed to do
Citizen assemblies exist to solve a different problem: how to form informed public judgment before a decision is made.
- Representative selection
- Structured learning and expert input
- Facilitated deliberation
- Nuanced recommendations
Assemblies are best suited for issues where understanding and legitimacy matter more than speed.
Key differences at a glance
- Referendums: decide outcomes
- Citizen assemblies: shape understanding and recommendations
- Referendums: scale quickly
- Citizen assemblies: build depth and trust
When combining both works best
In practice, the strongest democratic designs use both tools together. Citizen assemblies inform the question; referendums confirm the mandate.
Best practice: Assembly → public education → referendum → transparent response.
How BEYOND supports better democratic design
BEYOND supports informed participation by providing the civic infrastructure that assemblies and public processes need: clarity, transparency, and continuity.
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