Branch Democracy has been obsoleted by Concord Democracy, a similar but simpler system.
Branch Democracy is a procedure and structure for democratic group decision-making. Branch Democracy is generic; it can be used for any sort of group, be it a small nonprofit organization, a large corporation, an online community, or a commune. Branch Democracy is scalable; it can be used for small groups or for very large ones.
Why Branch Democracy?
- A better voting system: The Score Voting system used by Branch Democracy has three key advantages over plurality voting:
- It is impossible to "waste your vote" on a "spoiler"
- Voters can tell the system who their second choice candidates are
- When a Board of Directors are elected, the makeup of the Board will mirror the diversity of viewpoints in the organization.
- Every member can vote on the issues: Using the Forum, each member can affect individual issues.
- Direct democracy for busy people: You don't have time to educate yourself about each individual issue that comes up. The proxy mechanism of the Forum allows you to delegate your vote on issues that you don't have time to research to other people who is up on the issues and who shares your views. You can even delegate your vote to different people, depending on what type of issues it is about.
- A system that grows with you: The rules are different for small groups and large ones, and the Bylaws tell you when to switch over. For small groups, the rules are intended to be simple, easy to learn, and easy to use. For large groups, the rules are designed to provide a combination of individual engagement and efficent decision-making unmatched by traditional governance systems.
- Support for meeting-less decisionmaking: The Forum provides a way for members to make decisions without having to schedule a meeting.
- Support for members who come and go: Many grassroots organizations have members who have periods of engagement interrupted by stretches of absence. The proxy mechanism of the Forum allows these members to remain a remain a constant part of group decision-making to a greater extent than traditional representative democracy.
- Small group deliberation: Even when the group is large, the Boards of Directors are small, so unlike an unweildy "Congress", the Boards can actually have thoughtful discussions on the issues
- Separation of external relations: How many times have you seen a group run by someone who is a great leader within the group but who doesn't have a talent for effectively communicating with the general public? Alternately, how many times have you seen a group run by someone who makes a big splash outside the group but who doesn't maintain focus on the actual business of running the group? In Branch Democracy, the chief executive position is split into two different roles, the CEO, and the EEO, who is the "CEO of external relations". Neither one is the boss of the other.
- Elected representatives who aren't good at soundbites: In large groups, the delegate system provides a way for candidates who are loved by people who know them, but who aren't good at soundbites, to get elected. Delegates also provide everyone with a "personal" representative; because each delegate has a managable number of constituents, they can actually talk to each one of them.
- Oversight: Larger groups have independent Chair(s) who provide oversight and make sure that executives don't withold information or break the rules.
- Minor parties and centrists can compete: Plurality voting encourages candidates who are uncompromising extremists from one of two major parties. Score Voting is more inclusive of centrists and minor parties.
- Checks and balances: Like traditional democratic systems, Branch Democracy has a system of checks and balances that moderates the biases inherent in particular parts of its structure. Its novel elements are complemented by more traditional, tried-and-tested structures. For instance, in large groups, decisionmaking includes three different structures, each one with a different composition, and each one checking the others: the direct democracy Forum, the elected Board, and the delegate Board.
- Can work online (asynchronously): You can use this system as a sort of lightweight Robert's Rules for online communities
Status
A summary may be found at The Short Version.
The full version is at The Long Version.
An explanation of why AC is the way it is, in the form of a FAQ, is at commentary.
I might change the name to Amendable Code or Convergence Ruleset.
Branch Democracy is currently just a proposal. To date, it has never been tried, and it has really only been examined in depth by me, so it probably has many flaws.
Documents relating to outdated, older version
I have finished writing the first draft of most of the core bylaws of Branch Democracy.
The addendums for various applications have not yet been written.
Introductions
These are out of date. The most up to date version is The Long Version, above.
Bylaws
These are out of date. The most up to date version is The Long Version, above.
The core text of bylaws/charter/constitution for a group using Branch Democracy
Addendums to the rules for particular types of groups