How does it work? | Frequently Asked Questions | What makes DemocracyOS different?

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The official DemocracyOS number is 802-391-0224.

All D-OS texts come from, and should go to, that number.

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Empowering Your Voice in Local Democracy

DemocracyOS is revolutionizing how communities engage with their local government through a simple text-based platform. We're making it easier than ever for every voice to be heard and every idea to count.

The promise of democracy is to harness our collective wisdom to make wiser decisions than anyone could alone.

Yet today, it's not living up to that promise. We think a key reason why is that we lack good ways to hear from everyone, make sense of what they're all saying, and know if it truly represents the entire community.

For democracy to work, we need to hear from every perspective — including those who don't typically engage. Our representatives in government also need a way to make sense of all this input, instead of having it scattered across meetings, emails, calls, and social media with no way to see the full picture.

When leaders can see exactly what their whole community wants – and know it includes every voice – everyone wins. The public gains real power because their priorities become clear and much harder to ignore. Leaders gain the confidence to act, with clear insights about what matters most to people, which trade-offs they're likely to support, and trust that they’re hearing from every perspective.

This ultimately helps turn hard choices into clear paths forward, and leads to more action that serves the public well.

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Here’s how it works:

  1. Share Your Voice via Text Receive up to 4 monthly questions about important local issues Respond easily through text message at your convenience Share spontaneous ideas or feedback anytime No apps to download, no meetings to attend
  2. Your Input Makes an Impact We use advanced stratified sampling (sortition) to ensure representation across all community demographics Every response contributes to a comprehensive picture of community needs AI-powered analysis transforms public input into actionable insights City leaders receive clear, data-driven reports reflecting community perspectives
  3. Your Ideas Live On Unlike traditional public feedback that can get lost, your input remains active in our system Ideas are matched with relevant future projects and initiatives Leaders can track changing community sentiment over time Your feedback helps shape decisions months or even years into the future

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DemocracyOS is the result of the nonprofit organization Democracy Creative's five + years work researching, experimenting, and talking with communities and governments about how to make democratic government work better in the information age. It's a next big step toward the larger vision of reconnecting both the public and civic leaders with their power to shape the places they call home for the better.

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