Redefining Political Engagement:
Employing Modern Technology in Our Future Election Cycles
The process by which political parties in the United States select their nominees for president has evolved considerably since the nation’s founding. From 1796 until the late 1820s, presidential candidates were chosen by caucuses of each party’s congressional delegations. This system was criticized for being undemocratic, leading to its replacement by the nominating convention system, which was introduced in the early 1830s and adopted by the major parties shortly thereafter.
By the mid-20th century, the rise of primary elections transformed the landscape of political nominations, shifting more power to the electorate. This change was accelerated by the reforms adopted following the contentious 1968 Democratic National Convention, which led to a significant increase in the number of primaries in subsequent elections.
While the aim of these reforms was to enhance democratic participation, some critics argue that they inadvertently shifted influence away from the general public and towards special interest groups, pollsters, pundits, campaign professionals, and fundraisers. Whether or not this is the case, it is widely recognized that the current nominating process is excessively lengthy and expensive, which contributes to voter fatigue and political polarization. Furthermore, the pervasive influence of money in politics is seen as a major barrier, preventing potentially worthy candidates who lack substantial financial resources or establishment support from successfully navigating the electoral process
There are a large number of scholars and textbooks dedicated to the subject of how our electoral process evolved and ways it could potentially be reformed. By any measure, however, this year’s presidential nominating process has been exceptional and thought-provoking.
On July 21, 2024, just three weeks before the Party’s National Convention, President Biden made the unprecedented decision to end his re-election candidacy despite having a vast majority of the convention delegates pledged to support him based on his having been virtually uncontested in the primaries. Instead, “for the good of the party and the Nation,” Biden named Vice President Harris as his successor and urged Democrats to unite behind her as the Party’s nominee.
This sort of dramatic last-minute change was nearly imposed on the Republican Party, when, on July 13, 2024, just days before its National Convention, a would-be assassin’s bullet fortunately missed former President Trump’s head by a few millimeters. In the unthinkable event the bullet had hit its mark, the Republican Party would also have had to choose an alternative nominee despite having a vast majority of convention delegates pledged to support Donald Trump’s candidacy based on his having dominated in virtually all the primaries.
Against the backdrop of uncertainty before President Biden’s recent announcement, the World Business Academy conceived a novel approach using modern technology to increase public engagement and ensure that the nominee emerging from the process as the Party’s candidate would be supported by the greatest number of voters on the November general election ballot. The Academy named this innovative approach to redefining political engagement “Empowering Voters to Voice Their Choice.”
By employing the dynamic engagement technology used by popular television shows such as American Idol® and America’s Got Talent®, this approach merges the excitement of televised competitions with a way for the electorate to directly express their preference for the nominee from among the Party’s most promising leaders.
Under the plan, which could just as easily apply to nominating candidates for major statewide offices, each political party would tailor a series of candidate competitions such as Q&A sessions led by party leaders or popular news or media hosts, town hall meetings, or speeches focusing on specific issues, thereby providing candidates an opportunity to display their communication skills and educate listeners about their backgrounds and policy perspectives.
Each of these broadcasts would be followed by live online voting to narrow the remaining field, with only the top vote recipients moving on to the next competition. This would take place over a series of shows, the total number depending on the size of the field at the beginning and the party’s preferences. As such, the structure could be easily adapted to various formats designed to showcase the candidates’ policies and personas, while adhering to the basic idea of offering direct public interaction with the selection process.
Depending on the party’s preference, the process could include regional competitions in larger states and for national elections, similar to popular TV competitions. In these regional contests, candidates who the public responds to the most would advance through a series of brackets, culminating in a final round on a national or statewide stage.
This use of modern technology would not only enhance transparency, but also aligns with contemporary communication habits, mirroring the way many citizens – from teenagers to the elderly, and cutting across all socioeconomic groups – already interact with media and entertainment. From start to finish, the process could be completed in a few months and would reduce the need for costly campaigning, while simultaneously strengthening our democratic foundations.
The Academy has collaborated with leading technology experts and designers to develop how this concept could be implemented.1 With the selection of the standard-bearer for both major parties now virtually certain, the option to employ this approach in the current election cycle has passed. However, we feel it is important to share this potentially transformative approach with the hope this might serve as a starting point for future consideration of ways in which the method of choosing each party’s nominees for major public office can be modernized to create greater levels of transparency and public engagement.
By revisiting and revitalizing the nomination process through the use of modern technology, the Academy envisions a future where electoral engagement is not only more interactive but also more representative of the electorate’s general election preferences.
We’d love to hear your views and are happy to share the mockups the Academy and the experts we worked with developed to illustrate how this might work in future election cycles.
If you’re interested, email us at [email protected].
[1] As a 501(c)(3) non-partisan organization, the World Business Academy does not endorse any candidates or political parties. For over three decades, the Academy’s mission has been to harness the power of business as a force for positive social change, advocating for and sometimes incubating solutions to critical environmental and social issues.
This is a time when severe global crises confront the U.S. and civil societies worldwide, requiring capable leadership. We are confronted with record-setting heat and CO2 levels, extreme income inequality, massive numbers of migrants, pivotal Supreme Court rulings, and an increase in political violence and threats of domestic terrorism. Given these circumstances, it is the Academy’s view that the need for an innovative solution that will improve how we select our leaders has never been more urgent.
