The Participants

The 117 participants for Idaho's Deliberation Day were chosen from a random sample taken from the ten southwest Idaho counties. National polling firm Guild Group Incorporated (GGI) conducted the search for participants, all of whom responded to an initial survey on the issues and were provided background material.

At the event, participants spent the day in small groups, discussing two topics: jobs and national security. Each group also produced questions to ask a panel of experts during the afternoon Plenary Session.

The participants also completed two additional questionnaires during the day; one after the first small group discussion; one at the conclusion of the day's activities.

The counties represented by the participants were Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley, and Washington.

The collective views of these citizens will provide local and national media with an extraordinary "poll with a human face." Local results will be compared with national Deliberative Polling data on what people from all over the country think, on reflection, after they too have had a chance to become informed about the issues.

The process strengthens a building block of our democracy: the willingness of Americans to participate in a civil exchange where the contrary views are respected.