The evolution of information and communication technologies has the potential to revolutionize citizen participation in the democratic process. The Internet, in particular, could vastly expand the number of citizens who participate in the ‘notice and comment’ process established by the Administrative Procedure Act. Some policy analysts and scholars are advocating greater reliance on information and communication technologies in the notice and comment process. Greater participation, this argument suggests, generally means better democracy. Based on information gathered from ten June 2004, Washington DC workshop-based focus groups, this paper argues that the Internet still might, but probably won’t, change everything. Expectations for the transformative role of the Internet may be overly optimistic. There is very little agreement and a great deal of uncertainty about how the Internet and other information and communication technologies will impact the role of public comment in the rulemaking process.

http://erulemaking.ucsur.pitt.edu/doc/reports/e-rulemaking_final.pdf