Many Americans express a certain unhappiness and powerlessness at their ability to influence national politics and decision-making at the federal level. But at the state and local levels, new and old experiments in participatory and direct democracy offer the possibility of greater decision-making power for citizens. How are democratic tools evolving around the country? Can greater democracy in states and localities fill the void, or are local democratic tools destined only to become new weapons in America’s political wars? Our panel will discuss and address the role of participatory democracy at a crucial moment for the American experiment.