AB-EXIT: a patch for democracy

AB-EXIT is an interactive civic simulation that tests a proposed addition to existing elections: every citizen may either keep the right to vote in the current election cycle (A), or accept a transparent public payment and temporarily exit that cycle (B). Voting rights return automatically at the next election.

The project asks whether separating immediate personal benefit from the choice of executive leadership can improve democratic incentives without replacing democracy.

One formula, four linked tests

• Referendum Lab — choose one election-cycle payment and test whether AB-EXIT is adopted. The model can return PASSED, REJECTED, or NO QUORUM.
• Equal Budget Lab — compare AB-EXIT with a genuine monthly UBI at exactly the same total public cost.
• Awareness Lab — distinguish explicit A and B decisions from ordinary invisible non-participation.
• Underdog Lab — replay Alaska’s 2022 governor election with the same candidates, electorate size, initial preferences, official data, and campaign spending. Only the AB-EXIT mechanism changes.

The same payment is inherited across all four games. Official observations, exact arithmetic, and behavioral hypotheses are visibly separated.

How Codex and GPT-5.6 were used

Codex with GPT-5.6 converted the political mechanism into four linked simulations, implemented the model and interface, added Safari/MacBook accessibility, and built automated tests. During stress testing, Codex found that an early referendum formula accidentally guaranteed majority support; the model was corrected so adoption is no longer predetermined. The finished project has 53 automated tests.

Open, non-commercial public project

AB-EXIT is non-commercial. Anyone may study it, test it, adapt it, or use the idea for civic, educational, research, or public purposes. The author seeks no monopoly over the mechanism—only public attention, rigorous examination, and wider discussion.

No installation or login is required. Open the live Judge Journey and verify the assumptions directly.

Built With

• codex
• css3
• gpt-5.6
• html5
• javascript
• node.js