Mamdani Abolishes Committees, Moves To Twitter Spaces

Press Release: Zohran Mamdani To Abolish Committees, Replace With Twitter Spaces

Democracy gets a new UI, lobbyists get a “Speaker” badge, and public comment now has reverb.

In a sweeping UX refresh for Albany, New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani announced today he will abolish legislative committees and replace every hearing with Twitter Spaces, promising "faster deliberation" and "audio-forward governance" by Q2.

The initiative, branded "Ear-Based Democracy," arrived as a thirteen-screenshot press release embedded in a tweet thread and a downloadable ringtone of the gavel.

"We looked at centuries of legislative process and asked: why are we doing this in 2D?"
— Acting Director of Civic Audio (temporary title), Office of Mamdani, speaking from a tiled echo chamber "for transparency"

Under the proposal, the Assembly’s standing committees will be migrated to Spaces with descriptive room names like #BudgetButMakeItVibe and #HousingASMR. Agendas will be pinned tweets. Minutes will be auto-generated captions that repeatedly transcribe "can't hear you" and "you're muted" as official testimony.

"This reduces time-to-vote from three months to three trending cycles and finally allows democracy to have a co-host,"
— Senior Product Manager for Democracy (contract), New York State Assembly (Beta Only)

Key features include:

• Votes recorded via reaction emojis; a ✅ counts as yea, a 👀 counts as "abstain but aggressively watching," and 💯 equals a $100 million appropriation.
• Filibusters replaced with "the host refuses to end the Space for four hours."
• Lobbyists permitted one free rebrand to "Speaker" in bio; verified checks will be replaced by a "Moderator's Gavel" badge that is sold, rented, or emotionally manifested.
• Public comment limited to three minutes unless boosted with Super Follows (proceeds earmarked for "Audio Infrastructure" and also microphones).
• Caucus meetings set to "Only people you follow" with an optional "Invite pundit" toggle for TV tie-ins.
• The Sergeant-at-Arms becomes the "Sergeant-at-Unmute," empowered to remove anyone saying "great question" twice.

"Finally, a committee I can leave instantly without pretending to shake hands,"
— Midtown lobbyist who updated his bio to "Speaker • Open to Collabs"

Mamdani’s office emphasized accessibility, noting that captions will be "realistic." That is, slightly wrong. The platform will correct "land use" to "land juice" and "tenant protections" to "tenet projections," which officials insist "adds interpretive richness."

"If you leave the Space you forfeit your vote unless you say ‘long-time listener, first-time caller’ upon reentry; that’s in the Constitution now, probably,"
— Deputy Counsel for Vibes, citing a PDF in dark mode

The judiciary will also be modernized: subpoenas become "Invite to Speak" notifications; oversight will be conducted via Community Notes that can overturn legislation if they reach "overwhelming vibes." A spokesperson confirmed roll call will be conducted via an orderly chorus of "Can you hear me now?" followed by the official chime.

Early pilots showed promising outcomes:

• The Transit Subcommittee resolved three issues before crashing and therefore adjourning.
• The Budget Space peaked at 1.2k listeners and one very loud dog; estimates suggest a 40% increase in "ambient civic participation" and a 200% decrease in "paper."
• A bipartisan coalition formed around the shared experience of "talking while muted," later commemorated with a plaque.

"This is obviously unconstitutional and also I don’t have the app installed,"
— Ranking Member, Old Process Caucus, on a landline

The Governor’s office responded with a 12-second voice note, consisting of a single sigh.

At press time, the pilot Space “Budget 2025” ended abruptly when a co-host played lo-fi beats over the roll call, which legally counts as a veto.

Because life needs a stronger flavor.