The 1992 presidential campaign put the idea of the electronic town meeting firmly on the political scene, and each of the presidential debates during that campaign experimented with the town meeting format. This paper reviews the tradition of town meeting democracy in the United States and proposes ways to carry that tradition on with the help of modern electronic media. The designs and safeguards proposed were derived through consultation with a group of political leaders, scholars, and industry representatives who convened to discuss a draft paper on the subject prepared by the same author. Problems that have been recognized with regard to the electronic town meeting are those of oversimplification, empowerment, push button democracy (home polling schemes), issues of equality and manipulation, and how to select a representative sample. Practical issues that must be addressed include the following: (1) venue; (2) issue for discussion; (3) agenda setting/editorial control; (4) audience and participant selection and composition; (5) choice of interactive technology; and (6) eliminating multiple voting from the home. Scenarios are presented for an electronic town meeting. Seven appendixes include a list of town meetings held, discussions of two of the sample scenarios, and other supplemental information about the meeting process. (SLD)