That Venetian scheme is interesting, but ultimately it reminds me of a non-cryptographer trying to roll their own secure random number generator. Thirty chosen

That Venetian scheme is interesting, but ultimately it reminds me of a non-cryptographer trying to roll their own secure random number generator. Thirty chosen by lot, then by lot reduced to nine? Eh? Just choose nine to start with. Moreover (on the assumption that all the people chosen at each step are on the Council, which isn't clear) this looks like a system that will be absolutely rife with horsetrading and intrigue: "I'll vote for you on the eleven, as long as you (vote for P to the forty-one|support my housing bill|etc)". It may not be corruption from outside, but the intricate machinations of an in-group don't lend themselves to representative democracy either.