Election Reform Bill

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

Our election system is in dire need of reform. There are several problems which I have addressed with this bill.

First, it is cumbersome for the delegate to appoint election commissioners every two months. They have better things to do, and if the appointments are made late, or the appointees forget to take their oaths, it can result in confusion and disaster.

Second, in the event of a special election, there is no time to make the necessary appointments, so elected officials with important responsibilities are required to lay those aside in order to run the election themselves. This is a waste of their time and resources, and is generally regarded as a chore.

Third, our elections take nearly two weeks from start to finish. In the middle of this, there is a four day period where practically nothing happens. During the last so-called "campaigning period," very few posts were made in campaign threads, and all of them were posted in the first two days. When the election was restarted, 0 posts were made in campaign threads during the campaign period. This is a waste of time, and needs to be shortened.

Fourth, TNP lacks a comprehensive set of election rules. The general procedure is laid out in the legal code, but many specific points of order are left to the discretion of Election Commissioners, who serve only for the duration of the election, and often vary in their interpretation of the law. This can results in uncertainty about how ballots are counted, and irregularity from election to election. There do exist a good set of templates, but it is not clear whether they are legally binding on the Election Commissioners, or by what process they can be changed.

Fifth, if an Election Commissioner does something wrong, there is no remedy outside of going to the court - the RA has no oversight since recall would probably take longer than the election, and there is no one outside of the court who could overrule a decision made by the election commissioners.

The last two problems above have resulted in a staggering number of requests for review regarding elections. These requests have produced numerous delays, restarts, and cancellations of the election process. Considering that we are the foremost democratic region in NationStates, I am frankly a bit embarrassed by the frequency with which we have problems surrounding our elections.

My bill proposes a number of remedies to these problems, as well as other improvements:

It creates a standing body of election commissioners appointed by the delegate to six month terms. They will be able to create standardized rules and procedures for elections, as well as oversee all elections, including special elections. There would be no more last-minute appointments because there would nearly always be a sufficient number of election commissioners to supervise any election, even if a few of them were running in it.
Elections would still be supervised by only two election commissioners, but the full body of the Election Commission would be able to overrule those two if a mistake were made. I am hoping that this will result in much quicker remedies than court challenges, and prevent many election-related issues from going to court.
The campaign period is shortened to one day, which I think is ample. It will allow for last-minute candidates to make their case, and for all candidates to answer any pending questions before voting begins, without dragging things out too long. Elections would take 9 days from start to finish.
The AG election is moved to the general election cycle. The more offices we elect at the same time, the less often we'll have resignations and special elections for elected officials who decided to run for a different office. It still makes sense to keep the court separate, so that they can avoid conflicts of interest when ruling on issues around general elections.
The procedures for judical and general elections have been split into two sections, and the procedures for a runoff vote are moved from the Overall section into the general election section. A runoff will never be required for justices, since they are elected by plurality. This also allows for judicial and general elections to be regulated separately in the future. (Spoiler alert: I am drafting a bill to change how justices are elected).
I have specified when a runoff is required, and which candidates will be included in it. This is a big hole in the current law.
I have specified that special elections will follow the same procedures as regularly scheduled elections for whatever office they are for. This is another big hole in the current law, with an easy fix.
I have made a couple of superficial changes, like replacing "election cycle" with "election" and changing "immediately" to "promptly," "Shall" to "will", and maybe a few others. These aren't a huge deal, but they are minor improvements.

Please give this a good read through and let me know what you think.

The Election Reform Bill:
1. Legal Code Chapter 4: Election and Appointment Procedure, will be amended in its entirety as follows:

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

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2. All elected government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their election, as certified by the Election Commission.
3. All government officials subject to confirmation by the Regional Assembly will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their confirmation, as verified by a member of the Speaker's Office.
4. All other government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their appointment, as publicly announced.
5. The taking of the Oath constitutes assumption of the office. Failure to post the oath within the allotted time will result in the office being considered vacant.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
6. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
7. "Candidates" are those citizens who, during the period of the election designated for candidacy declarations, declare themselves or accept a nomination by another citizen as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that election.
8. "Election" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which candidacy declarations can be made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election.
9. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, or abandons it. An office is abandoned when its holder does not log onto the regional forums for two weeks without prior notice, or when an election winner or appointee fails to post the Oath of Office. Pending an election, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.
10. An "absence" in an office means that the holder of the office is by law temporarily prevented from exercising the duties of their office. An absent officer may be replaced for the duration of their absence as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
11. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens appointed by the Delegate and confirmed by a majority vote of the Regional Assembly.
12. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their appointment to the Election Commission.
13. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take the Oath of Office.The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner.
14. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
15. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
16. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
17. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
18. Any citizen may petition the full Election Commission to review a decision made by the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.
19. If the full Election Commission determines that the actions under review are not in compliance with the law or their adopted rules, they will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule them. If deemed necessary, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election.

Section 4.4: Overall Election Law
20. Citizens will be provided three days to declare their candidacy. Voting will begin two days after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days.
21. Candidates may withdraw from the ballot anytime during an election except during voting.
22. Private votes may be sent by private message to a forum account designated for that purpose by the Election Commission. In such an event, the Election Commissioners supervising the election will promptly announce that a vote has been cast privately and who that vote was cast for. The Election Commissioners may not announce any other details about the vote.
23. The option to reopen nominations will appear on the ballot as a separate question for each race.
24. Should a majority vote to reopen nominations for a given race, a further two days will be provided for candidacy declarations.
25. Candidates for that race whose names appeared on the first ballot will retain their candidacy unless they choose to withdraw during the period for candidacy declarations.
26. A second round of voting for that race will begin immediately after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the new ballot.
27. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the ballot for any runoff vote.
28. If during any voting round for a given race a candidacy becomes invalid, then the voting round for that race will be promptly restarted with any invalid candidacies excluded from the new ballot.

Section 4.5: General Elections
29. The election of the Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Attorney General, and the Speaker will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
30. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a runoff vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. Only the two candidates who received the most votes will appear on the ballot.
31. If no one gains a majority of votes in the runoff vote, the runoff process will be repeated until a candidate receives a majority.

Section 4.6: Judicial Elections
32. The election of the Justices will begin on the first days of the months of March, July, and November.
33. The three candidates who receive the most votes will be elected. If a run-off vote is required it will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it shall last for five days.

Section 4.7: Special Elections
34. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position, unless the election would be unable to conclude prior to two weeks before the beginning of the next scheduled election cycle for that office.
35. Special elections will follow the same procedures as regularly scheduled elections for the vacant office.

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2. The successor to the current Attorney General at the time of this bill's passage will be elected in the next general election. The current Attorney General may serve until their successor takes the Oath of Office.
3. If this bill passes during an election cycle, it will take effect at the conclusion of that election cycle. Otherwise it is effective immediately upon passage.
4. When this bill takes effect, the entire Election Commission will be considered vacant, and the Delegate must promptly appoint at least five, but no more than nine Election Commissioners.

The Election Reform Bill:
1. Legal Code Chapter 4: Election and Appointment Procedure, will be amended in its entirety as follows:

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

Click to expand...

2. All elected government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their election, as certified by the Election Commission~~; appointment, as publicly announced; or confirmation, as verified by the Speaker~~.
3. All government officials subject to confirmation by the Regional Assembly will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their confirmation, as verified by a member of the Speaker's Office.
4. All other government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their appointment, as publicly announced.
5. The taking of the Oath constitutes assumption of the office. Failure to post the oath within the allotted time will result in the office being considered vacant~~, to be filled in accordance with all laws governing elections, appointments, or confirmations, as is appropriate for the office in question~~.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
6. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
7. "Candidates" are those citizens who, during the period of the election designated for candidacy declarations, declare themselves or accept a nomination by another citizen as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that election.
8. "Election" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which candidacy declarations can be made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election.
9. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, or abandons it. An office is abandoned when its holder does not log onto the regional forums for two weeks without prior notice, or when an election winner or appointee fails to post the Oath of Office. Pending an election, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.
10. An "absence" in an office means that the holder of the office is by law temporarily prevented from exercising the duties of their office. An absent officer may be replaced for the duration of their absence as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
11. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens appointed by the Delegate and confirmed by a majority vote of the Regional Assembly.
12. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their appointment to the Election Commission.
13. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take the Oath of Office.The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner.
14. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
15. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
16. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
17. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
18. ~~At the request of any citizen,~~Any citizen may petition the full Election Commission to review a decision made by the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.
19. If the full Election Commission determines that the actions under review are not in compliance with the law or their adopted rules, they will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule them ~~administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration,~~ If deemed necessary, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. ~~If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.~~

Section 4.4: Overall Election Law
20. Citizens will be provided three days to declare their candidacy. Voting will begin ~~one full day~~ two days after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days.
21. Candidates may withdraw from the ballot anytime during an election except during voting.
22. Private votes may be sent by private message to a forum account designated for that purpose by the Election Commission. In such an event, the Election Commissioners supervising the election will promptly announce that a vote has been cast privately and who that vote was cast for. The Election Commissioners may not announce any other details about the vote.
23. The option to reopen nominations will appear on the ballot as a separate question for each race.
24. Should a majority vote to reopen nominations for a given race, a further two days will be provided for candidacy declarations.
25. Candidates for that race whose names appeared on the first ballot will retain their candidacy unless they choose to withdraw during the period for candidacy declarations.
26. A second round of voting for that race will begin immediately after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the new ballot.
27. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the ballot for any runoff vote.
28. If during any voting round for a given race a candidacy becomes invalid, then the voting round for that race will be promptly restarted with any invalid candidacies excluded from the new ballot.

Section 4.5: General Elections
29. The election of the Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Attorney General, and the Speaker will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
30. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a runoff vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days.
31. Candidates will be added to the runoff ballot in descending order of how many votes they received. Candidates who received equal numbers of votes will be added the ballot simultaneously. Once the cumulative number of votes received by the candidates on the runoff ballot reaches a majority of votes cast in the previous round of voting, excluding abstentions, no more candidates will be added to the ballot.
31. If no one gains a majority of votes in the runoff vote, the runoff process will be repeated until a candidate receives a majority.

Section 4.6: Judicial Elections
32. The election of the Justices will begin on the first days of the months of March, July, and November.
33. The three candidates who receive the most votes will be elected. If a run-off vote is required it will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it shall last for five days.

Section 4.7: Special Elections
34. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position, unless the election would be unable to conclude prior to two weeks before the beginning of the next scheduled election cycle for that office.
35. Special elections will follow the same procedures as regularly scheduled elections for the vacant office.

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2. The successor to the current Attorney General at the time of this bill's passage will be elected in the next general election. The current Attorney General ~~will~~ may serve until their successor takes the Oath of Office.
3. If this bill passes during an election cycle, it will take effect at the conclusion of that election cycle. Otherwise it is effective immediately upon passage.
4. When this bill takes effect, the entire Election Commission will be considered vacant, and the Delegate must promptly appoint at least five, but no more than nine Election Commissioners.

The Election Reform Bill:
1. Legal Code Chapter 4: Election and Appointment Procedure, will be amended in its entirety as follows:

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

Click to expand...

2. All government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their election, as certified by the Election Commission; appointment, as publicly announced; or confirmation, as verified by the Speaker. The taking of the Oath constitutes assumption of the office. Failure to post the oath within the allotted time will result in the office being considered vacant, to be filled in accordance with all laws governing elections, appointments, or confirmations, as is appropriate for the office in question.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
3. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
4. "Candidates" are those citizens who, during the period of the election designated for candidacy declarations, declare themselves or accept a nomination by another citizen as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that election.
5. "Election" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which candidacy declarations can be made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election.
6. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, or abandons it. An office is abandoned when its holder does not log onto the regional forums for two weeks without prior notice, or when an election winner or appointee fails to post the Oath of Office. Pending an election, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.
7. An "absence" in an office means that the holder of the office is by law temporarily prevented from exercising the duties of their office. An absent officer may be replaced for the duration of their absence as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
8. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens appointed by the Delegate.
9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission~~, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices~~. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their appointment to the Election Commission.
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. ~~No government official has~~ The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner~~, but the office may still become vacant by other means~~.
11. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
13. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will ~~be dismissed once~~ serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
14. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
15. At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

Section 4.4: Overall Election Law
16. Citizens will be provided three days to declare their candidacy. Voting will begin one full day after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days.
17. Private votes may be sent by private message to a forum account designated for that purpose by the Election Commission. In such an event, the Election Commissioners supervising the election will promptly announce that a vote has been cast privately and who that vote was cast for. The Election Commissioners may not announce any other details about the vote.
18. The option to reopen nominations will appear on the ballot as a separate question for each race.
19. Should a majority vote to reopen nominations for a given race, a further two days will be provided for candidacy declarations.
20. Candidates for that race whose names appeared on the first ballot will retain their candidacy unless they choose to withdraw during the period for candidacy declarations.
21. A second round of voting for that race will begin immediately after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the new ballot.
22. If during any voting round for a given race a candidacy becomes invalid, then the voting round for that race will be promptly restarted with any invalid candidacies excluded from the new ballot.

Section 4.5: General Elections
23. The election of the Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Attorney General, and the Speaker will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
23. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a run-off vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. ~~The candidates in the runoff vote will be the top candidates whose combined votes total a majority of votes cast, excluding abstentions.~~
24. Candidates will be added to the runoff ballot in descending order of how many votes they received. Candidates who received equal numbers of votes will be added the ballot simultaneously. Once the cumulative number of votes received by the candidates on the runoff ballot reaches a majority of votes cast in the previous round of voting, excluding abstentions, no more candidates will be added to the ballot.
25. If no one gains a majority of votes in the runoff vote, the runoff process will be repeated until a candidate receives a majority.

Section 4.6: Judicial Elections
26. The election of the Justices will begin on the first days of the months of March, July, and November.

Section 4.7: Special Elections
27. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position, unless the election would be unable to conclude prior to two weeks before the beginning of the next scheduled election cycle for that office.
28. Special elections will follow the same procedures as regularly scheduled elections for the vacant office.

Click to expand...

2. The successor to the current Attorney General at the time of this bill's passage will be elected in the next general election. The current Attorney General will serve until their successor takes the Oath of Office.
3. If this bill passes during an election cycle, it will take effect at the conclusion of that election cycle. Otherwise it is effective immediately upon passage.
4. When this bill takes effect, the entire Election Commission will be considered vacant, and the Delegate must promptly appoint at least five, but no more than nine Election Commissioners.

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

2. All government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their election, as certified by the Election Commissioner; appointment, as publicly announced; or confirmation, as verified by ~~a member of~~ the Speaker~~'s Office~~. The taking of the Oath constitutes assumption of the office. Failure to post the oath within the allotted time will result in the office being considered vacant, to be filled in accordance with all laws governing elections, appointments, or confirmations, as is appropriate for the office in question.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
3. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
4. "Candidates" are those citizens who, during the period of the Eelection ~~Cycle~~ designated for candidacy declarations, declare themselves or accept a nomination by another citizen as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that Eelection ~~Cycle~~.
~~5. "Election Commissioner" is an individual designated to supervise a given election. No Election Commissioner may run in the election they are overseeing.~~
5. "Election ~~Cycle~~" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which candidacy declarations can be made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election.
6. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, or abandons it. An office is abandoned when its holder does not log onto the regional forums for two weeks without prior notice, or when an election winner or appointee fails to post the Oath of Office. Pending an election, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.
7. An "absence" in an office means that the holder of the office is by law temporarily prevented from exercising the duties of their office. An absent officer may be replaced for the duration of their absence as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
8. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens appointed by the Delegate.
9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices.
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.
11. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term is scheduled to end. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will be dismissed once the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
13. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
14. At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

Section 4.4: Overall Election Law
15. Citizens ~~shall~~will be provided three days to declare their candidacy. Following the closure of candidacy declaration, four days shall be allowed for campaigning, during which no further candidate declarations shall be allowed.
10. Voting will begin one full day~~immediately~~ after the candidacy declaration~~campaigning~~ period has closed and last for five days.
~~11. If a run-off vote is required it will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it shall last for five days.~~
16. Private votes may be sent by private message to a forum account designated for that purpose by the Election Commission~~ers~~. In such an event, the Election Commissioners supervising the election will ~~shall~~ promptly announce that a vote has been cast privately and who that vote was cast for. The Election Commissioners may not announce any other details about the vote.
17. The option to reopen nominations ~~shall~~will appear on the ballot as a separate question for each race.
18. Should a majority vote to reopen nominations for a given race, a further two days will be provided for candidacy declarations.
19. Candidates for that race whose names appeared on the first ballot will retain their candidacy unless they choose to withdraw during the period for candidacy declarations.
20. A second round of voting for that race will begin immediately after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the new ballot.
21. If during any voting round for a given race a candidacy becomes invalid, then the voting round for that race will be promptly~~immediately~~ restarted with any invalid candidacies excluded from the new ballot.

Section 4.5: General ~~and Judicial~~ Elections
18. A minimum of two Election Commissioners will be appointed by the Delegate to oversee the candidacy declaration and election processes at least one week before the beginning of the month in which the election is to be held. If an appointment of Election Commissioners has not been made by that time, the Vice Delegate shall promptly make the appointment. citizens serving as government officials are not excluded from appointments under this clause.
22. The election ~~cycle for the terms~~ of the Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Attorney General, and the Speaker will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
23. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a run-off vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. The candidates in the runoff vote will be the top candidates whose combined votes total a majority of votes cast, excluding abstentions.

Section 4.6: Judicial Elections
24. The election ~~cycle for the terms~~ of the Justices ~~and the Attorney General~~ will begin on the first days of the months of March, July, and November.

Section 4.7: Special Elections
25. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position, unless the election would be unable to conclude prior to two weeks before the beginning of the next scheduled election cycle for that office.
22. The Delegate and the Vice Delegate will serve as Election Commissioners for the special election. If any of the Delegate and the Vice Delegate are not available, the Speaker and, if necessary, the Attorney General will serve as Election Commissioners.
26. Special elections will follow the same procedures as regularly scheduled elections for the vacant office.

Andrew · Mar 25, 2017

Section 4.3.9:
9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices.

Wat? So this statutory legislation would waive a constitutional prohibition on holding multiple offices?

Doesn't seem constitutional.

Section 4.3.10:
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.

This bill proposes to fix certain issues with our election process and one of them is ambiguity. This seems ambiguous to me. What other means exactly?Resignation and removal from office come to mind but is there anything else? If not, why not just codify it rather than leave open.

Section 4.3.13:
At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election.In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

At the request of only one? (Not seeing an issue just wondering why not a slightly larger number like 2 or 3) For how long can an election be halted? Who decides the election can be halted, the supervising commissioners or the whole commission? What constitutes irreparable misadministration? This is a lot of power than I'm not comfortable giving without some strict and precise text dictating its appropriate use.

Also should we not consider some form of confirmation process rather than just leaving it all to the Delegate?

23. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a run-off vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. The candidates in the runoff vote will be the top candidates whose combined votes total a majority of votes cast, excluding abstentions.

Changing from plurality now to majority voting? As the author, why do you think this would be good?

SillyString · Mar 25, 2017

Andrew:
Section 4.3.9:

9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices.

Click to expand...

Wat? So this statutory legislation would waive a constitutional prohibition on holding multiple offices? Doesn't seem constitutional.

I have similar concerns about the phrasing of this clause - I think the intent is clearly to keep the same exemption for ECs that they have now, that they're exempted from prohibitions on serving as executive officials if they hold other roles.

Section 4.3.10:
Section 4.3.10:

10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.

Click to expand...

This bill proposes to fix certain issues with our election process and one of them is ambiguity. This seems ambiguous to me. What other means exactly?Resignation and removal from office come to mind but is there anything else? If not, why not just codify it rather than leave open.

There are a bunch of other ways something can become vacant - if the individual resigns, if they're recalled, if they move their nation out of the region, if their citizenship is revoked by the court, if the court takes them off the commission, if they fail to log into the forum for 2 weeks... anything that would normally render an office empty. I agree that it could possibly be phrased better, though.

Section 4.3.13:
Section 4.3.13:

At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election.In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

Click to expand...

At the request of only one? (Not seeing an issue just wondering why not a slightly larger number like 2 or 3) For how long can an election be halted? Who decides the election can be halted, the supervising commissioners or the whole commission? What constitutes irreparable misadministration?

Irreparable misadministration would, presumably, be determined by the Commission as a whole. They have a fair bit of prior court guidance to rely on as to when it is appropriate or inappropriate to restart an election, and would be able to use their best judgement. Anybody who felt they acted inappropriately could take it to the court for an appeal.

The way I read it, the Commission would have the power to halt, and the halt would be until they decide whether to restart the election, replace commissioners, overturn something, or let everything go ahead as normal.

I think one is a fine number here. It's the same number we use to let the court take something up, and the EC wouldn't be *required* to overturn or even take up a complaint. The requirement that someone ask simply prevents the commission from doing so sua sponte (much like the court).

23. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a run-off vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. The candidates in the runoff vote will be the top candidates whose combined votes total a majority of votes cast, excluding abstentions.

Click to expand...

Changing from plurality now to majority voting? As the author, why do you think this would be good?

It's not changing from plurality to majority, it's changing from no rules at all to some guideline. In the past, it's been unclear whether a runoff should include the top two vote getters only, or if it should include sufficient top vote getters, in order, to reach a majority of votes cast.

In other words, if 20 ballots are cast for 10 candidates, and one candidate receives 5, one receives 4, two receive 3, and the rest all receive 1, there has been no clarity or consistency as to whether the 5 and the 4 should go to the runoff, even though together they only received 9 votes, which is not a majority of votes cast, or if it should be the 5, the 4, and both 3s, who all together received 15 votes, a clear majority. Different ECs have ruled differently in the past, as I recall (not that it is a common situation). This clause would fix that hole so that all runoffs would be treated equally.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

SillyString:
Andrew:

Section 4.3.9:

9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices.

Click to expand...

Wat? So this statutory legislation would waive a constitutional prohibition on holding multiple offices? Doesn't seem constitutional.

Click to expand...

I have similar concerns about the phrasing of this clause - I think the intent is clearly to keep the same exemption for ECs that they have now, that they're exempted from prohibitions on serving as executive officials if they hold other roles.

You are correct about the intent, and to be crystal clear, this is explicitly allowed by the Constitution (emphasis mine):

TNP Constitution:
10. No person may simultaneously serve in government official positions in more than one of the executive, legislative, or judicial categories. Exceptions to this provision may be established by law.

SillyString:
Andrew:

Section 4.3.10:

10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.

Click to expand...

This bill proposes to fix certain issues with our election process and one of them is ambiguity. This seems ambiguous to me. What other means exactly?Resignation and removal from office come to mind but is there anything else? If not, why not just codify it rather than leave open.

Click to expand...

There are a bunch of other ways something can become vacant - if the individual resigns, if they're recalled, if they move their nation out of the region, if their citizenship is revoked by the court, if the court takes them off the commission, if they fail to log into the forum for 2 weeks... anything that would normally render an office empty. I agree that it could possibly be phrased better, though.

I am open to other ways of phrasing this. I only put in the bit about becoming vacant by other means to clarify that even though they can't be dismissed by the delegate like executive officers, they will vacate their office normally through other means, like inactivity, recall, etc.

Andrew:
23. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a run-off vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. The candidates in the runoff vote will be the top candidates whose combined votes total a majority of votes cast, excluding abstentions.

Click to expand...

Changing from plurality now to majority voting? As the author, why do you think this would be good?

If you're referring to the method of electing officials on the first ballot, this is not a change from plurality to majority voting. All the officials listed in that section are already elected by majority vote. If you're referring to the method of selecting which candidates proceed to a runoff in the event of no majority, SillyString is correct that there has previously been no legal guidance on this matter. There is not even any guidance on when a runoff is required. It has been assumed that if no candidate receives a majority, then a runoff is required, but the law is silent on the matter. This proposal seeks to define when a runoff is required, and which candidates will appear on the run-off ballot.

The reason I specify that the top vote getters whose votes total a majority will appear on the runoff ballot is because of exactly the sort of situation SillyString mentioned: when the majority of voters voted for candidates other than the top two vote getters.

I just realized that this clause does need a bit of work though. It needs to include ties, and should also have a provision for what happens when the runoff does not produce a majority winner. I will fix this clause in the next draft.

EDIT: The new clauses could look something like:

23. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a run-off vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. ~~The candidates in the runoff vote will be the top candidates whose combined votes total a majority of votes cast, excluding abstentions.~~
24. Candidates will be added to the runoff ballot in descending order of how many votes they received. Candidates who received equal numbers of votes will be added the ballot simultaneously. Once the cumulative number of votes received by the candidates on the runoff ballot reaches a majority of votes cast in the previous round of voting, excluding abstentions, no more candidates will be added to the ballot.
25. If no one gains a majority of votes in the runoff vote, the runoff process will be repeated until a candidate recieves a majority.

I realize that clause 24 here is very complexly worded, and I am open to ways of simplifying it, as long as they produce the same results.

Andrew · Mar 25, 2017

Opps....looks like I have forgotten a few things in my absence

Well, thanks for clearing that up.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

Not at all. These are good questions, and have raised several opportunities for improvement.

Darcania · Mar 25, 2017

I see a potentially disastrous ambiguity here:

14. At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

I note that it says the "full Election Commission" by majority vote - so it seems to me that could be interpreted that even absent members would vote in that... including members absent under clause 12. Other sections of the Legal Code could help solve this ambiguity, but I think it's better to clear this ambiguity straight away rather than rely on other, potentially also vague, portions of the Legal Code.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

I don't think that is actually ambiguous, since the definition of Absence is pretty clear:

An "absence" in an office means that the holder of the office is by law temporarily prevented from exercising the duties of their office.

That seems to me to indicate they cannot do anything than an EC can do, including participate in decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.

If there are strong feelings about it, I can maybe split clause 12 into two clauses, and make it something like:

12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
13. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will be dismissed once the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.

I think the added text is redundant with the definition of absence, but again, if there are strong feelings about it, I don't mind incorporating that into the next draft.

Guy · Mar 25, 2017

I disagree with splitting the A-G and Justice dates. Those who are interested in one office are also quite likely to be interested in another. Essentially, it leaves someone who wants to move from A-G to the Court (or vice versa)with two options: Either leave their office early, or take a break away from public office. Not ideal.

I don't like the phrasing "one full day". Don't introduce new terminology unless you define it. I'd prefer to see a consistent definition of what a 'day' is throughout.

I think that a large EC body is unnecessary. Any more than three is truly unnecessary. I also don't think it's a good idea to be able to get a review on the merits of a decision of the supervising EC. If there are legal defects, that's one thing. But all you're doing by allowing review on the merits is introducing uncertainty into the supervising ECs decision.

Standing appointments are a really good idea, though. So instead, I would prefer a body of three that supervises all elections for a given period (say six months), with any absences being able to be filled by the Delegate.

SillyString · Mar 25, 2017

For my own thoughts, I really like this proposal! I have a couple suggestions for areas where I think the wording can be improved:

8. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine, citizens appointed by the Delegate.

IDK, the comma seems better included than not.

9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices.

As Andrew said, this wording seems problematic to me. Phrasing it as the legal code ignoring the constitution is fraught with problems. For comparison, the current exemption is phrased as "citizens serving as government officials are not excluded from appointments under this clause".

What about something like, "Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission. Serving on the Election Commission does not bar a citizen from any other government office." That creates the exemption, as needed, but also does not lend itself to an interpretation that an EC could serve as, for example, both delegate and justice. (This is unlike a phrasing along the lines of "Election Commissioners are free to serve in any other government office", which potentially could.)

10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.

The only reason the Delegate might conceivably have that power is because they make the initial appointment, as with ministers. There's no coherent argument I can think of that would give the power to dismiss ministers to anybody but the delegate, so I can't see one that would apply to ECs either - and no official has tried to mess with either one. So, why not just phrase this as "The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner"? I don't believe that would leave an opening for a future court to decide that the Speaker could have that power.

12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term is scheduled to end. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will be dismissed once the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.

The last sentence here stands out as iffy to me. The delegate doesn't have the power to remove ECs, but temporary ECs will be dismissed? I think that's open for some conflicting interpretations. I would prefer it phrased something like "These replacement appointments expire once the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater."

Also, for the first sentence, I think we need to add a case: "An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end." That will prevent someone appointed midway through an election from voting on decisions - and if someone leaving is excluded, someone coming in also should be.

I am indifferent as to the question of specifying that absent ECs cannot participate - I agree with you that under the legal definition, they definitely would be prevented from doing so, and there's no clarification needed to implement that. On the other hand, I can also see someone less familiar with the law than I am not being aware of that (or knowing to double check the meaning of absent) and causing some headaches for the Commission and/or the Court.

Edit: I also strongly support moving the AG election to the General cycle. I think this would have the likely benefit of increasing participation in that race, both from candidates and from voters, as the cycle where the delegate and VD are elected is always much more trafficked than the judicial. That would only be good for the office.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

Guy:
I disagree with splitting the A-G and Justice dates. Those who are interested in one office are also quite likely to be interested in another. Essentially, it leaves someone who wants to move from A-G to the Court (or vice versa)with two options: Either leave their office early, or take a break away from public office. Not ideal.

I don't think it's necessarily the case that an AG would be more interested in becoming a justice than becoming speaker, delegate, or vice delegate. Additionally, since the AG can be a powerful force to check the abuse of power by the delegate, vice delegate, and speaker, I think it makes sense to elect them at the same time. There is also some added elegance in having all positions that are elected by majority vote in the same election. Plus what SillySting said: it would increase participation in the AG election.

Guy:
I don't like the phrasing "one full day". Don't introduce new terminology unless you define it. I'd prefer to see a consistent definition of what a 'day' is throughout.

That's fair. My worry with changing it to "one day" or "24 hours" is that I want at least 24 hours to pass, but I don't want to require that a voting thread be opened exactly 24 hours after nominations close. "One day" could result in a voting thread closing at say, 11 PM, and the voting thread being opened the following morning. I'm open to suggestions about how to improve this. If people have strong feelings about it, I would probably just change it to one day, and trust the EC to use their discretion by not opening a voting thread too early.

Guy:
I think that a large EC body is unnecessary. Any more than three is truly unnecessary. I also don't think it's a good idea to be able to get a review on the merits of a decision of the supervising EC. If there are legal defects, that's one thing. But all you're doing by allowing review on the merits is introducing uncertainty into the supervising ECs decision.

The point in having a large body is two-fold: to avoid last minute appointments if a couple ECs are going to be absent during the election, and also to have a large enough body to effectively overturn decisions by the supervising ECs. Assuming that both supervising ECs vote to uphold their own decision, you would need at least three others to overturn, for a total of five.

We'll have to agree to disagree about allowing the full commission to overrule the supervising ECs. Part of the thrust of this whole bill is to reduce the level of court involvement in our elections. This proposal would allow swifter remedies to election muck-ups, and create a self-righting system of elections that wouldn't require the court to step in every time a small irregularity occurred. This power of the commission will not be removed from the bill. If that comes at the cost of your vote, I consider that unfortunate but non-negotiable.

Guy:
Standing appointments are a really good idea, though. So instead, I would prefer a body of three that supervises all elections for a given period (say six months), with any absences being able to be filled by the Delegate.

As I point out about, you need a sizable body to prevent last-minute appointments. If you only have three ECs, there's too much potential for absences that would require last minute appointments by the delegate. It would hardly be an improvement over the current system of appointments. Plus, given that there is an exemption to the multiple office restrictions, there's really no reason not to have several people on the commission. More eyes on draft rules, etc will result in a better overall process. Furthermore, it will avoid having the same people commission every election, which can be a bit of a hassle for those people, considering that regularly scheduled elections, even on the shortened timetable I'm proposing, will still take 15% of the year.

SillyString:
What about something like, "Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission. Serving on the Election Commission does not bar a citizen from any other government office." That creates the exemption, as needed, but also does not lend itself to an interpretation that an EC could serve as, for example, both delegate and justice. (This is unlike a phrasing along the lines of "Election Commissioners are free to serve in any other government office", which potentially could.)

Something about "does not bar a citizen from any other government office" doesn't sound right to me, but I agree this clause needs work. How about something like:

9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission~~, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices~~. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their appointment to the Election Commission.

Would that work for people?

SillyString:
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.

Click to expand...

The only reason the Delegate might conceivably have that power is because they make the initial appointment, as with ministers. There's no coherent argument I can think of that would give the power to dismiss ministers to anybody but the delegate, so I can't see one that would apply to ECs either - and no official has tried to mess with either one. So, why not just phrase this as "The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner"? I don't believe that would leave an opening for a future court to decide that the Speaker could have that power.

I'm ok with that. I'm also coming around to the idea that it's not really necessary to redundantly state that normal vacancy procedures apply. So the new clause could look something like:

10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. ~~No government official has~~ The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner~~, but the office may still become vacant by other means~~.

Short and sweet.

SillyString:
12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term is scheduled to end. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will be dismissed once the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.

Click to expand...

The last sentence here stands out as iffy to me. The delegate doesn't have the power to remove ECs, but temporary ECs will be dismissed? I think that's open for some conflicting interpretations. I would prefer it phrased something like "These replacement appointments expire once the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater."

Also, for the first sentence, I think we need to add a case: "An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end." That will prevent someone appointed midway through an election from voting on decisions - and if someone leaving is excluded, someone coming in also should be.

Agreed on both counts. Hows this for a replacement:

12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will ~~be dismissed once~~ serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.

I think that's a bit more elegant than your rephrasing and accomplishes the same objective.

Darcania · Mar 25, 2017

The same argument about the law already being clear on absences could also apply to the vacancies clause. I think it would be better to make it clear on both ends, but I also generally dislike inconsistency, so if you leave the absences part out, might as well remove the vacancies part.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

I think the vacancy law is more well known than the absence law, so one could make an argument for keeping the redundant bit about absence, and not the bit about vacancy.

Another reason to keep the redundant bit about absence is that if the definition of absent every changes and that clause isn't scrutinized, it could result in ECs being allowed to do stuff they shouldn't. In other words, what's redundant today might not be redundant forever. But I take your point. I'm undecided on whether or not to keep either bit.

EDIT: For my own reference later in creating the second draft, these are the clauses under discussion in this post, with suggested edits for the second draft:

10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. ~~No government official has~~ The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner~~, but the office may still become vacant by other means~~.

12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
13.If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will ~~be dismissed once~~ serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.

falapatorius · Mar 25, 2017

I think this is a completely unnecessary knee-jerk reaction to the recent election debacle. Mistakes were made, the Court ruled on it, the election is running fine now, time to move on.

For argument's sake, I do have an issue or two with this Bill.

It creates a standing body of election commissioners appointed by the delegate to six month terms.

I'd prefer the duration of their term as Delegate. Each successive delegate would then be able to choose his/her own ECs for the term.

12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term is scheduled to end

I'm not at all comfortable with allowing ECs to run in elections, regardless of an 'absent' status.

10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.

The bolded sentence is confusing. Does 'vacant by other means' refer to the LC definition of 'vacancy', or something else as yet undefined?

Anyway, I maintain this is unnecessary, and will likely cause more problems than it attempts to solve. Let's try and remember that the Law which applies to the situation that is the impetus for this amendment was fine. It was ignorance of it that leads us here.

SillyString · Mar 25, 2017

Your changes look pretty good to me, COE

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

falapatorius:
I think this is a completely unnecessary knee-jerk reaction to the recent election debacle. Mistakes were made, the Court ruled on it, the election is running fine now, time to move on.

Actually, most of these changes have been kicking around in my head for quite some time, and as I note in the opening post, this bill attempts to solve systemic problems far beyond those demonstrated in the current judicial election. You are completely off-base in calling it a knee-jerk reaction. I understand how it might appear that way, but you're wrong.

falapatorius:
It creates a standing body of election commissioners appointed by the delegate to six month terms.

Click to expand...

I'd prefer the duration of their term as Delegate. Each successive delegate would then be able to choose his/her own ECs for the term.

If you read the OP, you'll see that one of the problems this bill seeks to address is requiring the delegate to make frequent appointments to the election commission, which sometimes come at the last minute. Implicitly, it also seeks to distance the EC from the executive, and make it more independent, less subject to influence by the delegate. This results in a more free and fair election process. Your suggestion is antithetical to the purpose of the bill, and I will not be considering it for the second draft. What's more, it would result in the entire commission being vacated every four months, which is problematic to me because it doesn't fit in well with the idea of consistent election procedure. Having rolling six month terms from the date of taking the oath will result in more continuity in membership, and thus more gradual change in procedure over time.

falapatorius:
12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term is scheduled to end

Click to expand...

I'm not at all comfortable with allowing ECs to run in elections, regardless of an 'absent' status.

Being absent means they are effectively not an EC for the duration of the election. What exactly is your problem with this?

falapatorius:
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. No government official has the power to remove an Election Commissioner, but the office may still become vacant by other means.

Click to expand...

The bolded sentence is confusing. Does 'vacant by other means' refer to the LC definition of 'vacancy', or something else as yet undefined?

It does refer to the legal definition of vacancy, but I can tell that last bit of the clause is causing more confusion than it's worth. It will most likely be struck in the second draft.

falapatorius:
Anyway, I maintain this is unnecessary, and will likely cause more problems than it attempts to solve. Let's try and remember that the Law which applies to the situation that is the impetus for this amendment was fine. It was ignorance of it that leads us here.

I respectfully disagree. I have laid out a list of systemic problems in our election law which has led to a seemingly endless series of election-related legal challenges. This bill will clean up the holes in our election law and move us forward to a more efficient system, as befits the foremost democracy in NationStates.

SillyString · Mar 25, 2017

Crushing Our Enemies:
Another reason to keep the redundant bit about absence is that if the definition of absent every changes and that clause isn't scrutinized, it could result in ECs being allowed to do stuff they shouldn't. In other words, what's redundant today might not be redundant forever. But I take your point. I'm undecided on whether or not to keep either bit.

One could say the same thing about the vacancy clause - if we ever change the definition, it could result in unintended consequences in other sections. Heck, that's true of a fair amount of the content of our laws.

You are right that the absence clause is not invoked as often, though.

I think whatever you decide on this I am okay with.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

I have posted the second draft in the OP. Here are the changes I've adopted:

The Election Reform Bill:
1. Legal Code Chapter 4: Election and Appointment Procedure, will be amended in its entirety as follows:

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

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2. All government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their election, as certified by the Election Commission; appointment, as publicly announced; or confirmation, as verified by the Speaker. The taking of the Oath constitutes assumption of the office. Failure to post the oath within the allotted time will result in the office being considered vacant, to be filled in accordance with all laws governing elections, appointments, or confirmations, as is appropriate for the office in question.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
3. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
4. "Candidates" are those citizens who, during the period of the election designated for candidacy declarations, declare themselves or accept a nomination by another citizen as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that election.
5. "Election" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which candidacy declarations can be made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election.
6. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, or abandons it. An office is abandoned when its holder does not log onto the regional forums for two weeks without prior notice, or when an election winner or appointee fails to post the Oath of Office. Pending an election, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.
7. An "absence" in an office means that the holder of the office is by law temporarily prevented from exercising the duties of their office. An absent officer may be replaced for the duration of their absence as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
8. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens appointed by the Delegate.
9. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission~~, regardless of constitutional prohibitions on holding multiple offices~~. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their appointment to the Election Commission.
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office. ~~No government official has~~ The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner~~, but the office may still become vacant by other means~~.
11. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
13. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will ~~be dismissed once~~ serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
14. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
15. At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

Section 4.4: Overall Election Law
16. Citizens will be provided three days to declare their candidacy. Voting will begin one full day after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days.
17. Private votes may be sent by private message to a forum account designated for that purpose by the Election Commission. In such an event, the Election Commissioners supervising the election will promptly announce that a vote has been cast privately and who that vote was cast for. The Election Commissioners may not announce any other details about the vote.
18. The option to reopen nominations will appear on the ballot as a separate question for each race.
19. Should a majority vote to reopen nominations for a given race, a further two days will be provided for candidacy declarations.
20. Candidates for that race whose names appeared on the first ballot will retain their candidacy unless they choose to withdraw during the period for candidacy declarations.
21. A second round of voting for that race will begin immediately after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the new ballot.
22. If during any voting round for a given race a candidacy becomes invalid, then the voting round for that race will be promptly restarted with any invalid candidacies excluded from the new ballot.

Section 4.5: General Elections
23. The election of the Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Attorney General, and the Speaker will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
23. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a run-off vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. ~~The candidates in the runoff vote will be the top candidates whose combined votes total a majority of votes cast, excluding abstentions.~~
24. Candidates will be added to the runoff ballot in descending order of how many votes they received. Candidates who received equal numbers of votes will be added the ballot simultaneously. Once the cumulative number of votes received by the candidates on the runoff ballot reaches a majority of votes cast in the previous round of voting, excluding abstentions, no more candidates will be added to the ballot.
25. If no one gains a majority of votes in the runoff vote, the runoff process will be repeated until a candidate receives a majority.

Section 4.6: Judicial Elections
26. The election of the Justices will begin on the first days of the months of March, July, and November.

Section 4.7: Special Elections
27. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position, unless the election would be unable to conclude prior to two weeks before the beginning of the next scheduled election cycle for that office.
28. Special elections will follow the same procedures as regularly scheduled elections for the vacant office.

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2. The successor to the current Attorney General at the time of this bill's passage will be elected in the next general election. The current Attorney General will serve until their successor takes the Oath of Office.
3. If this bill passes during an election cycle, it will take effect at the conclusion of that election cycle. Otherwise it is effective immediately upon passage.
4. When this bill takes effect, the entire Election Commission will be considered vacant, and the Delegate must promptly appoint at least five, but no more than nine Election Commissioners.

There are a few issues still to work out, namely:

Clause 24, regarding which candidates proceed to a runoff, is a little wordy for my taste, and difficult to parse. I am open to suggestions on that front.

I have left in the "one full day" language in clause 16. The goal of that language is for the voting thread to begin no earlier than 24 hours after the close of candidacy declarations, but not much longer than 24 hours either. If more people share Guy's reservations about the language, I'm fine with substituting "one day," and I am certainly open to more clever ways to phrase it.

I'd also like everyone to please take a close look at the implementation clauses, which appear below the text of the new law, and are numbered 2-4. Implementation clauses can be tricky and I want to make sure not to screw anything up with them.

SillyString · Mar 25, 2017

Implementation looks fine to me.

I agree with you that 24 seems overly wordy, but have no immediate suggestions for how to improve it.

Guy · Mar 25, 2017

COE:

How about this as a compromise. Keep the expanded body and the power to overrule decisions of the supervising ECs, but only if there is a legal defect (or serious departure from precedent?) in the original decision.

Leave interpretation of that up to the full EC, maybe, so that no one goes to court over the EC going beyond its power in overruling a decision. So still technically a discretionary power, but the EC should first be satisfied that one of those preconditions applies.

plembobria · Mar 25, 2017

If I may tackle some of the opening arguments here:

First, it is cumbersome for the delegate to appoint election commissioners every two months. They have better things to do, and if the appointments are made late, or the appointees forget to take their oaths, it can result in confusion and disaster.

Not really. Late appointments are already taken care of in the law, and government officials not taking their oaths ought to be more heavily enforced by the administrators. That solves the problem straight away.

Second, in the event of a special election, there is no time to make the necessary appointments, so elected officials with important responsibilities are required to lay those aside in order to run the election themselves. This is a waste of their time and resources, and is generally regarded as a chore.

Surely this can be solved by having the Delegate appoint commissioners for special elections?

I fundamentally dislike the idea of appointing a six-month termed election commission. Commissioners are appointed with the knowledge that they will be available to manage a specific election. It's unlikely that people might foresee whether they are going to be online to manage all the elections within six-months time, or abrupt special elections.

The current system allows the Delegate to canvass the region for whoever may be available to manage one specific election. The chances that one may be able to find 2-3 people willing to do it is relatively high. Appointing 5 to 9 to serve for 6 months however, not so much.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 25, 2017

plembobria:
If I may tackle some of the opening arguments here:

First, it is cumbersome for the delegate to appoint election commissioners every two months. They have better things to do, and if the appointments are made late, or the appointees forget to take their oaths, it can result in confusion and disaster.

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Not really. Late appointments are already taken care of in the law, and government officials not taking their oaths ought to be more heavily enforced by the administrators. That solves the problem straight away.

I will grant that this is probably the smallest concern of the many I listed. I still think it's not ideal that EC's are typically appointed at the last minute, and only serve for the duration of the election.

plembobria:
Second, in the event of a special election, there is no time to make the necessary appointments, so elected officials with important responsibilities are required to lay those aside in order to run the election themselves. This is a waste of their time and resources, and is generally regarded as a chore.

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Surely this can be solved by having the Delegate appoint commissioners for special elections?

Yeah, it could, but my solution is better. There's no need for special elections to be delayed while ECs are sought, when you could just have a standing body of ECs ready to administer any election that arises.

plembobria:
I fundamentally dislike the idea of appointing a six-month termed election commission. Commissioners are appointed with the knowledge that they will be available to manage a specific election. It's unlikely that people might foresee whether they are going to be online to manage all the elections within six-months time, or abrupt special elections.

The current system allows the Delegate to canvass the region for whoever may be available to manage one specific election. The chances that one may be able to find 2-3 people willing to do it is relatively high. Appointing 5 to 9 to serve for 6 months however, not so much.

You may be missing this clause:

11. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.

An EC would not be signing on to supervise every election for the next six months. They would signing on to be among those who supervise elections for the next six months. The average EC would probably only supervise one election during each six month term. There are three regularly scheduled elections in a six month period. If there were five election commissioners, and two have to supervise each one, then if the responsibilities were divided evenly, only one would administer more than one election. I think it would be easier to find ECs than you might think. I would certainly be willing, and Darcania has also expressed interest. I'm sure more could be found relatively easily.

Guy:
COE:

How about this as a compromise. Keep the expanded body and the power to overrule decisions of the supervising ECs, but only if there is a legal defect (or serious departure from precedent?) in the original decision.

Leave interpretation of that up to the full EC, maybe, so that no one goes to court over the EC going beyond its power in overruling a decision. So still technically a discretionary power, but the EC should first be satisfied that one of those preconditions applies.

I'm not really sure what you mean by legal defect. Could you elaborate?

Guy · Mar 26, 2017

Essentially something not being done in accordance with the law (i.e. unlawfully). The sort of thing that would lead to the Court's intervention, for example.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 26, 2017

OK, that is kind of what I was envisioning, but I would also want the full EC to overturn decisions that contravene their own adopted rules. I am undecided on whether this is strictly necessary, but I would consider changing that clause to something like this:

15. ~~At the request of any citizen,~~Any citizen may petition the full Election Commission to review a decision made by the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.
16. If the full Election Commission determines that the actions under review are not in compliance with the law or their adopted rules, they will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule them ~~administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration,~~ If deemed necessary, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. ~~If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.~~

Would that satisfy your concerns?

EDIT: Reading it over a couple times, I actually like it better than what I had before anyway, so I'll probably keep it whether it satisfies your concerns or not.

SillyString · Mar 26, 2017

plembobria:
First, it is cumbersome for the delegate to appoint election commissioners every two months. They have better things to do, and if the appointments are made late, or the appointees forget to take their oaths, it can result in confusion and disaster.

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Not really. Late appointments are already taken care of in the law, and government officials not taking their oaths ought to be more heavily enforced by the administrators. That solves the problem straight away.

I have to disagree with you on this point. Yes, for positions which require remasking, administrators should verify an oath has been taken before they remask - and my understanding is that they typically do, and people very often link to their oaths in the admin request thread.

But there are a number of jobs which do not require remasking, and as a result there's nothing the admins can or should be doing. Election Commissioner is one example, as it simply involves getting the password from a previous commissioner (or reusing it, if someone was a commissioner in the last election). THO is another, since it requires only for the Chief Justice to add the new THOs to the special group. Some ministry positions may work similarly, since I know they use groups now as well - Minister may still require masking for mod powers, but perhaps not deputies (who might be or not be government officials).

So putting this on the admins, especially in a case where they don't have anything to do with the assumption of office, isn't correct.

Crushing Our Enemies · Mar 26, 2017

Passing on the voting booth has been done several ways, actually. In some cases, yes, the ECs have gotten the password from the previous EC, but often the admins will change the password after the election is over and then give it to the new EC. I agree that it's not really on the admins to check if someone has taken their oath, but it's nice that they do, with positions that require remasking.

One of the benefits of a standing election commission that hadn't occurred to me until now is that we'll have a body that will be able to take permanent control of that account and regulate who has access and how access is transferred. The admins could step out of it altogether.

SillyString · Mar 26, 2017

I just did some quick counts going through our archives, so if you don't like these numbers you can get your own.

We have had 49 elections, including the ongoing one, since the adoption of this constitution over the summer of 2012. 28 of them have been regularly scheduled (about 57%), making 21 special elections.

During that same period, we have had 22 requests for review or requests for injunction filed in relation to concerns about elections. I did not tally up how many of them related to the same election vs. different ones, and I included requests for review that arose as a result of a request for review about an election. That's nearly half, about 45%.

13 of those have resulted in court rulings, including the one issued yesterday. So, about 60% of requests resulted in a ruling. That's probably lower than reality, because some elections spawned multiple requests for review that were either combined or withdrawn in favor of another. It's probably closer to 75%.

Romanoffia · Mar 27, 2017

I like the second draft, COE.

The proposed process, if reduced to an old-fashioned programming flow chart, works nicely as a series of if/then and yes/no statements without any hangups.

Crushing Our Enemies · Apr 3, 2017

I'm pleased with the constructive debate we've had so far. I will try to have a third draft of this ready before Wednesday, since after that I'll be at reduced activity till the end of the weekend.

Does everyone understand the runoff procedures in the latest draft, and what do you think of them? I'm not just looking for advice on phrasing here, I want to know if it's good.

Zyvetskistaahn · Apr 8, 2017

I do not think it is wholly correct that run-offs are unnecessary for judicial elections. A need for run-offs can still arise in relation to ties (for two people in joint third, for instance). While it is the case that there may arguably be scope for the Election Commission to still conclude the election without a run-off, in that the Constitution prescribes a minimum number of Justices (three) but no specific number or cap, and that, therefore, it would be notionally possible for the Commission to return a number of Justices that is more than three. However, I suggest that retaining run-offs would be a preferable solution (and I would also suggest that it may be wise to set an absolute number of Justices, rather than a minimum, in order to avoid the notional possibility of the Commission being able to decide the size of the Court).

On the issue of the mechanism for appointing Commissioners, I would say that there is an argument that Commissioners in a standing Commission ought to be subject to some form of approval by the Assembly before they take up office. Most Officials who regulated only by the Assembly or the Court are subject to some Assembly approval before taking up office (either election or confirmation), save for the two existing exceptions of Election Commissioners and Temporary Hearing Officers.

At the moment, I would say that those exceptions are justified by two principle reasons: first, that the power they exercise is of very limited nature, generally only being to commission a single election or decide a single case; and, second, is the risk of delay that a confirmation would present to either an election or a court case, using the present ad hoc systems.

If a standing Commission is created, these two justifications seem to fall away. The power of the Commission becomes wider: no longer do they regulate one election, they could potentially personally regulate three; and, further, they can make rules affecting all elections. The delay issue is also less problematic, as nominees can be put forward before a vacancy requiring their appointment arises and as the Commission can be kept above the minimum strength so that one or two vacancies not being filled for a while do not prevent it doing business.

Below are initial drafts of clauses for a confirmation model:

A. The Delegate will recommend to the Regional Assembly a citizen to serve as Election Commissioner whenever: a. There are fewer than five Election Commissioners; or, b. There are more than four and fewer than nine Election Commissioners and the Delegate thinks it necessary to recommend further citizens as Election Commissioners.
B. The Regional Assembly may confirm a recommended citizen by majority vote.
C. A recommendation may be revoked by the Delegate prior to the start of a vote to confirm that recommendation.

(I've used capital letters here in place of specific clause numbering, as I'm not wholly sure where I'd put it in the chapter)

I also considered whether it might be desirable to have a clause which places some duty (though a fairly nebulously framed one) on the Delegate to ensure, when making recommendations, that the Commission has the knowledge, experience, and judgement necessary to fulfill its functions. I am not sure as to my view on such a clause, but I thought that I ought to bring the possibility up for the consideration of the Assembly.

Xyre · Apr 18, 2017

Whilst I am overall rather pleased with this second draft, but I do pose a question to the author regarding run-offs:

Why not use a voting system that doesn't lead to the possibility of a run-off for excess positions? You could potentially use a version of Hare-Clark if you needed multi-members, or another system relying on quotas... or if that is all too difficult you could look at simply implementing a preferential voting system? Vote 1-x, where x=number of positions being elected.

Crushing Our Enemies · Apr 18, 2017

First off, apologies for slacking on the next draft. I'm still interested in taking this to vote at some point, but it's definitely not ready yet.

Zyvet, you're absolutely right about runoffs being needed in judicial elections, and I will make sure to fix that in the next draft. I have another idea for a proposal that will re-jig a lot of judicial stuff, so I think I may have been getting ahead of myself there.

As far as RA confirmation, you have a point there. I don't like your proposed language though. How about this:

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
8. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens ~~appointed~~ nominated by the Delegate and confirmed by a majority vote of the Regional Assembly.
9. Any citizen may be ~~appointed~~ nominated to the Election Commission. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their ~~appointment~~ nomination to the Election Commission.
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office.The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner.
11. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
13. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
14. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
15. At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

Any other references to appointments would be replaced by references to nominations, confirmations, or oaths, as appropriate.

Xyre, I am all for better forms of voting, but there is an long history of opposition to complexity when it comes to our elections. Broadly speaking, the harder it is for the average citizen to count the votes themselves and double-check the EC's work, the less they trust the system. There is some merit to that, but I don't think it outweighs the benefit to a preferential voting system. However, I think changing the voting system would probably tank this bill hard, especially when you consider that it would probably require a constitutional amendment, and therefore a 2/3 majority.

Xyre · Apr 18, 2017

Xyre, I am all for better forms of voting, but there is an long history of opposition to complexity when it comes to our elections. Broadly speaking, the harder it is for the average citizen to count the votes themselves and double-check the EC's work, the less they trust the system. There is some merit to that, but I don't think it outweighs the benefit to a preferential voting system. However, I think changing the voting system would probably tank this bill hard, especially when you consider that it would probably require a constitutional amendment, and therefore a 2/3 majority.

Hmm, well I considered the fact that you're considering moving into run-off elections that this legislation would require constitutional change anyway, and if that is the case it would be better to go to a semi-optional preferential voting system (run-off elections aren't preferential elections) or a quota system. The issue with complexity is a valid one when it comes to any sort of quota system or version of Hare Clark, so I'll yield that point... but I do feel semi-OPV should be considered.

Zyvetskistaahn · Apr 19, 2017

Crushing Our Enemies:
[...]As far as RA confirmation, you have a point there. I don't like your proposed language though. How about this:

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
8. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens ~~appointed~~ nominated by the Delegate and confirmed by a majority vote of the Regional Assembly.
9. Any citizen may be ~~appointed~~ nominated to the Election Commission. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their ~~appointment~~ nomination to the Election Commission.
10. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take of the Oath of Office.The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner.
11. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
12. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
13. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
14. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
15. At the request of any citizen, the full Election Commission will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule the administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.

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Any other references to appointments would be replaced by references to nominations, confirmations, or oaths, as appropriate.
[...]

That wording appears to work fine, save that I would prefer express provision to be made for withdrawal of nominees before they are voted on. In relation to temporary appointments, might it be wise (I'm not sure myself), for temporary appointments where there are no Commissioners to make them, to mirror the provision that exists for THOs when there are no Justices to appoint them and to have the appointments made by the Delegate with agreement of the Speaker, rather than just being by the Delegate.

Xyre:
[...]

Hmm, well I considered the fact that you're considering moving into run-off elections that this legislation would require constitutional change anyway, and if that is the case it would be better to go to a semi-optional preferential voting system (run-off elections aren't preferential elections) or a quota system. The issue with complexity is a valid one when it comes to any sort of quota system or version of Hare Clark, so I'll yield that point... but I do feel semi-OPV should be considered.

Just to note, this proposal is not moving to run-off elections, run-offs are already provided for by the current law.

Darcania · May 8, 2017

I don't know if this bill is still going, but from what I've seen of recent election cycles it seems the current 3 days for candidacy declarations is too short. I keep hearing of people who were just slightly too late to either declare candidacy or withdraw it (r3n being the most recent example). Could the candidacy declaration period be extended to four days, or a provision be added to allow for withdrawing candidacy during the campaigning period?

Crushing Our Enemies · May 8, 2017

I think three days is enough for candidacy declarations, and there's nothing currently in the law that prohibits withdrawals of candidacy between the nomination period and the voting period. I would be fine with allowing withdrawals up until the beginning of the voting period, but I wonder if that should maybe be codified in the Election Commission's rules instead of the legal code. I don't want to bloat this chapter too much. I'm willing to hear the case for making explicit legal provisions for withdrawing one's name from the ballot though.

Zyvetskistaahn · May 8, 2017

With relation to time limits, I'm not too sure about the shortening of the time for campaigning to only one day. There have been election cycles, the present General Election included, where there had been vigourous campaigning during the period (and, indeed, some revelations coming after the period had concluded and votes cast), so I am not convinced that the experience of the most recent judicial election is a good one to base a reduction of the campaigning time on.

Further, even accepting that there could be a case for some reduction, I think that a reduction to one day is too great. It would likely make it more difficult to organise and hold debates between candidates before the start of voting (something which already proves difficult for many elections), while I think most would prefer to have more debates, and would leave precious little time for late declaring candidates to have their campaign scrutinised.

On the question of wanting stuff dealt with but not wanting to bloat the Codified Law, we could, in addition to giving the power to make Rules, require that the Rules address certain things. Something to the effect of:

The Election Commission must make rules on:

Declarations of Candidacy

Withdrawals of Candidacy

Advertising the Election

Forms of Ballots

(the list is illustrative, rather than a statement of what I would, necessarily, want to be included)

This is done already, though in a more limited fashion, in relation to the Court Rules, which are required to set out a standard procedure for criminal trials by Section 3.3, clause 11 of the Codified Law.

Crushing Our Enemies · May 18, 2017

The third draft is in the OP. I move for a vote. I will still consider amendments proposed during formal debate, but I expect that the current text will be the final draft. Please read over it carefully and let me know what you think. It's been a long time coming, but I think the final product has benefited from having lots of time to think over the suggestions everyone has given. Here are the changes I've made in this draft:

Zyvet suggested that the RA should confirm ECs before they take office, and I have come around to this idea. The new draft includes a provision for that. This necessitated re-writing the procedures for taking oaths of office a bit, since ECs would be both appointed AND confirmed. The new section 4.1 clarifies when each type of official is required to take the oath (see clauses 2-5 and 11).
Guy had some objections to how the procedures for appealing decisions of election commissioners to the full commission was worded. We came to a compromise, and that is included in this bill (see clauses 18-19).
Zyvet thought that 1 day was a bit two short a gap between candidacy declarations and voting. I have lengthened it to two days (see clause 20).
Darcania pointed out that r3n would have been able to withdraw his candidacy in this most recent election if only there was a longer declaration period. I have addressed this by adding a clause allowing candidates to withdraw anytime except during voting (see clause 21).
Of my own accord, I have added a clause clarifying that there is no option to reopen nominations in a runoff vote.
Speaking of runoffs, I decided that for general elections, where all candidates are elected by majority vote, simple is best - the top two vote-getters proceed to the runoff (see clause 30).
Zyvet pointed out that due to ties, procedures for runoffs in judicial elections are still required. I have used the language from the current law for that purpose (see clause 33).
Zyvet recommended that we peg the number of Justices at three, to avoid allowing the EC to change the size of the court willy-nilly. Sure, ok. (see clause 33).
I noticed that one of the implentation clauses could be interpreted to legally prevent the AG from resigning before September, or otherwise vacate their office. I have replaced "will serve" with "may serve" in the first implementation clause.

Phew. This bill has been two months in the making, and I think it's finally time to pass this sucker. You've got five days to take it apart and put it back together before you make up your minds. Hit me with your best shot.

And for you lazy screwballs who can't be bothered to scroll up, here's the markup for the latest draft:

The Election Reform Bill:
1. Legal Code Chapter 4: Election and Appointment Procedure, will be amended in its entirety as follows:

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

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2. All elected government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their election, as certified by the Election Commission~~; appointment, as publicly announced; or confirmation, as verified by the Speaker~~.
3. All government officials subject to confirmation by the Regional Assembly will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their confirmation, as verified by a member of the Speaker's Office.
4. All other government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of their appointment, as publicly announced.
5. The taking of the Oath constitutes assumption of the office. Failure to post the oath within the allotted time will result in the office being considered vacant~~, to be filled in accordance with all laws governing elections, appointments, or confirmations, as is appropriate for the office in question~~.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
6. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
7. "Candidates" are those citizens who, during the period of the election designated for candidacy declarations, declare themselves or accept a nomination by another citizen as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that election.
8. "Election" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which candidacy declarations can be made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election.
9. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, or abandons it. An office is abandoned when its holder does not log onto the regional forums for two weeks without prior notice, or when an election winner or appointee fails to post the Oath of Office. Pending an election, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.
10. An "absence" in an office means that the holder of the office is by law temporarily prevented from exercising the duties of their office. An absent officer may be replaced for the duration of their absence as provided by the Constitution, this Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: The Election Commission
11. The Election Commission consists of at least five, but no more than nine citizens appointed by the Delegate and confirmed by a majority vote of the Regional Assembly.
12. Any citizen may be appointed to the Election Commission. Citizens will be exempt from constitutional restrictions on holding multiple government offices for purposes of their appointment to the Election Commission.
13. The term of an Election Commissioner will be six months, beginning on the day they take the Oath of Office.The Delegate does not have the power to remove an Election Commissioner.
14. All elections will be supervised by two Election Commissioners.
15. An Election Commissioner will be considered absent during any election in which they are a candidate, or during which their term started or is scheduled to end. Absent Election Commissioners may not supervise an election or participate in any decisions made by the Election Commission as a whole.
16. If there are fewer than five non-absent Election Commissioners, the remaining commissioners will appoint temporary replacements to bring their number up to five. If all Election Commissioners are absent, the delegate will appoint five temporary replacements. These replacements will serve until the number of non-absent commissioners is five or greater.
17. The Election Commission will have the power to make rules for the supervision of elections. Where no rules exist, the Election Commissioners supervising a given election may use their discretion.
18. ~~At the request of any citizen,~~Any citizen may petition the full Election Commission to review a decision made by the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.
19. If the full Election Commission determines that the actions under review are not in compliance with the law or their adopted rules, they will have the power, by majority vote, to overrule them ~~administrative decisions of the Election Commissioners supervising a given election. In the case of irreparable misadministration,~~ If deemed necessary, they will also have the power, by majority vote, to restart the election, or designate different commissioners to supervise the election. ~~If necessary, the election may be halted while the Election Commission decides how to proceed.~~

Section 4.4: Overall Election Law
20. Citizens will be provided three days to declare their candidacy. Voting will begin ~~one full day~~ two days after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days.
21. Candidates may withdraw from the ballot anytime during an election except during voting.
22. Private votes may be sent by private message to a forum account designated for that purpose by the Election Commission. In such an event, the Election Commissioners supervising the election will promptly announce that a vote has been cast privately and who that vote was cast for. The Election Commissioners may not announce any other details about the vote.
23. The option to reopen nominations will appear on the ballot as a separate question for each race.
24. Should a majority vote to reopen nominations for a given race, a further two days will be provided for candidacy declarations.
25. Candidates for that race whose names appeared on the first ballot will retain their candidacy unless they choose to withdraw during the period for candidacy declarations.
26. A second round of voting for that race will begin immediately after the candidacy declaration period has closed and last for five days. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the new ballot.
27. The option to reopen nominations will not appear on the ballot for any runoff vote.
28. If during any voting round for a given race a candidacy becomes invalid, then the voting round for that race will be promptly restarted with any invalid candidacies excluded from the new ballot.

Section 4.5: General Elections
29. The election of the Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Attorney General, and the Speaker will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
30. If no candidate for a given office gains a majority, a runoff vote for that office will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it will last for five days. Only the two candidates who received the most votes will appear on the ballot.
24. Candidates will be added to the runoff ballot in descending order of how many votes they received. Candidates who received equal numbers of votes will be added the ballot simultaneously. Once the cumulative number of votes received by the candidates on the runoff ballot reaches a majority of votes cast in the previous round of voting, excluding abstentions, no more candidates will be added to the ballot.
31. If no one gains a majority of votes in the runoff vote, the runoff process will be repeated until a candidate receives a majority.

Section 4.6: Judicial Elections
32. The election of the Justices will begin on the first days of the months of March, July, and November.
33. The three candidates who receive the most votes will be elected. If a run-off vote is required it will begin within one day of the first vote ending and it shall last for five days.

Section 4.7: Special Elections
34. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position, unless the election would be unable to conclude prior to two weeks before the beginning of the next scheduled election cycle for that office.
35. Special elections will follow the same procedures as regularly scheduled elections for the vacant office.

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2. The successor to the current Attorney General at the time of this bill's passage will be elected in the next general election. The current Attorney General ~~will~~ may serve until their successor takes the Oath of Office.
3. If this bill passes during an election cycle, it will take effect at the conclusion of that election cycle. Otherwise it is effective immediately upon passage.
4. When this bill takes effect, the entire Election Commission will be considered vacant, and the Delegate must promptly appoint at least five, but no more than nine Election Commissioners.

bootsie · May 18, 2017

This Bill is now in Formal Debate. Formal Debate will conclude in five days, after which a vote will be scheduled.

SillyString · May 18, 2017

Full support!

Election Reform Bill

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Minister of Culture

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