FILED BEFORE THE COURT, FEBRUARY 10, 2006.
Assigned to - Byardkuria, Presiding Justice
Each of the several questions entered by Election Comissioner Erastide, in her request found
here, will be addressed in turn.
* Nation Identification
There are two questions here. One concerns individuals that identify their TNP nation, however when that nation is checked upon, the nation is no longer in TNP. Can they declare another nation some place else? And if yes, where is appropriate? Asking for a name change in the admin forum? Posting in the RV thread? a PM to the MoIIA?
Within the Registered Voter oath, the following passage is found -
I understand that if my Nation leaves The North Pacific region for reasons other than participation in North Pacific Army deployments that I may be stripped of my right to vote and required to reapply.
Since the practice has been to permit nations to change their official registered nation simply by contacting the MoIIA, changes (registered nation and forum name) communicated to the MoIIA, either via a post within their agency or PM, should serve as sufficient notice, given that such change had occurred and been accepted by the MoIIA prior to the casting of the vote. If a voter does have a registered voting nation in TNP, and meets all other requirements to vote, and given that the functional definition tu far is 1 vote=1 forum account, rather than 1 vote = 1 nation, the Court does not feel that it is appropriate to discount their vote should they accidentally list another puppet nation on their ballot.
Second question concerns UN nations, which are needed to vote in Delegate/Vice-Delegate elections. Are election commissioners required to check UNs *during* voting? Or should nations have UN status throughout the election and even after? Given the necessity for invaders and defenders to change the status of their puppets, what is a reasonable amount of time to allow the commissioners to check their status, while allowing them to go about their way of gameplay? Should they be able to provide the name of a UN at the moment of verification, even if it is different than the one initially posted?
In fact, this query appears to be predicated upon an incorrect assumption.
Article 1, Section 3, paragraph c -
C - All Nations who have registered to vote under the provisions of Article II, Section 2, of this Constitution and who reside in The North Pacific, or are active members of The North Pacific Army or The North Pacific Intelligence Agency, shall be entitled to submit a single vote for each election regardless of UN status. No person shall be permitted to cast more than one vote, through one or more Nations.
Under this passage, it appears to be unconstitutional to require a UN Nation for the forum vote for delegate. However, it is still significant that voters are required to designate their UN Nation at the time of registration. Changes made to this nation, without informing the MoIIA of such changes - be it directly, or through another official such as the MoD, would invalidate voter status in the same fashion as moving their designate nation out of the region without designating another.
Majority/50% rule
I interpretated, it seems completely wrongly, that the majority simply meant 50%. Just to make it clear... Majority means >50% of the cast votes. Does this count abstain or no? Since Heft and I said they wouldn't count.... can they lead to a runoff?
Abstentions, while not counted for victory totals, do constitute votes. As such, a majority is defined as more than half of all ballots cast, rather than half of all ballots cast for a candidate. So yes - if 90 votes are cast, and the totals are 44-43-3, a runoff would be required, as it would be difficult for either candidate to successfully demonstrate a mandate.
Nation dropping out before election is finished
What happens when a nation drops out after elections have started, but there are no alternate candidates. What would happen if *noone* ran period? If noone runs, can a PM appoint a large portion of the cabinet?
If a nation drops out of an election, any votes cast for that candidate, while still to be considered legal votes, should be treated as abstentions - in other words, while they will count toward total votes cast, they will not count in determination of vote totals for any one candidate. Should that nation be running unopposed, it will be too late for any other candidate to declare, per TNP Law 5, Section 2. As such, when the post is vacated at the end of the term, it should be filled according to Article 3, Paragraph 5, Section 3, i.e. appointment by the PM of a Deputy Minister who will act as full minister subject to confirmation by popular referendum.
Nation dropping out while race is finished that would be in runoffs
Second nation dropping question. What happens when a runoff should occur but one of the candidates has left? Does it devolve to the third candidate? Or does the first automatically win it? What if the person in first dropped out, would the person in second win since they would be the only person in a runoff?
By treating votes for withdrawn candidates as abstentions, this scenario should be handled the same as any other plurality scenario. If two runoff candidates have been determined, and one then withdraws their candidacy, it should be considered a concession of defeat to their opponent - noting that a plurality is sufficient to win a runoff.
New nations involved in runoffs
Lastly.... I *think*. If a runoff occurs, can nations that have been admitted to the RV rolls by the new MoIIA participate in the runoff? They technically are RV before the voting starts, but they have been admitted by a new minister.
No. Article 3, Section 1, Paragraph D of the Constitution states that
D - Only Nations who are registered to vote when the voting period commences shall be entitled to vote. . .
TNP Law 5, Section 4, paragraph D, states that
D - The runoff election shall utilize the same procedures as for the initial round of elections. A plurality shall determine the winner of the runoff election.
Given that a runoff election is held to be a second round of the same election, rather than a separate election, the constituency should be preserved.
Can Ministers take office... in pieces? Or do they all enter together en masse replacing the previous gov't?
The Constitution references times and dates for nations to take office - it does not reference any requirement that the Cabinet et al take office en banc. Due also to the potential created by such a scenario for the creation of an interregnum while awaiting a single runoff election, and the security concerns it creates, the Court sees no reason that Ministers may not take office as they are certified as victors in their respective elections.
- Byardkuria
Chief Justice of the Court of The North Pacific
EDIT - 2/10/06 - correction of quote tag.
But this is my request for an official ruling. And if you want me to post this in a court forum, just say so, it'll go there in the morning.