|
Title: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 27, 2016, 01:30:24 PM I assume our work has to be done in public. The regional government board seems like the most logical place to do our work. Should we have multiple threads, one for the Senate election and one or more for the constitution? We can break the constitution into parts.
Should we first elect a chair and adopt rules for passage? I assume we'd require a majority vote - of all reps or of just voting reps? Is a 24 hour or 48 hour voting period after a motion for cloture agreed to by the chair a good start? Or do we want a set time limit for each piece followed by a set time limit for a vote, like the Northeast Assembly? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on May 27, 2016, 06:48:38 PM I motion for immediate nomination of a Chair for twelve hours. Perhaps a Vice Chair to act in case of slight inactivity for the Chair.
I think cinyc has shown himself capable of amazing efficiency in the Northeast region. I suggest he and former Presiding Officer of the Constitutional Convention Truman become Chair, Vice Chair, or Co-Chairs. Both seem to be very efficient and good at moving things along. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 27, 2016, 07:06:20 PM I think we should fast-track the voting process. What's important is we get to finish our work early.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 27, 2016, 09:14:25 PM The following amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia have passed the Senate and await ratification by the Regions. I recommend that the Legislative Committee place these amendments on the ballot alongside the special senatorial election.
Regards, Harry S Truman Speaker of the Senate Quote An Amendment to the Fourth Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia i. Article X, Section 2 of the Fourth Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall be amended as follows: Quote Section 2 (Implementation) i. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the incumbent President of the Republic of Atlasia shall designate a temporary Elections Officer, who shall administer the election of the new House of Representatives. Elections for these offices will be conducted according to the regulations set forth in this Constitution and the existing body of law, and shall commence not more than two weeks following the receipt of the certificates of ratification from the several Regions. ii. Concurrently with the aforementioned balloting, the Elections Officer shall administer the election of legislative committees in each of the three Regions consisting of one delegate for every seven citizens thereof. The committees will be empowered to organize the election of the first Senate, and then to devise a permanent Constitution establishing a permanent government for their Region. But under no circumstances shall the committees presume to legislate on matters not pertaining to either of the aforementioned tasks, and shall be immediately dissolved upon their completion. iii. At such time as both the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be seated, this Constitution shall be considered fully implemented; and accordingly all acts and offices established under the previous Constitution, or those of the former Regions, shall cease to hold any authority within the Republic of Atlasia, with the exception of the incumbent President and Vice President. Quote An Amendment to the Fourth Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia Section 1. Article II, Section 1, clause iv of the Fourth Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia is amended to read as follows: Quote iv. The western Region shall consist of the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 27, 2016, 09:23:27 PM I think we should fast-track the voting process. What's important is we get to finish our work early. I will stand for the office of Chair and nominate Cinyc for Vice Chair. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 27, 2016, 09:25:58 PM I think we should fast-track the voting process. What's important is we get to finish our work early. I will stand for the office of Chair and nominate Cinyc for Vice Chair. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on May 27, 2016, 11:02:51 PM I third the motion. Someone fourthing this allows it to pass without a vote.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 28, 2016, 02:22:01 AM I fourth the motion.
I think the Senate election should be held next weekend, 12:00 EDT Friday to 11:59PM EDT Sunday - EDT so that the election supervisor can start the vote an hour earlier than the usual 1AM. I suggest using STV voting rules. We can specify that the voting rules of the Consolidated Northeastern Election Law apply, if we want to further flesh out how to handle the STV vote (they're almost identical to the old Atlasian regs, but I don't know where to find them). That would also give voters a 20-minute edit period and 7-day residency requirement (assuming it's not overturned by the Supreme Court) for a vote to count. If we can decide who gets the longer term, I'd suggest that the person elected first under the STV rules or with the highest surplus be given the longer term. If there is a tie, we'd look to second preferences, then a game of chance. We also need someone to run the election. I can do it if you want. I have been running Northeast elections for a while, and am comfortable doing so. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on May 28, 2016, 08:02:59 AM now that we have our officials, i'll introduce some motions:
Quote Northern Regional Committee Resolution 1: Rules of Order 1. The Northern Regional Committee shall be run according to the final version of the Northeast SOAP, with the Chair operating in the role of Speaker and the Vice-Chair operating as a substitute when the Chair is not available. Quote NRC Res. 2: Ratification of the First and Second Amendments to the Fourth Constitution 1. Upon passage of this resolution by a simple majority of the members the Northern Regional Committee, the First and Second Amendments to the Fourth Constitution shall be considered ratified. 2. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate ratification of any amendments passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Quote NRC Res. 3: Initial Senate Election 1. The Vice-Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators. All votes by eligible regional citisens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST* on Friday, June 3rd of 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 5th of 2016 that meet standing editing and interpretability requirements shall be considered valid. 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per previous federal regulations. The top two finishers shall be elected Senator. 3. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Quote NRC Res. 4: Regional Name 1. The northern Region shall be known as "Union" or "the Union Region." obviously these are drafts, feel free to discuss & submit amendments. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on May 28, 2016, 11:23:08 AM I think "The Northern Union of Franklin" would be a good name. We could then refer to the region as either Franklin or "the North."
As for a bicameral legislature: I like the idea of three Senators, and the remainder if numbering three or above forming a House of three to five members. If there are four candidates, a three man Senate would be created. If there were five or six, a five man Senate is elected. If there are seven or more, the top three are elected to the Senate and either a three or five man House is created. The combined legislatures elect a Prime Minister among them, with the Governor casting the tie breaking vote. The PM then presides over the legislature and the Governor would veto it. I'll turn it into legalese in twelve hours or so, assuming no one else does. Hopefully this meeting can be successful in using innovation and unique ideas in founding this region's government Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 28, 2016, 11:26:44 AM Quote Northern Regional Committee Resolution 1: Rules of Order 1. The Northern Regional Committee shall be run according to the final version of the Northeast SOAP, with the Chair operating in the role of Speaker and the Vice-Chair operating as a substitute when the Chair is not available. While I like the SOAP, I'm not sure that it would lead to a prompt resolution of things. The voting periods are 48 hours, and debates must last at least 36 but no more than 168 hours, unless there is a formal vote to extend. We might be better off creating our own rules, modeled on the former Senate. Quote NRC Res. 2: Ratification of the First and Second Amendments to the Fourth Constitution 1. Upon passage of this resolution by a simple majority of the members the Northern Regional Committee, the First and Second Amendments to the Fourth Constitution shall be considered ratified. 2. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate ratification of any amendments passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. I simply don't think we have that power. A few proposed amendments to 3: Quote NRC Res. 3: Initial Senate Election 1. The Vice-Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per previous 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00 EST on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. Quote NRC Res. 4: Regional Name 1. The northern Region shall be known as "Union" or "the Union Region." I prefer "North". Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on May 28, 2016, 11:56:36 AM that's fair, yeah. i withdraw res. 2 and declare cinyc's amendment to res. 3 friendly.
ah right and the asterisk was meant to point to this law (https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/The_Eastern_Standard_Time_Act). Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 28, 2016, 02:49:37 PM Order!
Alright, I love the enthusiasm, but we need to take this one step at a time - if we try to debate everything at once, conversations will become impossible to follow and a lot of good ideas will get lost in the mix. Thanks to evergreen, cinyc, and Kingpoleon for taking the initiative and getting the ideas rolling. Here's a rough timeline for how debate will proceed from here on out: 1. Adopt Rules of Order ([RULES]) 2. Organize Senatorial election ([SEN]) 3. Principle votes on regional name and system of government ([PRV]) 4. Introduce rough draft of Constitution ([DRAFT]) 5. Adopt amendments as necessary ([AMNDT]) Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 28, 2016, 02:54:44 PM [RULES] The following motion has been made by Evergreen:
Quote from: NCR 001 The Northern Regional Committee shall be run according to the final version of the Northeast SOAP, with the Chair operating in the role of Speaker and the Vice-Chair operating as a substitute when the Chair is not available. An objection has been filed by Vice Chairman Cinyc; we will therefore proceed with a final vote on this motion. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain. Voting will last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 28, 2016, 02:55:44 PM NAY
I'd rather use the Senate Rules as a base for the Rules of Order (with adjustments to shorten the voting period), as I'm more familiar with them. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 28, 2016, 02:58:33 PM Abstain
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on May 28, 2016, 03:24:10 PM i think the objections raised have been fair. abstain
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on May 28, 2016, 04:11:23 PM Sorry for just getting on here- we need to streamline this process as much as possible to stop it taking weeks, and never allowing us to actually experience the new game.
Nay Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 28, 2016, 05:06:23 PM Nay
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 28, 2016, 05:57:53 PM As a majority of the delegates have either abstained or voted against the motion (making it mathematically impossible for it to pass, Evergreen's motion has FAILED.
I will begin drafting Rules of Order momentarily. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 28, 2016, 07:11:25 PM [RULES] I offer the following motion:
Quote from: R001 That the Committee adopt the following as its Rules of Order: Quote Rules of Order ARTICLE I. 1. The Chairperson of the Legislative Committee shall be the presiding officer of this body. 2. In the event that the Chairperson is unable to execute the duties of his office, the Vice Chairperson shall assume presidency of this Committee as Acting Chairperson. 3. The Chairperson shall serve as the temporary elections officer of the Northern Region and shall administer all elections and referendums mandated by this body. ARTICLE II. 1. The Committee shall first move to establish all needful rules and regulations for the election of the Senators of the Northern Region. 2. Following the declaration by the Chairperson that the floor is open for proposals concerning Section 1 of this Article, any delegate may propose an initial draft of an elections bill. This initial draft will be the basis for all further motions and amendments concerning the Senatorial elections. 3. Any delegate may propose amendments to the initial draft. If there are no objections to a proposed amendment within 24 hours of its introduction, it shall be adopted. If there are objections, a 24 hour vote shall be held. A simple majority of voting delegates shall be sufficient to adopt or reject an amendment. 4. With the assent of the Vice Chairperson, the Chairperson may call a 24 hour final vote on the elections bill. A simple majority of voting delegates shall be sufficient to pass or reject the bill. ARTICLE III. 1. Following the adoption of an elections bill, the Chairperson shall open the floor to debate on the system of government to be adopted by the Northern Region. 2. The Chairperson shall have the power to call such principle votes as may be necessary to resolve conceptual questions or proposals. All principle votes shall last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached. 3. Any delegate may propose an initial draft of a Constitution, but no draft shall be accepted until after a principle vote the name and system of government to be employed by the Northern Region. This initial draft shall be the basis for all further amendments and principle votes. 4. Any delegate may propose amendments to the initial draft. If there are no objections to a proposed amendment within 24 hours of its introduction, it shall be adopted. If there are objections, a 24 hour vote shall be held. A simple majority of voting delegates shall be sufficient to adopt or reject an amendment. 5. With the assent of the Vice Chairperson, the Chairperson may call a 24 hour final vote on the Constitution. A simple majority of voting delegates shall be sufficient to pass or reject the bill. ARTICLE IV. 1. The Chairperson shall have the power to dismiss initial drafts and amendments that he deems functionally impractical or unconstitutional, but the Committee may compel him to consider such drafts and amendments by a majority vote. ARTICLE V. 1. The Chairperson shall dissolve this Committee following the installment of the regular government of the Region. If there are no objections in 24 hours, I will consider these Rules to have been adopted. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 28, 2016, 07:35:25 PM I think "The Northern Union of Franklin" would be a good name. We could then refer to the region as either Franklin or "the North." As for a bicameral legislature: I like the idea of three Senators, and the remainder if numbering three or above forming a House of three to five members. If there are four candidates, a three man Senate would be created. If there were five or six, a five man Senate is elected. If there are seven or more, the top three are elected to the Senate and either a three or five man House is created. The combined legislatures elect a Prime Minister among them, with the Governor casting the tie breaking vote. The PM then presides over the legislature and the Governor would veto it. I'll turn it into legalese in twelve hours or so, assuming no one else does. Hopefully this meeting can be successful in using innovation and unique ideas in founding this region's government Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 28, 2016, 08:56:22 PM When it comes to the number of representatives we have and the type of regional governmental system we use, I recommend having as small a legislature as possible, as doing so would (a) increase competitiveness, (b) reduce legislative inactivity, and (c) expedite the legislation-passing process as a whole. I would personally prefer no more than seven or eight regional legislators, though I understand that some on this committee would probably prefer more than that and that's fine with me.
However, if we're really looking for an interesting electoral system, then I recommend developing districts! Having districts would increase the amount of political clout each individual Northern citizen would have due to his or her ability to influence the vote within his or her own district, and create a more personalized campaign system as opposed to the personal message-based one we have now. I think the best system would probably be a bicameral system with a House and Senate (preferably with more creative names), with one being elected at-large and the other being elected using districts. We could have single-member districts, double-member districts, or half being elected with single-member districts and half being elected at-large like in the old Senate. I recommend around three, four, or five districts, with the legislature being able to redistrict every session to reflect population changes (that would also give the legislature something interesting to do :P). Here are my proposed maps for each one along with the current populations of each state and province/territory (only the currently inhabited Canadian provinces are included for population distribution purposes): () () () Obviously, there would be debate regarding both district contiguity (which would be hard to do perfectly due to the positions of New York and Ohio) and differences in population between each district. I recommend developing contiguity rules that don't require perfect district contiguity but do to an extent, so, for example, we could have a district with New Jersey and Connecticut if New York's population needs to be included in a different district. Regarding population differences in each district, I recommend just developing a standard deviation criterion that can't be violated. Overall, a district system would be good basically because it gives the legislature something to actually do and makes things relatively more interesting. If we wanted to get really crazy, we could ask each Northern citizen to specify a county of residence and work from there. That would probably create hilarious levels of gerrymandering, but why not, eh? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 28, 2016, 09:22:17 PM When it comes to the number of representatives we have and the type of regional governmental system we use, I recommend having as small a legislature as possible, as doing so would (a) increase competitiveness, (b) reduce legislative inactivity, and (c) expedite the legislation-passing process as a whole. I would personally prefer no more than seven or eight regional legislators, though I understand that some on this committee would probably prefer more than that and that's fine with me. However, if we're really looking for an interesting electoral system, then I recommend developing districts! Having districts would increase the amount of political clout each individual Northern citizen would have due to his or her ability to influence the vote within his or her own district, and create a more personalized campaign system as opposed to the personal message-based one we have now. I think the best system would probably be a bicameral system with a House and Senate (preferably with more creative names), with one being elected at-large and the other being elected using districts. We could have single-member districts, double-member districts, or half being elected with single-member districts and half being elected at-large like in the old Senate. I recommend around three, four, or five districts, with the legislature being able to redistrict every session to reflect population changes (that would also give the legislature something interesting to do :P). Here are my proposed maps for each one along with the current populations of each state and province/territory (only the currently inhabited Canadian provinces are included for population distribution purposes): () () () Obviously, there would be debate regarding both district contiguity (which would be hard to do perfectly due to the positions of New York and Ohio) and differences in population between each district. I recommend developing contiguity rules that don't require perfect district contiguity but do to an extent, so, for example, we could have a district with New Jersey and Connecticut if New York's population needs to be included in a different district. Regarding population differences in each district, I recommend just developing a standard deviation criterion that can't be violated. Overall, a district system would be good basically because it gives the legislature something to actually do and makes things relatively more interesting. If we wanted to get really crazy, we could ask each Northern citizen to specify a county of residence and work from there. That would probably create hilarious levels of gerrymandering, but why not, eh? A three to seven man house of representatives, elected by at-large or by districts (stv method), this is where the legislation is introduced, and voted before being sent to the senate. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on May 29, 2016, 07:24:10 AM can we really sustain a bicameral legislature?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 29, 2016, 07:43:32 AM can we really sustain a bicameral legislature? I would prefer a unicameral one, but from what I've read in this thread so far it seems most wouldn't. My ideal legislature would be a single six-member body with three being elected from single-member districts and three being elected at-large. What are everyone's thoughts on this? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on May 29, 2016, 07:57:39 AM can we really sustain a bicameral legislature? I would prefer a unicameral one, but from what I've read in this thread so far it seems most wouldn't. My ideal legislature would be a single six-member body with three being elected from single-member districts and three being elected at-large. What are everyone's thoughts on this? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 29, 2016, 08:00:49 AM can we really sustain a bicameral legislature? I would prefer a unicameral one, but from what I've read in this thread so far it seems most wouldn't. My ideal legislature would be a single six-member body with three being elected from single-member districts and three being elected at-large. What are everyone's thoughts on this? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 29, 2016, 08:19:00 AM Evergreen brings up a good point regarding the number of legislators; seven seems fine to me with either four regional and three at-large or three regional and four at-large. I would prefer the latter because districts are really hard to create when you only have fourteen areas to district with and the at-large elections would probably be more interesting with more seats. Or maybe they would be interesting with less seats, I don't really know.
Regarding RGN's idea, I agree that a larger region would probably require a larger total legislature, but we do have to consider that most regional legislatures were basically empty and unused before the merger. I still think a smaller/unicameral legislature size would be preferable, but I'd like to see what everyone has to say first. I also think a unicameral legislature would expedite the legislative process in a very significant manner, while a bicameral legislature would likely slow things down. The legislative process would probably also be much more effective if we had, say, a Prime Minister in the legislature as opposed to a separate head of government. If you guys wanted, I suppose we could make some sort of nominal head of state position with no real governing power, preferably called "King" so we could have a "King in the North." Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 29, 2016, 08:24:21 AM Evergreen brings up a good point regarding the number of legislators; seven seems fine to me with either four regional and three at-large or three regional and four at-large. I would prefer the latter because districts are really hard to create when you only have fourteen areas to district with and the at-large elections would probably be more interesting with more seats. Or maybe they would be interesting with less seats, I don't really know. Regarding RGN's idea, I agree that a larger region would probably require a larger total legislature, but we do have to consider that most regional legislatures were basically empty and unused before the merger. I still think a smaller/unicameral legislature size would be preferable, but I'd like to see what everyone has to say first. I also think a unicameral legislature would expedite the legislative process in a very significant manner, while a bicameral legislature would likely slow things down. The legislative process would probably also be much more effective if we had, say, a Prime Minister in the legislature as opposed to a separate head of government. If you guys wanted, I suppose we could make some sort of nominal head of state position with no real governing power, preferably called "King" so we could have a "King in the North." Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 29, 2016, 08:30:00 AM Evergreen brings up a good point regarding the number of legislators; seven seems fine to me with either four regional and three at-large or three regional and four at-large. I would prefer the latter because districts are really hard to create when you only have fourteen areas to district with and the at-large elections would probably be more interesting with more seats. Or maybe they would be interesting with less seats, I don't really know. Regarding RGN's idea, I agree that a larger region would probably require a larger total legislature, but we do have to consider that most regional legislatures were basically empty and unused before the merger. I still think a smaller/unicameral legislature size would be preferable, but I'd like to see what everyone has to say first. I also think a unicameral legislature would expedite the legislative process in a very significant manner, while a bicameral legislature would likely slow things down. The legislative process would probably also be much more effective if we had, say, a Prime Minister in the legislature as opposed to a separate head of government. If you guys wanted, I suppose we could make some sort of nominal head of state position with no real governing power, preferably called "King" so we could have a "King in the North." That's a good idea too. It kind of looks like we skipped the timeline of debate Truman made, though, so I think we should be talking about the Senate elections now. Sorry Truman :P Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 29, 2016, 08:39:50 AM Evergreen brings up a good point regarding the number of legislators; seven seems fine to me with either four regional and three at-large or three regional and four at-large. I would prefer the latter because districts are really hard to create when you only have fourteen areas to district with and the at-large elections would probably be more interesting with more seats. Or maybe they would be interesting with less seats, I don't really know. Regarding RGN's idea, I agree that a larger region would probably require a larger total legislature, but we do have to consider that most regional legislatures were basically empty and unused before the merger. I still think a smaller/unicameral legislature size would be preferable, but I'd like to see what everyone has to say first. I also think a unicameral legislature would expedite the legislative process in a very significant manner, while a bicameral legislature would likely slow things down. The legislative process would probably also be much more effective if we had, say, a Prime Minister in the legislature as opposed to a separate head of government. If you guys wanted, I suppose we could make some sort of nominal head of state position with no real governing power, preferably called "King" so we could have a "King in the North." That's a good idea too. It kind of looks like we skipped the timeline of debate Truman made, though, so I think we should be talking about the Senate elections now. Sorry Truman :P Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on May 29, 2016, 09:21:49 AM I'd really not support having a bicameral chamber- the whole point of the concon was to reduce the number of offices, and make the process much cleaner. The problem with a two chamber system is A.) it's harder to maintain B.) Slows legislation
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 29, 2016, 09:38:32 AM I'd really not support having a bicameral chamber- the whole point of the concon was to reduce the number of offices, and make the process much cleaner. The problem with a two chamber system is A.) it's harder to maintain B.) Slows legislation Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 29, 2016, 09:43:57 AM I think the point Blair brings up is good. Considering the nature of the game, I'd say legislative expediency is probably more important than thorough review at this point.
I'd like to reiterate the suggestion of a unicameral seven-member legislature with either three regional and four at-large representatives or four regional and three-at large representatives. One member of the legislature would be elected among his peers as head of government, with a separate public election for nominal head of state also being held. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 29, 2016, 09:50:20 AM I think the point Blair brings up is good. Considering the nature of the game, I'd say legislative expediency is probably more important than thorough review at this point. I'd like to reiterate the suggestion of a unicameral seven-member legislature with either three regional and four at-large representatives or four regional and three-at large representatives. One member of the legislature would be elected among his peers as head of government, with a separate public election for nominal head of state also being held. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 29, 2016, 10:07:50 AM I think the point Blair brings up is good. Considering the nature of the game, I'd say legislative expediency is probably more important than thorough review at this point. I'd like to reiterate the suggestion of a unicameral seven-member legislature with either three regional and four at-large representatives or four regional and three-at large representatives. One member of the legislature would be elected among his peers as head of government, with a separate public election for nominal head of state also being held. Just looking at what we've seen over the past few years, I sincerely doubt legislative fast tracking will be too much of a problem. If we wanted to introduce a system of checks and balances (which I very much recommend), the head of state could have veto power over passed legislation, though the head of government would still be elected by the legislature. I'd like to see what the rest of the committee thinks regarding a unicameral vs. bicameral system, but once more, I think Truman said we should get to discussing the Senate elections first. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 29, 2016, 11:48:00 AM Increasing the number of offices isn't a good idea. At least one of the old "regions" was taken over by expansion in the number of Nyman offices. So the supposed increase in regional size isn't as big as it first looks.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 29, 2016, 06:03:52 PM Blair, Cinyc, and Evergreen are absolutely correct on this - there is no way that the North or the game at large can support an eight member legislature. The whole point of consolidation was to eliminate as many Regional offices as possible - these proposals completely defeat the purpose of having a Northern Constitution.
The most I am willing to entertain is a five-seat Assembly such as that of the current Northeast, and even then I believe it should be indexed to activity (by way of adjusting the number of seats according to the number of candidates). A bicameral legislature / a seven to eight member unicameral Assembly would be disastrous for the Region and the game at large. Anyhow, seeing as nobody objected to the proposed Rules of Order, I hereby declare them to have been ADOPTED. [SEN] Per to Article X and the Rules of Order, we will now proceed to organize the election of our two Regional Senators. Cinyc and Evergreen were working on an elections bill earlier - if anyone has any thoughts to air on the subject, now is the time to say so. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 30, 2016, 04:09:28 PM Since nobody has proposed a formal bill since the rules were adopted, let me propose one:
Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 3rd of 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 5th of 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00AM on Friday, June 3, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per current federal law. The top two finishers shall be elected Senator. The finisher elected first or with the most surplus shall take the longer Senate term. If there is a tie, the finisher with the most second preferences shall take the longer term. If no candidate has more second preferences than the other, a game of chance agreed by the winners shall determine which winner takes the longer Senate term. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00 EST on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 30, 2016, 04:28:08 PM I would recommend two separate IRV elections to determine our Senators, much like the other regions are doing.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on May 30, 2016, 04:50:31 PM Personally, I think three districts Representatives and two at-large Senators would make he most sense if my bicameralism idea is too large. Remember, we have five people currently in the Northeast Assembly and seven people here. I think we can safely supply a legislature of eight, but if we go with three districts and two at-large, I think we can combine them into one Assembly with different names for them.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on May 30, 2016, 05:03:30 PM ^Right now, we're talking about elections for federal Senators, not regional ones.
But regardless, I think it's pretty much agreed at this point that unicameralism is probably the only way to go. I reiterate my idea of one legislature with three regional and four at-large representatives or four regional and three at-large representatives. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 30, 2016, 05:20:07 PM I would recommend two separate IRV elections to determine our Senators, much like the other regions are doing. Why are they doing that? It's easier to administer one election than two. We also have to get around the problem of no one declaring for the shorter-term seat because the term is so short. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on May 30, 2016, 07:04:51 PM Personally, I think three districts Representatives and two at-large Senators would make he most sense if my bicameralism idea is too large. Remember, we have five people currently in the Northeast Assembly and seven people here. I think we can safely supply a legislature of eight, but if we go with three districts and two at-large, I think we can combine them into one Assembly with different names for them. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on May 31, 2016, 01:48:23 AM My sincere apologies. I was continuing previous discussion.
As soon as a proper bill is made regarding Senate elections, I would agree to an immediate vote. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on May 31, 2016, 12:03:33 PM My sincere apologies. I was continuing previous discussion. As soon as a proper bill is made regarding Senate elections, I would agree to an immediate vote. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on May 31, 2016, 12:28:30 PM i doubt this scenario will actually happen, but it's always good to cover all your bases
Since nobody has proposed a formal bill since the rules were adopted, let me propose one: Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 3rd of 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 5th of 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00AM on Friday, June 3, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per current federal law. The top two finishers shall be elected Senator. The finisher elected first or with the most surplus shall take the longer Senate term. If there is a tie, the finisher with the most second preferences shall take the longer term. If no candidate has more second preferences than the other, a game of chance agreed by the winners shall determine which winner takes the longer Senate term. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00 EST on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on May 31, 2016, 12:46:52 PM I consider evergreen's amendment friendly.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 01, 2016, 05:50:15 AM So to clarify what class of senators are we electing?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 01, 2016, 06:15:53 AM So to clarify what class of senators are we electing? we have "The finisher elected first or with the most surplus shall take the longer Senate term.", doesn't that cover it? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 01, 2016, 12:30:55 PM So to clarify what class of senators are we electing? In my proposal, both, in one election. The second-place finisher gets the shorter term, whichever one that might be (which, as Poirot has pointed out, is unclear). But others have objected to this formulation. I'd prefer not to appoint anyone if we can avoid it. I think the other regions are doing it wrong. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 01, 2016, 12:43:57 PM One amendment since it's getting late and people need more time to declare:
Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 3rd of 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 5th of 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00AM on Friday, June 3, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per current federal law. The top two finishers shall be elected Senator. The finisher elected first or with the most surplus shall take the longer Senate term. If there is a tie, the finisher with the most second preferences shall take the longer term. If no candidate has more second preferences than the other, a game of chance agreed by the winners shall determine which winner takes the longer Senate term. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00p.m. EST on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 01, 2016, 04:18:17 PM I have an amendment to cinyc's proposed bill:
Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's Class II Senator and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 3rd of 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 5th of 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00AM on Friday, June 3, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be a single IRV vote counted as per current federal law. The top finisher shall be elected Senator. 3. The region's Class I Senator shall be appointed by a vote of members of the Northern Regional Committee. This vote shall occur within the same span of time as the special election for the Class II seat. 4. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot for the special election to the Class II seat or be considered by the Northern Regional Committee for appointment to the Class I seat shall be 12:00 PM EST on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Write-ins for the special election shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 5. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Basically, my amendment would change the existing bill so the special election is only for one Senator (who will face reelection in August). The other Senator will be appointed by our committee and will face election later this June. My reasons for the amendment: - One of the Senators would have to be elected again this month regardless. - The fairest way to choose our Senators is to do so in the same way in each region. - It would be best to have our first Senate election using the same method that later Senate elections will be held using. Thanks! :D Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 01, 2016, 04:57:27 PM Unfriendly. I don't think this unaccountable committee should be appointing members, no matter how short the term is. Let the voters decide. The other regions simply got this wrong.
Plus, I don't think it is clear that the June seat is the shorter one. Poirot has made arguments that there is no date specified for a Senate election in the Atlasian constitution, and it's already June 1. Given the shortness of time before the proposed election day, I move for an immediate vote on the amendment. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 01, 2016, 05:06:26 PM Very well. A vote is now open on Darthebearnc's amendment to the elections bill. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain. Voting will last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached.
AYE. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: tmthforu94 on June 01, 2016, 05:15:03 PM Unfriendly. I don't think this unaccountable committee should be appointing members, no matter how short the term is. Let the voters decide. The other regions simply got this wrong. Plus, I don't think it is clear that the June seat is the shorter one. Poirot has made arguments that there is no date specified for a Senate election in the Atlasian constitution, and it's already June 1. Given the shortness of time before the proposed election day, I move for an immediate vote on the amendment. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 01, 2016, 05:18:43 PM Unfriendly. I don't think this unaccountable committee should be appointing members, no matter how short the term is. Let the voters decide. The other regions simply got this wrong. Plus, I don't think it is clear that the June seat is the shorter one. Poirot has made arguments that there is no date specified for a Senate election in the Atlasian constitution, and it's already June 1. Given the shortness of time before the proposed election day, I move for an immediate vote on the amendment. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 01, 2016, 05:23:45 PM Unfriendly. I don't think this unaccountable committee should be appointing members, no matter how short the term is. Let the voters decide. The other regions simply got this wrong. Plus, I don't think it is clear that the June seat is the shorter one. Poirot has made arguments that there is no date specified for a Senate election in the Atlasian constitution, and it's already June 1. Given the shortness of time before the proposed election day, I move for an immediate vote on the amendment. Of course not. That's clear in the text. I vote Aye on the amendment. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 01, 2016, 05:27:28 PM heck nay
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: tmthforu94 on June 01, 2016, 05:31:37 PM Unfriendly. I don't think this unaccountable committee should be appointing members, no matter how short the term is. Let the voters decide. The other regions simply got this wrong. Plus, I don't think it is clear that the June seat is the shorter one. Poirot has made arguments that there is no date specified for a Senate election in the Atlasian constitution, and it's already June 1. Given the shortness of time before the proposed election day, I move for an immediate vote on the amendment. Of course not. That's clear in the text. I vote Aye on the amendment. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 01, 2016, 05:33:58 PM lol
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 01, 2016, 05:41:20 PM aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 01, 2016, 06:01:45 PM Nay
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 01, 2016, 06:32:17 PM Abstain, on the grounds that I don't like the proposal, even though it appears to be the better option.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 01, 2016, 07:05:06 PM Nay
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 01, 2016, 07:11:32 PM With three votes in favor, three against, and one delegate abstaining, the amendment has fallen short of a majority and has therefore FAILED.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 01, 2016, 07:49:41 PM With three votes in favor, three against, and one delegate abstaining, the amendment has fallen short of a majority and has therefore FAILED. Okay, now what happens? We need to pass something fairly soon, or we won't be able to hold an election this weekend. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 02, 2016, 04:35:18 AM Quote Initial Senate Election [/quote]1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 3rd of 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 5th of 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00AM on Friday, June 3, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be a single 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00 EST on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. I offer this amendment; we should use the same electoral system as every other region is using for the Senate race- and the same system that we plan on using in the future Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 02, 2016, 05:37:31 AM ^You can't have an IRV voting system in which multiple candidates are elected. The South and West are using IRV specifically so they only elect one Senator and appoint the other one until later this month.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 02, 2016, 05:42:42 AM the current bill is fine
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 02, 2016, 05:52:39 AM Ballotpedia has failed me; I withdraw the amendment
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 02, 2016, 07:18:57 AM Quote Initial Senate Election [/quote]1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 3rd of 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 5th of 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00AM on Friday, June 3, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per current federal law. The top two finishers shall be elected Senator. The finisher elected first or with the most surplus shall take the longer Senate term. If there is a tie, the finisher with the most second preferences shall take the longer term. If no candidate has more second preferences than the other, a game of chance agreed by the winners shall determine which winner takes the longer Senate term. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00 EST on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Status quo Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 02, 2016, 12:22:26 PM Am I the only one who finds it suspect that Federalists are appointments in the regions where they're strongest- and going for elections in the North?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 02, 2016, 12:42:40 PM Am I the only one who finds it suspect that Federalists are appointments in the regions where they're strongest- and going for elections in the North? Neither evergreen nor I are federalists. My rationale for holding only one election is that it's unclear whether someone elected in June will have to vacate the seat for a later election this month, but if they do, nobody will run for the shorter seat. And if they don't (a very good argument can be made that if a Senator is elected in June, he or she can sit until the next election for that class (October?), we're in a better position than the other regions, who think they will have an election that might not happen. I just don't think an unaccountable committee like this should be selecting Senators. And, arguably, it's unconsitutional because the article setting up this committee says that we can set up the election of Senators, not the selection of senators. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 02, 2016, 12:45:35 PM Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per current federal law. The top two finishers shall be elected Senator. The finisher elected first or with the most surplus shall take the longer Senate term. If there is a tie, the finisher with the most second preferences shall take the longer term. If no candidate has more second preferences than the other, a game of chance agreed by the winners shall determine which winner takes the longer Senate term. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00:00p.m. EST on Thursday, June 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. motion to end debate and vote on this version of the bill (no changes except a one-week shift) Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 02, 2016, 02:24:29 PM What's going to solve this stalemate? Two separate elections?
In any event, this election isn't starting at 12:00AM Friday. We've already blown past the proposed declaration deadline. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 02, 2016, 04:13:24 PM Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 2. The method of election shall be a single STV vote counted as per current federal law. The top two finishers shall be elected Senator. The finisher elected first or with the most surplus shall take the longer Senate term. If there is a tie, the finisher with the most second preferences shall take the longer term. If no candidate has more second preferences than the other, a game of chance agreed by the winners shall determine which winner takes the longer Senate term. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00:00p.m. EST on Thursday, June 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. motion to end debate and vote on this version of the bill (no changes except a one-week shift) accidentally clicked modify instead of quote Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 02, 2016, 05:23:55 PM What's going to solve this stalemate? Two separate elections? In any event, this election isn't starting at 12:00AM Friday. We've already blown past the proposed declaration deadline. I'd support having two separate election booths for both classes of senators; which would give voters a better option of selecting the two senators that they want Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 02, 2016, 05:35:48 PM Apologies for my inattention - things have imploded at work recently (payroll problems, plus budget cuts taking their toll) and I haven't been able to be my micro-managing self. :P
I personally feel that having separate elections for Class I and Class II is the most democratic way to go about things. In an ordinary election, both Senators would be elected by a majority of the entire voting population; under this system, the intricacies of STV could potentially lead to the election of a candidate opposed by a majority of the voters. I support Evergreen's amendment, by the way. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 02, 2016, 06:57:05 PM Agreeing with the amendment. I support immediate nomination of this Committee for as short a time as possible. Why not two weeks, if it's termed a "special election?"
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 02, 2016, 06:58:56 PM If we're holding the multiple elections next weekend, can we constitutionally specify that the person elected to the June seat will remain in office until October? I don't think the Fourth Constitution requires another June election - it just says the election for the Senator has to be in June. And this will be.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 02, 2016, 08:16:47 PM If we're holding the multiple elections next weekend, can we constitutionally specify that the person elected to the June seat will remain in office until October? I don't think the Fourth Constitution requires another June election - it just says the election for the Senator has to be in June. And this will be. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 02, 2016, 08:17:50 PM If we're holding the multiple elections next weekend, can we constitutionally specify that the person elected to the June seat will remain in office until October? I don't think the Fourth Constitution requires another June election - it just says the election for the Senator has to be in June. And this will be. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 02, 2016, 09:58:42 PM I would support the multiple winners one. Look, if we're only getting one winner, then the second is considered as "lost". Why not give him/her the second spot (two to three week term only). We can hold special elections for the June seat, but it is not necessary to hold two elections. Just one election, give the second spot the two-week term.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 02, 2016, 10:27:49 PM If we're holding the multiple elections next weekend, can we constitutionally specify that the person elected to the June seat will remain in office until October? I don't think the Fourth Constitution requires another June election - it just says the election for the Senator has to be in June. And this will be. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 03, 2016, 09:02:55 AM we should hold two separate elections for the two seats; it's not as if it costs us anything more to open up another ballot. We've already rejected committee appointments on the grounds of expanding the democratic mandate- with two separate booths. I'd be happy with an constitutionally specifying that they're in office until October
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 03, 2016, 09:09:26 AM I completely agree with Blair's sentiments.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 03, 2016, 12:40:48 PM Proposed changes, almost all to section 2. I don't know which seat is the Class I and which is the Class II seat, so I've put those in brackets. Please tell me if I'm wrong.
Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 12th, 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00:00a.m. on Friday, June 10, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be two separate STV vote counted as per current federal law. The election for the Class ? Seat shall count as the June election for that seat. Unless otherwise required by federal law, the winner's term shall extend until October, and there will be no additional June special election. The winner of the Class [II]? seat shall serve until August. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00:00a.m. EST on Thursday, June 9, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 03, 2016, 12:55:50 PM I fully support cinyc's amendment.
According to the Constitution, Class I Senators are elected in February, June, and October, while Class II Senators are elected in April, August, and December. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 03, 2016, 05:24:04 PM I fixed the classes, and changed "until" October/August to "through" October/August, to make it clear that they will serve the portions of those months until we hold elections (or whatever we ultimately decide to do for regional Senators).
Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 12th, 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00:00a.m. on Friday, June 10, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be two separate STV vote counted as per current federal law. The election for the Class I Seat shall count as the June election for that seat. Unless otherwise required by federal law, the winner's term shall extend through the October election for that seat, and there will be no additional June special election. The winner of the Class II Seat shall serve through the August election for that seat. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and get on the ballot shall be 12:00:00a.m. EST on Thursday, June 9, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares he or she is willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for himself or herself on his or her ballot. 4. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election passed after the regional constitution goes into effect. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 03, 2016, 05:36:24 PM As I emphasized earlier, it is impossible to have an STV election in which only one candidate wins. The proper voting system to use in this case would be the IRV system.
I suggest we move to a final vote once the bill is amended appropriately. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 03, 2016, 05:38:26 PM I support cinyc's amendment.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 03, 2016, 05:45:52 PM I fixed the classes, and changed "until" October/August to "through" October/August, to make it clear that they will serve the portions of those months until we hold elections (or whatever we ultimately decide to do for regional Senators). Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 12th, 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be two separate IRV votes counted as per current federal law. The election for the Class I Seat shall count as the June election for that seat. Unless otherwise required by federal law, the winner's term shall extend through the October election for that seat, and there will be no additional June special election. The winner of the Class II Seat shall serve through the August election for that seat. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and appear on the ballot shall be 12:00:00a.m. EST on Thursday, June 9, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares they are willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for themself on their ballot. 4. Each of the two Constitutional Amendments shall be considered ratified if and only if a simple majority of voters approves of it. 5. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election or federal amendment ratification vote taking place after the regional constitution goes into effect. switching irv/stv, clarifying the amendment stuff, minor language changes Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 03, 2016, 05:56:54 PM Evergreen's amendment seems about right. Truman, can we move to a final vote?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 03, 2016, 07:17:21 PM Evergreen's amendment seems about right. Truman, can we move to a final vote? The relevant federal law, the Proportional Representation Act (https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Proportional_Representation_Act), which we used in the Northeast for all elections, is called PR-STV. I think changing STV to IRV only adds confusion about how votes are to be counted. There is nothing called "IRV" defined in federal law. evergreen - did you mean a simple majority of votes or a simple majority of those who voted on the amendments? This matters, because there will be people who abstain or don't vote on the amendments. There always are. I'd propose the voters voting in the election. It's actually up to Truman and me. I get a say in this under the rules. I'm not quite ready there, until I hear back from evergreen. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 03, 2016, 07:40:50 PM The Proportional Representation Act is presumably only used when the point of an election is to achieve "proportional representation." The concept of proportional representation is wholly irrelevant when there is only one winner in a given election.
I sincerely doubt that the STV voting system has been used in all Northeastern elections, as elections in which there is only one winner (Governor, Regional Senator, etc.) cannot by definition be conducted using STV. IRV, on the other hand, is the ranked voting system used when only one candidate can win in a given election. I'm not under the impression that terms must be defined by federal law for us to use them, as long as said terms have very clear common definitions. I fail to understand how using the correct voting system "adds confusion" to the process of counting the votes. I hate to go on a diatribe here, but if the point of this bill is to choose the electoral system under which our Senators are elected, we should use the correct voting system. Thanks! :) Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 03, 2016, 08:18:59 PM The Proportional Representation Act is presumably only used when the point of an election is to achieve "proportional representation." The concept of proportional representation is wholly irrelevant when there is only one winner in a given election. I sincerely doubt that the STV voting system has been used in all Northeastern elections, as elections in which there is only one winner (Governor, Regional Senator, etc.) cannot by definition be conducted using STV. IRV, on the other hand, is the ranked voting system used when only one candidate can win in a given election. I'm not under the impression that terms must be defined by federal law for us to use them, as long as said terms have very clear common definitions. I fail to understand how using the correct voting system "adds confusion" to the process of counting the votes. I hate to go on a diatribe here, but if the point of this bill is to choose the electoral system under which our Senators are elected, we should use the correct voting system. Thanks! :) All Northeast elections since I remember have been held under the PR-STV provisions of the Proportional Representation Act, as later codified into Northeast law, including single-member elections like Governor and special elections for Senator. The denominator of the fraction to determine the quota becomes 2, and it essentially is just as if you're holding an election where the winner can only win if he receives a majority of preferences, including second- or third- preferences of the also-rans. Obviously, there are no surpluses to reallocate, as there can only be one winner. I, like most Northerners, don't know exactly how the IRV rules would work, an I don't want to put something that is undefined into this election law - especially if I am called on to run the election in the absence of the Chair. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 03, 2016, 08:48:54 PM Elections in which only one candidate can win simply cannot be held using the STV system. I'm sorry if people are under the impression that the Northeast should have been using STV for past elections, but we might as well start using the correct system sooner than later.
I appreciate your having explained your version of calculating single-winner election results using STV, but that doesn't make the use of STV in single-winner elections acceptable. The purpose of the new Constitution is to fix errors in the old system and improve upon the existing one; I see no reason for us to continue to use an electoral system that by definition does not work in single-winner elections if we have the opportunity to "introduce" the correct one. I really do doubt that most Northerners have some sort of unwavering desire to use an incorrect voting system just because it's apparently been used in the past. The IRV system is in no way "undefined" and cannot possibly be "confusing"; the rules to calculating the votes under IRV are very clear and very simple, and there are no variations of the system to be disputed. Frankly, even if you are the one calculating the votes in this election, we should be basing the system we use to count the votes off of which system is the most accurate rather than the one you prefer to use. There is no lack of clarity or definition when using the IRV system as opposed to the false version of STV we’ve apparently been using in past elections; if we have been using the wrong system for all these years then there's no better time than now to change it. Using IRV in our single-member elections will require no change in policy or legislation whatsoever; the government does not need to define a term in order for us to use it. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 03, 2016, 10:02:12 PM Elections in which only one candidate can win simply cannot be held using the STV system. I'm sorry if people are under the impression that the Northeast should have been using STV for past elections, but we might as well start using the correct system sooner than later. I appreciate your having explained your version of calculating single-winner election results using STV, but that doesn't make the use of STV in single-winner elections acceptable. The purpose of the new Constitution is to fix errors in the old system and improve upon the existing one; I see no reason for us to continue to use an electoral system that by definition does not work in single-winner elections if we have the opportunity to "introduce" the correct one. I really do doubt that most Northerners have some sort of unwavering desire to use an incorrect voting system just because it's apparently been used in the past. The IRV system is in no way "undefined" and cannot possibly be "confusing"; the rules to calculating the votes under IRV are very clear and very simple, and there are no variations of the system to be disputed. Frankly, even if you are the one calculating the votes in this election, we should be basing the system we use to count the votes off of which system is the most accurate rather than the one you prefer to use. There is no lack of clarity or definition when using the IRV system as opposed to the false version of STV we’ve apparently been using in past elections; if we have been using the wrong system for all these years then there's no better time than now to change it. Using IRV in our single-member elections will require no change in policy or legislation whatsoever; the government does not need to define a term in order for us to use it. I don't know what IRV is. It is not defined anywhere in Atlasian law, and you are making no attempt to explain what it is, just using the phrase IRV over and over again. How can I agree to use a vote counting system that I don't know or understand? Is the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act (https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Consolidated_Electoral_System_Reform_Act) still in effect? What if we say that the winner shall be determined in accordance with Section 2 of that Act, with a vote of this Commission deciding which candidate to eliminate in the case of total number of preference ties among those candidates. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 03, 2016, 10:13:14 PM Here's a short summary of how the votes are counted (instantrunoff.com):
Quote 1. Instant runoff voting uses ranked choice ballots to simulate a traditional runoff in a single round of voting. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. They typically are given the option to rank as many or as few candidates as they wish. Indicating support for a lesser choice never counts your higher choices. 2. Every voter has one vote. That vote is counted initially for a voter's first choice. . 3. If there are more than two candidates who receive votes, the last-place candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. More than one candidate can be eliminated simultaneously if their combined vote is less than the total of any other remaining candidate. 4. Ballots counting for the eliminated candidate are added to the totals of the candidate ranked next on each ballot. 5. This process of eliminating last-place candidates and adding ballots cast for those candidates to the totals of the next-ranked choice on that ballot continues until two candidates remain. 6. The candidate with the majority of votes in this final round is declared the winner. As you can see, the IRV system is almost exactly the same as the STV system, with the only major difference being that the IRV system is used in elections with one winner while the STV system is used in elections with multiple winners (thus, our differences are largely semantic). Here is an automatic vote calculator: http://paul-lockett.co.uk/av.html Note that Mr. Lockett mentions that the IRV system is "also known as instant run-off voting or the single transferable vote for single member constituencies." The further explanation reads that "STV used for multi-winner elections is sometimes called proportional representation through the single transferable vote, or PR-STV," wherein our problem lies. Hope that helps! ;D Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 04, 2016, 12:17:05 AM All current Atlasian laws are still in effect. That said, Article X clearly states that we can use whatever electoral system we want.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 04, 2016, 01:51:50 AM evergreen - did you mean a simple majority of votes or a simple majority of those who voted on the amendments? This matters, because there will be people who abstain or don't vote on the amendments. There always are. I'd propose the voters voting in the election. a simple majority of the people who voted on the amendments, yeah. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 04, 2016, 05:36:35 PM As Truman has clarified that we can use an electoral system of our choosing and evergreen has clarified Section 4 of the bill, can we move to a final vote? We really should get going. Here is my recommended final version, which is the same as evergreen's with the only modification being in Section 4:
Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 12th, 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be two separate IRV votes counted as per current federal law. The election for the Class I Seat shall count as the June election for that seat. Unless otherwise required by federal law, the winner's term shall extend through the October election for that seat, and there will be no additional June special election. The winner of the Class II Seat shall serve through the August election for that seat. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and appear on the ballot shall be 12:00:00a.m. EST on Thursday, June 9, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares they are willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for themself on their ballot. 4. Each of the two Constitutional Amendments shall be considered ratified if and only if more voters cast an "Aye" vote than the combined number of voters who cast a "Nay" or "Abstain" vote. 5. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election or federal amendment ratification vote taking place after the regional constitution goes into effect. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 04, 2016, 06:10:47 PM As Truman has clarified that we can use an electoral system of our choosing and evergreen has clarified Section 4 of the bill, can we move to a final vote? We really should get going. Here is my recommended final version, which is the same as evergreen's with the only modification being in Section 4: Quote Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 12th, 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be two separate IRV votes counted as per current federal law. The election for the Class I Seat shall count as the June election for that seat. Unless otherwise required by federal law, the winner's term shall extend through the October election for that seat, and there will be no additional June special election. The winner of the Class II Seat shall serve through the August election for that seat. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and appear on the ballot shall be 12:00:00a.m. EST on Thursday, June 9, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares they are willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for themself on their ballot. 4. Each of the two Constitutional Amendments shall be considered ratified if and only if more voters cast an "Aye" vote than the combined number of voters who cast a "Nay" or "Abstain" vote. 5. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election or federal amendment ratification vote taking place after the regional constitution goes into effect. Looks good, except you're counting abstains as nays. I think evergreen wanted abstains to be treated as a void vote, so that we'd only count ayes and nays. I don't care as long as we have a clear written rule. I'll give evergreen up to midnight Eastern to tell us if she's okay with that change. After that time, we can proceed to a vote as long as Harry says so - or before that time if evergreen gives us the go ahead. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 04, 2016, 06:20:36 PM bear's amendment is good.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 04, 2016, 07:16:56 PM Okay. I have no problem holding a vote now.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 04, 2016, 10:21:09 PM [SEN] A final vote is now open on the proposed election bill. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain. Voting will last 24 hours or until all delegates have voted.
Quote from: R002 Initial Senate Election 1. The Chair of the Committee shall open a voting booth in the Voting Booth subforum to elect the region's initial two Senators and ratify proposed Amendments to the Fourth Constitution. All votes by eligible regional citizens submitted between 12:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, 2016, and 11:59:59a.m. EST on Sunday, June 12th, 2016 that meet the editing and interpretability requirements of current federal Atlasian law shall be considered valid. If the Chair does not open the voting booth by 7:00:00a.m. EST on Friday, June 10, the Vice-Chair may open the booth. In the case that the booth is opened late, the election should nonetheless run a full 72 hours. 2. The method of election shall be two separate IRV votes counted as per current federal law. The election for the Class I Seat shall count as the June election for that seat. Unless otherwise required by federal law, the winner's term shall extend through the October election for that seat, and there will be no additional June special election. The winner of the Class II Seat shall serve through the August election for that seat. 3. The deadline to declare candidacy and appear on the ballot shall be 12:00:00a.m. EST on Thursday, June 9, 2016. Write-ins shall be valid only if a candidate publicly declares they are willing to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread or votes for themself on their ballot. 4. Each of the two Constitutional Amendments shall be considered ratified if and only if more voters cast an "Aye" vote than the combined number of voters who cast a "Nay" or "Abstain" vote. 5. This resolution shall not be construed to regulate any Senate election or federal amendment ratification vote taking place after the regional constitution goes into effect. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 04, 2016, 10:24:05 PM AYE!
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 04, 2016, 10:33:37 PM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 05, 2016, 04:10:19 AM aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 05, 2016, 05:22:57 AM aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 05, 2016, 06:18:15 AM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 05, 2016, 06:20:45 AM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 05, 2016, 02:23:23 PM AYE
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 05, 2016, 03:53:03 PM Now that it seems the Senate business is taken care of, I suppose we should start discussing the structure of the regional government. :P
I propose a single seven-member legislature with three members elected at-large and four members elected using districts. The districts would be drawn up and voted on by the legislature at the beginning of each session, with each district having to fit within a certain population range (we could predetermine a maximum standard deviation and put it in the Constitution) in order to keep things fair. We would also, of course, have some sort of regional executive, though this executive would hopefully have the power to introduce bills into the legislature and participate in debate (without a vote) in order to maximize collaboration. Thoughts? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 05, 2016, 05:53:59 PM I oppose increasing the number of offices above 6 or 7. We had many problems filling a 5 member Assembly in the Northeast. Even though the region is larger, there are now at least an old region's worth of new offices in Nyman. So there really isn't much leeway to add new officers without having boring, uncompetitive elections.
I would only support a part-at-large, part-district legislature if it is capped at 5 total members. I don't support bicameralism. Perhaps we should first vote on whether the new legislature should be bicameral or unicameral? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 05, 2016, 06:00:23 PM ^Five members seems fine as well; I'm not sure what everyone else thinks though.
If we do go with five, I suppose we would either have three at large and two districts or two at large and three districts. I have no specific preferences when it comes to that, but I've been able to create around-even maps with two and three districts so either would be fine. I would assume we conduct all votes at the same time (doing them one by one would take a really long time), but I'd have to ask Truman first. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 05, 2016, 06:23:01 PM i'd suggest we start with a principle vote between bicameral, unicameral, or modified-universal (the proposal i made in poirot's thread)
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 05, 2016, 08:10:33 PM With 7 votes in favor and none opposed, the Elections Bill has been ADOPTED!
[PRV] According to Article III of the Rules of Order: Quote 1. Following the adoption of an elections bill, the Chairperson shall open the floor to debate on the system of government to be adopted by the Northern Region. 2. The Chairperson shall have the power to call such principle votes as may be necessary to resolve conceptual questions or proposals. All principle votes shall last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached. 3. Any delegate may propose an initial draft of a Constitution, but no draft shall be accepted until after a principle vote the name and system of government to be employed by the Northern Region. This initial draft shall be the basis for all further amendments and principle votes. Therefore, I now declare a 24-hour period for delegates to propose names for the Region and basic plans for the new government (i.e. "parliamentary democracy," "three branch government," etc.). More specific questions, such as the size/structure of the legislature, will be determined once these two initial votes have been completed. To start things off: I propose that we name this Region the "Commonwealth of Franklin" and adopt a three-branch system of government modeled after that of the former Northeast. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 05, 2016, 08:15:20 PM I propose we stick with North.
We effectively can't have control over the third branch of the government, as there will be no CJO. And we won't get to appoint an associate justice to the Supreme Court for a while - but we do need a mechanism for appointment, correct? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 05, 2016, 08:22:34 PM I propose we stick with North. We effectively can't have control over the third branch of the government, as there will be no CJO. And we won't get to appoint an associate justice to the Supreme Court for a while - but we do need a mechanism for appointment, correct? In any case, you're correct that we won't be able to establish all three branches ourselves, as the judiciary is regulated by the federal Constitution. I suppose a more accurate description of my favored plan would be "an independent executive branch." Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 05, 2016, 09:05:44 PM Bicameralism won't pass I think, but I suggest two election systems for the legislature. A part which is at-large, the others by districts.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 06, 2016, 05:40:29 AM I second cinyc's proposal for "the North" as the name of our region.
Regarding the system of government, I would assume we should just stick with "an executive and legislative branch" or something like that, as it seems Truman has clarified the judicial branch is regulated by the federal government. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 06, 2016, 06:16:36 AM I much prefer the name Franklin
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 06, 2016, 06:31:13 AM Perhaps some sort of combined long name that can casually be referred to as either? I recall someone else suggesting "the Northern Union of Franklin."
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 06, 2016, 01:23:33 PM Perhaps some sort of combined long name that can casually be referred to as either? I recall someone else suggesting "the Northern Union of Franklin." Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Poirot on June 06, 2016, 02:39:23 PM i'd suggest we start with a principle vote between bicameral, unicameral, or modified-universal (the proposal i made in poirot's thread) I am copying evergreen's proposal from the discussion thread: a very-out-of-the-box idea i wanted to float is a weighted universal legislature. at each election, citisens would write-in a ranked list of candidates, and the votes in the legislature would be weighted accordingly. some examples: - if everyone wrote in themselves, with no lower preferences, the result would be equivalent to a normal universal legislature. - if the results were like this: Quote 3 votes for 1 cinyc / 2 truman / 3 rgn and all three people voted on a bill, cinyc's and truman's votes would count for 3 each and rgn's would count for 1. but if rgn didn't vote, truman's vote would count for 4, and so on.2 votes for 1 truman / 2 rgn / 3 cinyc 1 vote for 1 truman / 2 cinyc / 3 rgn 1 vote for 1 rgn / 2 truman / 3 cinyc the advantage of such a system is that activity requirements are unnecessary and that a balance can be struck between citisen involvement and not overburdening uninterested citisens. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 06, 2016, 02:45:43 PM ^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions.
I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 06, 2016, 03:08:10 PM ^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions. I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 06, 2016, 04:15:17 PM I do hope this Committee sticks with Franklin. Anything other than just "The North." Come on, guys...
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 06, 2016, 06:05:07 PM I do hope this Committee sticks with Franklin. Anything other than just "The North." Come on, guys... I believe naming the region anything other than a neutral, descriptive term like North will lead to interminable fights on renaming the region something else year after year, and lead to the idiotic renaming of individual states, like in the old Midwest. I don't want to start down that road. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 06, 2016, 06:07:06 PM I do hope this Committee sticks with Franklin. Anything other than just "The North." Come on, guys... I believe naming the region anything other than a neutral, descriptive term like North will lead to interminable fights on renaming the region something else year after year, and lead to the idiotic renaming of individual states, like in the old Midwest. I don't want to start down that road. ^ Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 06, 2016, 06:19:31 PM I do hope this Committee sticks with Franklin. Anything other than just "The North." Come on, guys... I believe naming the region anything other than a neutral, descriptive term like North will lead to interminable fights on renaming the region something else year after year, and lead to the idiotic renaming of individual states, like in the old Midwest. I don't want to start down that road. ^ Weak argument. Then I can personally lobby year after year for a name that isn't so ridiculously boring. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 06, 2016, 06:46:07 PM Perhaps some sort of combined long name that can casually be referred to as either? I recall someone else suggesting "the Northern Union of Franklin." Really, this is probably the best compromise. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 06, 2016, 06:55:43 PM Perhaps some sort of combined long name that can casually be referred to as either? I recall someone else suggesting "the Northern Union of Franklin." Really, this is probably the best compromise. it's a bit clunky, imo. i can see "the union north" or something similar, but three components is pushing it. anyways, in regards to cinyc's argument: I do hope this Committee sticks with Franklin. Anything other than just "The North." Come on, guys... I believe naming the region anything other than a neutral, descriptive term like North will lead to interminable fights on renaming the region something else year after year, and lead to the idiotic renaming of individual states, like in the old Midwest. I don't want to start down that road. is that necessarily a bad thing? it'd certainly be a driver of activity. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 06, 2016, 07:35:22 PM anyways, in regards to cinyc's argument: I do hope this Committee sticks with Franklin. Anything other than just "The North." Come on, guys... I believe naming the region anything other than a neutral, descriptive term like North will lead to interminable fights on renaming the region something else year after year, and lead to the idiotic renaming of individual states, like in the old Midwest. I don't want to start down that road. is that necessarily a bad thing? it'd certainly be a driver of activity. Activity for activity's sake is not a virtue. I'd rather we debate substantive bills than debate the name of the region over and over and over again. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 06, 2016, 07:39:40 PM ^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions. I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 06, 2016, 07:41:11 PM ^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions. I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan. I'm worried that one party will capture all the seats if we only have 2 at-large and 3 district (or even 3 AL and 2 district) reps, though. The fewer at-large or one-person seats we have, the more likely that is to happen. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 06, 2016, 07:42:44 PM ^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions. I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan. I'm worried that one party will capture all the seats if we only have 2 at-large and 3 district (or even 3 AL and 2 district) reps, though. The fewer at-large or one-person seats we have, the more likely that is to happen. I thought you only wanted five seats in the legislature? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 06, 2016, 07:49:22 PM ^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions. I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan. I'm worried that one party will capture all the seats if we only have 2 at-large and 3 district (or even 3 AL and 2 district) reps, though. The fewer at-large or one-person seats we have, the more likely that is to happen. I thought you only wanted five seats in the legislature? I do. But I'm concerned that the more we split seats, the more likely it is that whatever is the largest party in the region will win all the seats. That's why I'm on the fence about the district thing. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 06, 2016, 07:55:52 PM ^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions. I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan. I'm worried that one party will capture all the seats if we only have 2 at-large and 3 district (or even 3 AL and 2 district) reps, though. The fewer at-large or one-person seats we have, the more likely that is to happen. I thought you only wanted five seats in the legislature? I do. But I'm concerned that the more we split seats, the more likely it is that whatever is the largest party in the region will win all the seats. That's why I'm on the fence about the district thing. I'd still prefer seven total legislators, which would largely solve your problem if you'd be willing to support that plan. Even if not, though, the way the STV system works essentially prevents one party from winning all of the seats in a contested election, so at least one of the at-large representatives should be from the minority party (at least two if we have four at-large and three districts). Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 06, 2016, 09:18:15 PM The period for nominations having expired, we will now proceed with a principle vote. Please rank the following options in order of preference. Voting will last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached.
(NOTE: In question 2, "legislature" refers to any body vested with the legislative authority of the Region, whether that be an elected assembly, a universal congress of all citizens, or any other arrangement.) OFFICIAL BALLOT Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region? [ ] The Commonwealth of Franklin [ ] The North [ ] The Northern Union of Franklin [ ] Write-in: Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region? [ ] Executive and Legislature [ ] Write-in: Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 06, 2016, 09:24:02 PM What about the compromise name that Kingpoleon introduced? :'(
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 06, 2016, 09:36:43 PM What about the compromise name that Kingpoleon introduced? :'( I'll add it to the ballot, but I would appreciate it if y'all would be explicit about these things in the future. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 06, 2016, 10:10:50 PM OFFICIAL BALLOT Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region? [ ] The Commonwealth of Franklin [1] The North [ ] The Northern Union of Franklin [ ] Write-in: Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region? [1] Executive and Legislature [ ] Write-in: Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 07, 2016, 12:15:22 AM OFFICIAL BALLOT Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region? [ 3 ] The Commonwealth of Franklin [ 2 ] The North [ 4 ] The Northern Union of Franklin [ 1 ] Write-in: The Union North Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region? [ ] Executive and Legislature [ ] Legislature only [ 1 ] Write-in: depends on the kind of legislature Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 07, 2016, 06:49:38 AM OFFICIAL BALLOT Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region? [ ] The Commonwealth of Franklin [1] The North [2] The Northern Union of Franklin [ ] Write-in: Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region? [1] Executive and Legislature [ ] Write-in: Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 07, 2016, 10:16:54 AM OFFICIAL BALLOT Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region? [ ] The Commonwealth of Franklin [1] The North [2] The Northern Union of Franklin [ ] Write-in: Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region? [1] Executive and Legislature [ ] Write-in: Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 07, 2016, 11:33:40 AM OFFICIAL BALLOT Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region? [2] The Commonwealth of Franklin [3] The North [1] The Northern Union of Franklin [ ] Write-in: Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region? [1] Executive and Legislature [ ] Write-in: Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 07, 2016, 01:29:02 PM Point of clarification: is voting open to the public or only to committee members?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 07, 2016, 01:47:25 PM Point of clarification: is voting open to the public or only to committee members? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 07, 2016, 06:23:33 PM OFFICIAL BALLOT Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region? [ 1 ] The Commonwealth of Franklin [ 3 ] The North [ 2 ] The Northern Union of Franklin [ ] Write-in: Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region? [ 1 ] Executive and Legislature [ ] Write-in: Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 07, 2016, 11:51:37 PM IRV calculation of the regional name vote (the North has won ;D):
Quote raw votes vote 1: (North) (none) (none) (none) vote 2: (UN) (North) (Franklin) (NUoF) vote 3: (North) (NUoF) (none) (none) vote 4: (North) (NUoF) (none) (none) vote 5: (NUoF) (Franklin) (North) (none) vote 6: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) (none) round 1 votes vote 1: (North) vote 2: (UN) (North) (Franklin) (NUoF) vote 3: (North) (NUoF) vote 4: (North) (NUoF) vote 5: (NUoF) (Franklin) (North) vote 6: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) total live votes=6 Franklin=1 North=3 NUoF=1 UN=1 Fewest votes won by a candidate = 1. number of candidates with the fewest votes=3 tiebreaker loser is 2 NUoF is eliminated round 2 votes vote 1: (North) vote 2: (UN) (North) (Franklin) vote 3: (North) vote 4: (North) vote 5: (Franklin) (North) vote 6: (Franklin) (North) total live votes=6 Franklin=2 North=3 NUoF=0 UN=1 Fewest votes won by a candidate = 1. number of candidates with the fewest votes=1 UN is eliminated round 3 votes vote 1: (North) vote 2: (North) (Franklin) vote 3: (North) vote 4: (North) vote 5: (Franklin) (North) vote 6: (Franklin) (North) total live votes=6 Franklin=2 North=4 NUoF=0 UN=0 the winner is North Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 08, 2016, 12:08:28 AM Thanks Dar! Yep, it looks like we are officially "the North" - not what I had hoped for, but good enough. Perhaps our motto can be "the Land of Franklin" :P
In other news, the governor-legislature plan passes without incident. Tomorrow (or today, rather) we can begin work on drafting the Regional Constitution. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 08, 2016, 02:10:09 AM I implore the Committee to consider an official nickname.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 08, 2016, 08:25:38 AM 1. The commonwealth of Franklin
2. Northern Union 3. The North 1. Executive and legislature Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 08, 2016, 05:04:04 PM I implore the Committee to consider an official nickname. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 08, 2016, 05:26:56 PM I implore the Committee to consider an official nickname. I don't think you can do that unless it is put into the Constitution. We don't have the power to legislate on matters other than the first Senate Election and the Constitution. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 08, 2016, 06:01:28 PM i support an official nickname, but that should be a statutory matter to be decided after the constitution is ratified.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 08, 2016, 06:01:46 PM i support an official nickname, but that should be a statutory matter to be decided after the constitution is ratified. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 09, 2016, 03:10:28 PM Does my vote change the outcome?
Seems ashame considering other regions have decent names whilst we're just the North Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 09, 2016, 03:20:33 PM Does my vote change the outcome? Seems ashame considering other regions have decent names whilst we're just the North Even if your vote was counted, "the North" would still win, as it got three first preferences and the second preference of evergreen, whose first preference was eliminated in the first round. Here's the math with all seven votes: Quote raw votes vote 1: (North) (none) (none) (none) vote 2: (UN) (North) (Franklin) (NUoF) vote 3: (North) (NUoF) (none) (none) vote 4: (North) (none) (none) (none) vote 5: (NUoF) (Franklin) (North) (none) vote 6: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) (none) vote 7: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) (none) round 1 votes vote 1: (North) vote 2: (UN) (North) (Franklin) (NUoF) vote 3: (North) (NUoF) vote 4: (North) vote 5: (NUoF) (Franklin) (North) vote 6: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) vote 7: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) total live votes=7 North=3 Franklin=2 NUoF=1 UN=1 Fewest votes won by a candidate = 1. number of candidates with the fewest votes=2 tiebreaker loser is 2 UN is eliminated round 2 votes vote 1: (North) vote 2: (North) (Franklin) (NUoF) vote 3: (North) (NUoF) vote 4: (North) vote 5: (NUoF) (Franklin) (North) vote 6: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) vote 7: (Franklin) (NUoF) (North) total live votes=7 North=4 Franklin=2 NUoF=1 UN=0 the winner is North Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 09, 2016, 04:56:05 PM It makes no sense to call our-self the north when other regions have opted for their own non-regional names
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 09, 2016, 05:41:06 PM [PRV] The floor is now open for debate on the structure of the legislative branch. Several delegates have floated ideas over the last week or so, but I would appreciate it if y'all would restate your proposals here for clarity's sake. (NOTE: If you want your proposal to be included in any future principle votes, be sure to say so explicitly. Otherwise, it's very difficult for me to tell the difference between a formal motion and informal musings.)
Here's my two cents: I think we should stick with a five member unicameral legislature like that of the Northeast. Preferably, the size of the legislature would be indexed to activity (i.e. the number of seats increases with the number of candidates, with five as the maximum size). I am unswervingly opposed to any proposal that would create a legislature of six or more seats. Even a universal legislature would be preferable to such a system. The idea of districts intrigues me, but we would need to establish a redistricting process if we go that route - otherwise we could end up with a situation where one district is overcrowded and the others have barely enough active voters to elect a representative. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 09, 2016, 05:52:44 PM I think a unicameral legislature of five or seven members would be the ideal option, preferably with around half elected at-large and the other half elected using districts.
As I stated in my earlier proposal, the best way to ensure that the districts are approximately equal in size is to develop a maximum standard deviation of residents per district that cannot be surpassed (1.75 is my best guess). This would prevent districts of substantially uneven sizes from being created. The first map would be developed and voted on by this committee, while all future maps would be developed at the beginning of each session of the legislature for use in the next election. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 09, 2016, 07:23:27 PM I think a unicameral legislature of five or seven members would be the ideal option, preferably with around half elected at-large and the other half elected using districts. As I stated in my earlier proposal, the best way to ensure that the districts are approximately equal in size is to develop a maximum standard deviation of residents per district that cannot be surpassed (1.75 is my best guess). This would prevent districts of substantially uneven sizes from being created. The first map would be developed and voted on by this committee, while all future maps would be developed at the beginning of each session of the legislature for use in the next election. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 09, 2016, 09:21:21 PM I back Truman's proposal. I don't want to increase the size of the Assembly past 5, and prefer more at-large seats to allow for more parties and independents to be represented in the legislature.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 10, 2016, 07:00:53 PM I'd prefer two at-large representatives elected for two month terms and three district representatives elected to one month terms.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 10, 2016, 07:54:28 PM I'd prefer two at-large representatives elected for two month terms and three district representatives elected to one month terms. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 10, 2016, 08:27:55 PM I think one month terms would be a bit too short, tbh. This is my proposed election calendar (with President, House, and Senate election dates already filled in):
Quote January - Governor, At-Large Legislators February - President, Senate Class I, House, Regional Legislators March - Governor, At-Large Legislators April - Senate Class II, House, Regional Legislators May - Governor, At-Large Legislators June - President, Senate Class I, House, Regional Legislators July - Governor, At-Large Legislators August - Senate Class II, House, Regional Legislators September - Governor, At-Large Legislators October - President, Senate Class I, House, Regional Legislators November - Governor, At-Large Legislators December - Senate Class II, House, Regional Legislators As you can see, the terms for the Governor, at-large legislators, and regional legislators would each last two months, with the regional legislators being elected on the same schedule as the federal elections and the governor and at-large legislators being elected in non-federal election months. Having elections every month would increase both activity and excitement, and also allow candidates who lose one election to only have to wait one month before being able to try again. My only recommendation, of course, is that we change "Governor of the North" to "King in the North" Ż\_(ツ)_/Ż Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 10, 2016, 08:37:35 PM Great plan.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 10, 2016, 08:48:35 PM Knowing what a pain it is to run elections, I'd prefer to hold all elections at the same time as the federal elections, i.e. once every two months. I guess that is something else we can vote on after we decide the makeup of the legislature.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 10, 2016, 09:32:12 PM
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 10, 2016, 09:37:56 PM
May I ask who made the first and third proposals? I think a bit more debate before the principal vote would be good to help make any additional arguments for and against each of them. I'm also not quite sure how we could vote on whether or not to index the number of seats if we've already decided how many seats there will be... :P Thanks! Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 10, 2016, 10:02:40 PM
I think someone proposed bicameralism, and if we're going down the seats by district road, I'd like to propose 5 seats, 2 from districts and 3 at large. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 10, 2016, 10:16:45 PM
I think someone proposed bicameralism, and if we're going down the seats by district road, I'd like to propose 5 seats, 2 from districts and 3 at large. Just considering the shape of our map, three or more districts is much easier to draw than two (regardless of population fluctuations), but whatever floats your boat... I recommend holding the first principle vote to determine whether the legislature is all at-large, all districted, or a combination of both. The second vote should be whether to index the number of seats based off of activity, and the third should be to determine the number of seats and how they will be indexed if necessary. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 10, 2016, 10:24:13 PM Just considering the shape of our map, three or more districts is much easier to draw than two (regardless of population fluctuations), but whatever floats your boat... I recommend holding the first principle vote to determine whether the legislature is all at-large, all districted, or a combination of both. The second vote should be whether to index the number of seats based off of activity, and the third should be to determine the number of seats and how they will be indexed if necessary. I'm worried about having a do-nothing one-party Assembly like the current Northeast Assembly. The more at large seats we have, the more likely it is that Northerners of minority parties and independent Northerners have no chance of being elected. A 3 regional/2 at large Assembly pretty much guarantees 4 seats for the dominant party. And I don't want to increase the number of seats above 5. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 11, 2016, 02:21:59 AM
May I ask who made the first and third proposals? I think a bit more debate before the principal vote would be good to help make any additional arguments for and against each of them. I'm also not quite sure how we could vote on whether or not to index the number of seats if we've already decided how many seats there will be... :P Thanks! i propose a mixed-member system with three members elected in first-past-the-post districts and additional members added as needed to make the assembly roughly proportional example: district 1: lab candidate 5, fed candidate 4 district 2: lab candidate 6, fed candidate 4 district 3: lab candidate 5, fed candidate 4 would end up with three directly-elected labor representatives and two additional federalist representatives Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 12, 2016, 01:25:42 PM I believe the second one posted by Truman is the best option and the only one suggested. As the author of it, I ask that we vote for it by unanimous consent. This is the best we can do for now, and while I agree with the principle of bicameralism and voting for something at the same time, I cannot believe that such a system would work right now. I would be perfectly fine with this being easily amendable in case activity increases in the future.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 12, 2016, 02:05:55 PM
May I ask who made the first and third proposals? I think a bit more debate before the principal vote would be good to help make any additional arguments for and against each of them. I'm also not quite sure how we could vote on whether or not to index the number of seats if we've already decided how many seats there will be... :P Thanks! i propose a mixed-member system with three members elected in first-past-the-post districts and additional members added as needed to make the assembly roughly proportional example: district 1: lab candidate 5, fed candidate 4 district 2: lab candidate 6, fed candidate 4 district 3: lab candidate 5, fed candidate 4 would end up with three directly-elected labor representatives and two additional federalist representatives Yes, but there would be no way to determine which Federalists actually win the two additional seats under this system. To address cinyc's concerns, having three districted seats and two at-large ones would in no way guarantee a Labor supermajority. Labor votes are much more spread out than one would initially think; I looked back at the three-district plan I proposed earlier and Labor doesn't have a majority in even one of the three districts (Labor controls exactly 50% of the votes in two of the districts and 47% in the other one). Considering that using STV to elect two candidates basically guarantees one seat for Labor and one for the Federalists, it's literally just as likely that we end up with a 4-1 Federalist legislature as it is that we end up with a 4-1 Labor legislature. I second Kingpoleon's proposal and move for an immediate vote for the three district/two at-large plan. We really should get moving. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 12, 2016, 02:08:32 PM As a general principle, it's probably best that we try to keep the Assembly system as simple as possible.
Speaking as a private citizen, I'd rather that all five members are elected via proportional representation in a unicameral legislature. If we need to have districts, then at the very least we should limit how often a person can change from state to state. Drawing competitive districts can be enough of a hassle; we wouldn't want people flowing in and out of districts just to grab seats for a certain party. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 12, 2016, 02:17:05 PM As a general principle, it's probably best that we try to keep the Assembly system as simple as possible. Speaking as a private citizen, I'd rather that all five members are elected via proportional representation in a unicameral legislature. If we need to have districts, then at the very least we should limit how often a person can change from state to state. Drawing competitive districts can be enough of a hassle; we wouldn't want people flowing in and out of districts just to grab seats for a certain party. I would agree with the proposal to limit the number of times one can move from state to state. We could also insert a provision stating each citizen must vote in the district they were in when the current districts were drawn (with people moving from other regions being able to vote in whatever district they moved to, of course). Drawing fair districts would in no way be a hassle; the ones I created took about five minutes each and, as shown, none of them contain an electorate that has a majority identifying with a single party. Drawing districts really wouldn't cause any trouble; it would rather simply add excitement to the game and give something interesting for the legislature to do. It's healthy to have an electoral system that's different from the one used by the federal government, but at the same time still very simple and easily manageable. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 12, 2016, 02:17:20 PM As a general principle, it's probably best that we try to keep the Assembly system as simple as possible. Speaking as a private citizen, I'd rather that all five members are elected via proportional representation in a unicameral legislature. If we need to have districts, then at the very least we should limit how often a person can change from state to state. Drawing competitive districts can be enough of a hassle; we wouldn't want people flowing in and out of districts just to grab seats for a certain party. My only rule for districts would be that nobody who has moved states under a month before the election could run for office in a regularly scheduled election. It's pretty hard to prevent gerrymandering, but I trust no Assembly would even attempt it. If it starts up, I would try to fight it. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Maxwell on June 12, 2016, 03:26:18 PM I'm not a member of this committee, but I'm against districts and think that at-large elections for assembly is the best way to go.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 12, 2016, 03:44:17 PM I'm in favour of at-large elections; districts won't work on such a small scale imo
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 12, 2016, 04:06:18 PM I don't like electing multiple members at a time. It feels largely undemocratic to allow the second and third and fourth and fifth place winners to get a seat. Perhaps we could do five at-large seats and elect them for three month terms but stagger the elections so no more than two people are elected at once.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 12, 2016, 04:10:23 PM I'm in favour of at-large elections; districts won't work on such a small scale imo This is also a concern of mine. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 12, 2016, 04:11:59 PM I'm not a member of this committee, but I'm against districts and think that at-large elections for assembly is the best way to go. FWIW, Maxwell, I believe it was you who succeeded me as Emperor of the former IDS when the region was experimenting with districts. Do you recall if it was successful or popular? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 12, 2016, 06:28:26 PM Yes, but there would be no way to determine which Federalists actually win the two additional seats under this system. To address cinyc's concerns, having three districted seats and two at-large ones would in no way guarantee a Labor supermajority. Labor votes are much more spread out than one would initially think; I looked back at the three-district plan I proposed earlier and Labor doesn't have a majority in even one of the three districts (Labor controls exactly 50% of the votes in two of the districts and 47% in the other one). Considering that using STV to elect two candidates basically guarantees one seat for Labor and one for the Federalists, it's literally just as likely that we end up with a 4-1 Federalist legislature as it is that we end up with a 4-1 Labor legislature. I second Kingpoleon's proposal and move for an immediate vote for the three district/two at-large plan. We really should get moving. Controlling at least 47% of the voters plus, in Labor's case, liberal-leaning independents will lead to that party winning all district elections if they are anywhere close to organized. It will inevitably lead to 3 regional elections that look like what our Senate elections currently are and ultimately will be - one party coronations of the majority party's candidate with no or token opposition. Right now, why should I or anyone who is not Labor bother running for Senate? There is no conceivable path to victory. Your proposed system essentially makes all but one of the regional elections the same. And if multiple non-majority party and independent candidates, realizing they can't win their regional election, try to run in the measly 2 seat "at large" election, it's possible that the majority party wins ALL the seats because of vote splitting. The Northeast Assembly pretty much got that way, with nearly full Federalist control, due to vacancy appointments, and it is one of the worst Assemblies we've ever had in terms of activity. I don't like electing multiple members at a time. It feels largely undemocratic to allow the second and third and fourth and fifth place winners to get a seat. Perhaps we could do five at-large seats and elect them for three month terms but stagger the elections so no more than two people are elected at once. Minority party members and iindependents not beholden to the majority party, whatever that may be, have little chance of winning any office in any first-past-the-post system. You might as well move regions or join the majority party if you want to serve in government, because you can't win a Senate seat and couldn't win a regional seat under that system. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 12, 2016, 09:45:10 PM I would prefer the entire Assembly to be elected at-large, for simplicity's sake. Districts tend to be less representative than PR elections, no matter how well the lines are drawn; not to mention, it makes it harder for third parties and independents to get into office.
Anyhow, I will be out of town until Tuesday afternoon, so Cinyc will be Acting Chairman until then. I posted a Leave Of Absence on the Government Board, but I thought I'd reiterate it here just to be safe. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 12, 2016, 10:49:59 PM As Harry said a few days ago, and given the motion on the floor to proceed to a vote, we will hold two votes shortly, one on the shape of the legislature, and the other on whether to index the number of seats to activity. Here is a list of the proposed legislatures. Please let me know if I missed anything.
Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take: [ ] 5 seats; elected at-large [ ] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [ ] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [ ] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [ ] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ ] Yes [ ] No If I do not hear objections before Noon EST tomorrow, we will proceed to a vote starting some time tomorrow afternoon. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 13, 2016, 12:10:37 AM Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ ] Yes [ ] No Not really sure how this would work. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 13, 2016, 12:14:10 AM Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ ] Yes [ ] No Not really sure how this would work. It would work like it does in the current Northeast. In the Northeast, if there are fewer than 5 declared candidates, the size of the Assembly becomes 3 instead of 5. As far as I know, we never had to shrink the Assembly since the constitutional provision creating this system was passed, even though the rule initially required 6 candidates for 5 seats. Whether we'd shrink to the next odd or even number will be subject to further discussion if it passes. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 13, 2016, 12:21:40 PM Hearing no objection from the members of this committee, we will now proceed to a vote on the two questions on the floor:
Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take: [ ] 5 seats; elected at-large [ ] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [ ] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [ ] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [ ] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ ] Yes [ ] No This vote will be open for 24 hours. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 13, 2016, 12:26:59 PM Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take:
[1] 5 seats; elected at-large [3] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [2] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [ ] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [ ] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [X] Yes [ ] No Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 13, 2016, 01:53:55 PM Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take:
[5] 5 seats; elected at-large [1] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [3] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [4] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [2] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ ] Yes [ ] No [X] Abstain Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 13, 2016, 02:10:17 PM Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take:
[5] 5 seats; elected at-large [1] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [3] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [4] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [2] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ ] Yes [X] No Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 13, 2016, 03:54:17 PM Hearing no objection from the members of this committee, we will now proceed to a vote on the two questions on the floor: Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take: [1 ] 5 seats; elected at-large [ 4] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [2 ] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [ 3] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [5 ] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ ] Yes [x ] No This vote will be open for 24 hours. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 13, 2016, 04:23:22 PM Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take:
[2] 5 seats; elected at-large [4] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [3] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [1] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [5] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [ x ] Yes [ ] No Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 13, 2016, 06:55:46 PM (Just popping in for the vote - I'm still on my LOA until tomorrow)
Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take: [1] 5 seats; elected at-large [3] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [2] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [4] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [5] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [X] Yes [ ] No Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 14, 2016, 04:28:53 AM Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take:
[4] 5 seats; elected at-large [1] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional [2] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional [5] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional [3] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity: [X] Yes [ ] No Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 14, 2016, 02:29:43 PM 5 seats; elected at large wins after second preferences are counted, 4-3.
Indexing seats to activity wins 4-2-1. We will move on to the next order of business. Are there any other fundamental questions of the form of government to be resolved (perhaps on whether to have/the role of the Lt. Governor)? If not, we now allow someone to propose a draft constitution and will take principle votes on from there. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 14, 2016, 04:13:01 PM I would like to use the opportunity to again advise the Committee and reiterate my opposition to the establishment of the Lieutenant Governor's office.
When the former Northeast Region had an Lt.G, that position was abolished because few people wanted the job and because the Lt.G had little duties besides casting tie-breaking votes. It was almost constantly vacant and seldom needed. As an alternative, I propose that the succession line begin with the Speaker (who should hold Wiki updating responsibilities) followed by Assembly members by seniority. In addition, I advise a principle vote on bills only passing the Assembly if they attain a majority (3) of the entire Assembly, with abstentions and non-votes carrying the same weight as nay votes. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 14, 2016, 04:33:55 PM I would like to use the opportunity to again advise the Committee and reiterate my opposition to the establishment of the Lieutenant Governor's office. When the former Northeast Region had an Lt.G, that position was abolished because few people wanted the job and because the Lt.G had little duties besides casting tie-breaking votes. It was almost constantly vacant and seldom needed. As an alternative, I propose that the succession line begin with the Speaker (who should hold Wiki updating responsibilities) followed by Assembly members by seniority. In addition, I advise a principle vote on bills only passing the Assembly if they attain a majority (3) of the entire Assembly, with abstentions and non-votes carrying the same weight as nay votes. The Northeast ultimately made the Lt. Governor a member of the Assembly nominated by the governor. So while we didn't have a separate Lt. Governor, we still had a Lt. Governor. Whether we should continue that tradition or just make the speaker the next in succession and Acting Governor in case of a Leave of Absence is debatable. One problem with making Speaker Acting Governor is that then he or she couldn't run the Assembly while acting as governor, potentially bringing debate to a halt. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 14, 2016, 04:53:39 PM i'll start writing up a draft tomorrow if nobody has any concerns, then.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 14, 2016, 05:06:52 PM I would like to use the opportunity to again advise the Committee and reiterate my opposition to the establishment of the Lieutenant Governor's office. When the former Northeast Region had an Lt.G, that position was abolished because few people wanted the job and because the Lt.G had little duties besides casting tie-breaking votes. It was almost constantly vacant and seldom needed. As an alternative, I propose that the succession line begin with the Speaker (who should hold Wiki updating responsibilities) followed by Assembly members by seniority. In addition, I advise a principle vote on bills only passing the Assembly if they attain a majority (3) of the entire Assembly, with abstentions and non-votes carrying the same weight as nay votes. The Northeast ultimately made the Lt. Governor a member of the Assembly nominated by the governor. So while we didn't have a separate Lt. Governor, we still had a Lt. Governor. Whether we should continue that tradition or just make the speaker the next in succession and Acting Governor in case of a Leave of Absence is debatable. One problem with making Speaker Acting Governor is that then he or she couldn't run the Assembly while acting as governor, potentially bringing debate to a halt. I would still prefer that we just not have an Lt.G and let the Assembly elect a new Speaker, but I guess the alternative is fine, too. Just as long as we don't have the Governor running with a pre-selected Lt.G or have them run on a separate ballot line. I would appreciate a second for a vote on these ideas if a member finds it appropriate. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 14, 2016, 05:10:37 PM I would like to use the opportunity to again advise the Committee and reiterate my opposition to the establishment of the Lieutenant Governor's office. When the former Northeast Region had an Lt.G, that position was abolished because few people wanted the job and because the Lt.G had little duties besides casting tie-breaking votes. It was almost constantly vacant and seldom needed. As an alternative, I propose that the succession line begin with the Speaker (who should hold Wiki updating responsibilities) followed by Assembly members by seniority. In addition, I advise a principle vote on bills only passing the Assembly if they attain a majority (3) of the entire Assembly, with abstentions and non-votes carrying the same weight as nay votes. The Northeast ultimately made the Lt. Governor a member of the Assembly nominated by the governor. So while we didn't have a separate Lt. Governor, we still had a Lt. Governor. Whether we should continue that tradition or just make the speaker the next in succession and Acting Governor in case of a Leave of Absence is debatable. One problem with making Speaker Acting Governor is that then he or she couldn't run the Assembly while acting as governor, potentially bringing debate to a halt. I would still prefer that we just not have an Lt.G and let the Assembly elect a new Speaker, but I guess the alternative is fine, too. Just as long as we don't have the Governor running with a pre-selected Lt.G or have them run on a separate ballot line. I would appreciate a second for a vote on these ideas if a member finds it appropriate. or have the most senior representative be interim speaker. there's a lot of options. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 14, 2016, 05:12:19 PM I would like to use the opportunity to again advise the Committee and reiterate my opposition to the establishment of the Lieutenant Governor's office. When the former Northeast Region had an Lt.G, that position was abolished because few people wanted the job and because the Lt.G had little duties besides casting tie-breaking votes. It was almost constantly vacant and seldom needed. As an alternative, I propose that the succession line begin with the Speaker (who should hold Wiki updating responsibilities) followed by Assembly members by seniority. In addition, I advise a principle vote on bills only passing the Assembly if they attain a majority (3) of the entire Assembly, with abstentions and non-votes carrying the same weight as nay votes. The Northeast ultimately made the Lt. Governor a member of the Assembly nominated by the governor. So while we didn't have a separate Lt. Governor, we still had a Lt. Governor. Whether we should continue that tradition or just make the speaker the next in succession and Acting Governor in case of a Leave of Absence is debatable. One problem with making Speaker Acting Governor is that then he or she couldn't run the Assembly while acting as governor, potentially bringing debate to a halt. I would still prefer that we just not have an Lt.G and let the Assembly elect a new Speaker, but I guess the alternative is fine, too. Just as long as we don't have the Governor running with a pre-selected Lt.G or have them run on a separate ballot line. I would appreciate a second for a vote on these ideas if a member finds it appropriate. or have the most senior representative be interim speaker. there's a lot of options. Is that a second? ;D Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 14, 2016, 05:20:39 PM I would like to use the opportunity to again advise the Committee and reiterate my opposition to the establishment of the Lieutenant Governor's office. When the former Northeast Region had an Lt.G, that position was abolished because few people wanted the job and because the Lt.G had little duties besides casting tie-breaking votes. It was almost constantly vacant and seldom needed. As an alternative, I propose that the succession line begin with the Speaker (who should hold Wiki updating responsibilities) followed by Assembly members by seniority. In addition, I advise a principle vote on bills only passing the Assembly if they attain a majority (3) of the entire Assembly, with abstentions and non-votes carrying the same weight as nay votes. The Northeast ultimately made the Lt. Governor a member of the Assembly nominated by the governor. So while we didn't have a separate Lt. Governor, we still had a Lt. Governor. Whether we should continue that tradition or just make the speaker the next in succession and Acting Governor in case of a Leave of Absence is debatable. One problem with making Speaker Acting Governor is that then he or she couldn't run the Assembly while acting as governor, potentially bringing debate to a halt. I would still prefer that we just not have an Lt.G and let the Assembly elect a new Speaker, but I guess the alternative is fine, too. Just as long as we don't have the Governor running with a pre-selected Lt.G or have them run on a separate ballot line. I would appreciate a second for a vote on these ideas if a member finds it appropriate. or have the most senior representative be interim speaker. there's a lot of options. Is that a second? ;D sure. i, as well, am against having a separate lieutenant governor position (i've tried to abolish it before, in fact ;D). Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 14, 2016, 05:40:41 PM I'm back now. Thanks to cinyc for keeping things moving in my absence.
I will introduce the first draft of the Regional Constitution momentarily. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 14, 2016, 05:55:47 PM Quote CONSTITUTION OF THE NORTHERN REGION We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region. BILL OF RIGHTS [TBD] ARTICLE I The Legislative Power. Section 1. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in the Assembly of the North. Section 2. The Assembly shall be composed of a number of delegates elected every second month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be a delegate who is not a registered voter of this Region. Section 3. In all elections for the Assembly, the number of delegates to be elected shall be determined according to the number of declared candidates contesting the election. If fewer than five candidates appear on the ballot, then three delegates will be elected; but if six or more candidates appear on the ballot, five will be elected. Section 4. The Assembly shall have the power to determine its own methods of proceedings, to elect its Speaker and other officers, and to judge the qualifications of its members. Section 5. No Regional officer shall be refused the right to introduce legislation in the Assembly, nor shall any rule be made disbarring a group of two or more citizens from exercising the same privilege. Section 6. Every bill passed by the Assembly, before it becomes law, shall first be sent to the Governor. If he approves of it, he should sign it and it will become law; but if he disapproves he may veto it, and it shall be returned to the Assembly. If the Assembly then passes the same bill again by a four fifths vote, it shall become law regardless of the opinion of the Governor. If the Governor fails to either sign or veto a bill within 120 hours of its passage, it shall become law. Section 7. The Assembly may, by a four fifths vote, impeach the Governor for gross negligence or criminal acts; but the Governor shall not be convicted without the concurrence of four fifths of the members present, and the penalty for his conviction shall not exceed removal from office and disbarment from holding any office under this Region for eighteen months. ARTICLE II The Executive Power. Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in the Governor of the Northern Region. Section 2. The Governor shall be elected every fourth month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be Governor who is not a registered voter of this Region, nor who has been a citizen thereof for fewer than 720 hours. Section 3. The Governor shall have the power to carry out all acts in association with the enforcement of the laws passed under this Constitution; to fill vacancies in the Assembly; to command the militia in times of war; to appoint, with the consent of the Assembly, the heads of any executive departments which may be established by law; to issue pardons and reprieves for crimes committed under the laws of this Region, which shall be permanent upon their issuance, though he shall have no power to pardon himself; to appoint, in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, the Associate Justice for this Region; and to approve, or veto, all acts passed by the Assembly. Section 4. The governor shall appoint the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth, who shall act as president of the Assembly in the absence of a Speaker, and who shall likewise administer all elections and referendums mandated by this Constitution, except where otherwise stated herein. No person shall be Lieutenant Governor who is not a registered voter of this Commonwealth, nor who is not a sitting delegate in the Assembly. Section 5. Should the Governor, by reason of death, impeachment, recall, or resignation, become unable to execute the duties of his office, then the Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor. If there is no Lieutenant Governor at the time of the vacancy, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall become Governor. If there is neither a Lieutenant Governor nor a Speaker at the time of the vacancy, the delegate with the longest continuous service in the Assembly shall become Governor. ARTICLE III The People. Section 1. The people of the Northern Region may initiate the recall of any officer of this Region, except the Associate Justice of the Circuit Court, by delivering to the Lt. Governor a petition stating the reason for recall and signed by one quarter of the total population of the Region. The Lt. Governor shall then open the voting booth, according to the rules and regulations for elections set forth in this Constitution; but if the officer to be recalled is the Lt. Governor, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall open the voting booth. The ballot question shall be, “Shall [A.B.] be recalled from the office of [name of the office held]?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for recall; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against recall. Abstentions will not affect the results. Recalled officers shall forfeit their offices immediately. Section 2. Whenever the Assembly shall be equally divided over any bill, order, or resolution, the Governor may choose to refer the issue to the people. Accordingly, the Lt. Governor shall call a referendum on the proposal, with the ballot question “Shall [name of bill, followed by text] be made law?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for passage; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against passage. Abstentions will not affect the results. Referred legislation shall immediately become law upon its passage by the people. ARTICLE IV. The Senate. Section 1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof. Section 2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for Governor and Assembly shall be denied the right to vote for Senator. Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the first Friday after the vacancy occurs. ARTICLE V Elections. Section 1. The right to vote in all elections and referendums called according to the provisions of this Constitution shall be exclusive to those persons being eligible to vote in elections for President of the Republic of Atlasia who have been registered to vote in one of the states of this Region for a period of at least 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 2. Voters shall be permitted to edit their ballots until 20 minutes after posting them in the voting booth. No voter shall edit their ballot after the official end of the voting period. Section 3. All elections and referendums of this Region shall be administered by the Lt. Governor. Whenever the Lt. Governor is unable to execute this duty, the Speaker of the Assembly shall administer the election. Section 4. Elections for Governor shall be held in the months of January, May, and September. Elections for Assembly shall be held in the months of January, March, May, July, September, and November. Section 5. Candidates for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate must declare their candidacy in the appropriate thread by 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Wednesday preceding the election in order to appear on the ballot. Section 6. All elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 7. Following the expiration of the voting period, the election administrator shall have 24 hours to produce a tally of the votes cast and to announce the persons elected. Section 8. All elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. Section 9. The terms of the elected Governor and delegates shall begin at 12:00:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Friday following their election. Prior to assuming office, all officers shall swear the following oath: “I, [A.B.], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [state office name] and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitutions of the Northern Region and the Republic of Atlasia.” Section 10. All referendums on referred legislation, proposed amendments to this Constitution, and proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body. All recall elections shall begin on the first Friday following the receipt of the valid petition for recall. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. Section 11. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum. ARTICLE VI Amendment. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution by a two thirds vote. Amendments shall become operative following their ratification by a public referendum. Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. ARTICLE VII Implementation. Section 1. The assent of a three fifths of the voting citizens of this Region shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the first regularly scheduled elections. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 14, 2016, 05:56:35 PM [DRAFT] Okay, that's my initial draft of the Northern Constitution. This would establish a government modeled after that of the old Northeast; certain parts are lifted from the Mideast Constitution, while others (i.e. Article IV) are original to this document. Please read through the entire draft carefully; we can then move to amend it as needed.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 14, 2016, 06:19:00 PM It looks pretty good. On first look, I have a few concerns.
1) As stated before, I'd prefer we elect regional officers at the same time as the federal elections. I don't like off-month elections, which depress turnout and lead to the elections officer having to run incessant elections. From experience, running elections every week isn't easy. 2) Constitutionally, I think we need to specify that the Lt. Governor temporarily gives up his role in the Assembly while acting as governor. This could happen as a result of a Governor's temporary leave of absence. Acting as Governor and Assemblyman simultaneously might violate the federal ban of dual office holding. 3) The first conceptual vote we probably should have is whether to have a Lt. Governor at all. I think the position is a necessary one, but evergreen and others disagree. I move that the first conceptual vote we have is on this issue. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 14, 2016, 09:20:06 PM Very well. We will now proceed with a principle vote on the question of the Lt. Governorship. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain. Voting will last 24 hours or until all delegates have voted.
Proposal: The North will have a Lt. Governor, who will be the Region's chief election administrator and assume the Governorship in the event of a vacancy. The Lt. Governor will be appointed from among the membership of the Assembly by the Governor. [ ] AYE [ ] NAY [ ] Abstain Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 14, 2016, 09:21:30 PM AYE!
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 14, 2016, 09:22:24 PM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 15, 2016, 03:56:44 AM nay
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on June 15, 2016, 05:03:57 AM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 15, 2016, 08:50:23 AM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 15, 2016, 09:41:09 AM aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on June 15, 2016, 06:51:45 PM Nay
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 15, 2016, 07:24:01 PM By a vote of five Ayes and two Nays, the motion has PASSED.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 15, 2016, 07:31:38 PM I'd like to let the Lieutenant Governor run the Assembly if the Speaker takes over twelve hours.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 15, 2016, 08:01:24 PM I'd like to let the Lieutenant Governor run the Assembly if the Speaker takes over twelve hours. Over twelve hours of what? The Speaker shouldn't be micromanaged, especially if he or she is only gone for half a day. In any event, isn't that something for the new SOAP, not the constitution? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 15, 2016, 08:07:29 PM I'd like to let the Lieutenant Governor run the Assembly if the Speaker takes over twelve hours. Over twelve hours of what? The Speaker shouldn't be micromanaged, especially if he or she is only gone for half a day. In any event, isn't that something for the new SOAP, not the constitution? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 16, 2016, 05:32:25 PM I offer the following amendment:
Quote ARTICLE V Elections. ... Section 4. Elections for Governor shall be held in the months of February, June, and October. Elections for Assembly shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December. ... Section 6. Except in December, all elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Delegates have 24 hours to object. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 16, 2016, 07:12:25 PM I agree with the change in principle, but perhaps we should wait or revisit this after the Congress sets election dates. It looks like the Senate is headed toward holding elections the second week of the month, not the penultimate week.
FYI - this is not a formal objection to the proposed amendment, just a note that we might have to revisit the text before we ratify the final draft. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 18, 2016, 05:02:58 AM Could we pass something to get the Governors election to happen on the next weekend in line with the Presidential election?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on June 18, 2016, 06:18:04 AM Could we pass something to get the Governors election to happen on the next weekend in line with the Presidential election? well, until we ratify, there technically is no such thing as the office of governor as of yet. unless you want to do something like this: Quote ARTICLE VII Implementation. Section 1. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the first regularly scheduled elections. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 18, 2016, 06:50:11 AM On second thoughts it does seem fair to wait until we establish the actual office; as long as we can get the Governor elections done within the next 3-4 weeks
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 18, 2016, 11:13:32 PM Looking at the draft constitution, I don't see a provision for what to do if there is a vacancy in the Assembly. Perhaps we should hold a concept vote on what to do for ALL vacancies. It's best to have one uniform rule. I propose the following:
-All vacancies that occur within 2 weeks of the start of the next regularly scheduled election be filled by the Governor. -All vacancies that occur 2 or more weeks from the start of the next regularly scheduled election may be temporarily filled by the governor until a special election is held the following Friday (as long as the vacancy occurs before Wednesday). -We'd also hold a special election for all Gubernatorial vacancies that occur 2 or more weeks from the start of the next regularly scheduled gubernatorial election. I don't think an unelected Lt. Governor or worse, Speaker or senior Assemblyman, should get to serve a full term. What do you think? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 19, 2016, 11:29:26 PM Article II grants the governor the power to "fill vacancies in the Assembly," but I'm fine with a principle vote on the matter. Cinyc's plan looks good to me.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 20, 2016, 12:56:38 AM Anything else, or can we get this show on the road and head to ratification? :D
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on June 20, 2016, 06:41:27 PM Are we going to do a special gubernatorial election in post-July 5 or before June 28?
I'd slightly prefer the latter, and doing it between June 28-July 5 would probably encourage low turnout due to the holidays. While that might benefit me a bit, I'd prefer a high turnout for democratic sake. Either way, this Committee may be the effective governing body unless we establish something else temporary fast. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 20, 2016, 06:53:45 PM Are we going to do a special gubernatorial election in post-July 5 or before June 28? I'd slightly prefer the latter, and doing it between June 28-July 5 would probably encourage low turnout due to the holidays. While that might benefit me a bit, I'd prefer a high turnout for democratic sake. Either way, this Committee may be the effective governing body unless we establish something else temporary fast. It depends when we're done with the Constitution, doesn't it? We still need a bill of rights, and I don't think anyone has gone through it extremely closely. I named my major concerns, and they are in the process of being addressed. Everyone else has been pretty silent since the proposed constitution was tabled. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 20, 2016, 07:42:21 PM Are we going to do a special gubernatorial election in post-July 5 or before June 28? I'd slightly prefer the latter, and doing it between June 28-July 5 would probably encourage low turnout due to the holidays. While that might benefit me a bit, I'd prefer a high turnout for democratic sake. Either way, this Committee may be the effective governing body unless we establish something else temporary fast. It depends when we're done with the Constitution, doesn't it? We still need a bill of rights, and I don't think anyone has gone through it extremely closely. I named my major concerns, and they are in the process of being addressed. Everyone else has been pretty silent since the proposed constitution was tabled. What would this Bill of Rights include beyond what already exists in the federal Constitution? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 20, 2016, 09:52:08 PM What would this Bill of Rights include beyond what already exists in the federal Constitution? That is a subject for debate. The Northeast and Mideast constitutions had different bills of rights. We would probably start from there. We can always offer our citizens more rights than the federal constitution. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on June 21, 2016, 04:10:57 PM So what's the current issue on the agenda? I'm a bit confused as to what we're discussing/formally voting on
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 21, 2016, 06:33:16 PM So what's the current issue on the agenda? I'm a bit confused as to what we're discussing/formally voting on Basically, we should be debating how to handle vacancies. The issue is whether to hold special elections when seats become vacant within 2 months of the next regularly scheduled election or just let the governor appoint Assemblymen and Senators, and the Lt. Governor/Speaker become permanent governor in the event of a gubernatorial vacancy. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 21, 2016, 06:43:34 PM Okay, I'm going to give y'all 24 hours to review cinyc's proposal for filling vacancies. If there are no objections by this time tomorrow, I will consider it adopted.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 22, 2016, 08:08:48 PM Do the impeachment rules stand in the event that only three Representatives serve in the Assembly? We might want to consider revising the Constitution to require a unanimous vote on impeachment, should the occasion arise that the Assembly gets two very partisan legislators who want to start a power coup.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 22, 2016, 08:32:33 PM Do the impeachment rules stand in the event that only three Representatives serve in the Assembly? We might want to consider revising the Constitution to require a unanimous vote on impeachment, should the occasion arise that the Assembly gets two very partisan legislators who want to start a power coup. I don't see the problem here. Under the proposed constitution, impeachment requires a four-fifths vote. That would require unanimity if the Assembly has only 3 members, as two-thirds is less than four-fifths. So all 3 Assembly members would have to vote to impeach in an Assembly of 3. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 22, 2016, 08:39:46 PM Do the impeachment rules stand in the event that only three Representatives serve in the Assembly? We might want to consider revising the Constitution to require a unanimous vote on impeachment, should the occasion arise that the Assembly gets two very partisan legislators who want to start a power coup. I don't see the problem here. Under the proposed constitution, impeachment requires a four-fifths vote. That would require unanimity if the Assembly has only 3 members, as two-thirds is less than four-fifths. So all 3 Assembly members would have to vote to impeach in an Assembly of 3. 4/5 of 3 still (barely) rounds to 2. I think the Assembly should modify this section so that this doesn't become an issue of dispute. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 22, 2016, 09:32:59 PM Do the impeachment rules stand in the event that only three Representatives serve in the Assembly? We might want to consider revising the Constitution to require a unanimous vote on impeachment, should the occasion arise that the Assembly gets two very partisan legislators who want to start a power coup. I don't see the problem here. Under the proposed constitution, impeachment requires a four-fifths vote. That would require unanimity if the Assembly has only 3 members, as two-thirds is less than four-fifths. So all 3 Assembly members would have to vote to impeach in an Assembly of 3. 4/5 of 3 still (barely) rounds to 2. I think the Assembly should modify this section so that this doesn't become an issue of dispute. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 22, 2016, 09:33:35 PM Okay, I'm going to give y'all 24 hours to review cinyc's proposal for filling vacancies. If there are no objections by this time tomorrow, I will consider it adopted. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 22, 2016, 09:59:13 PM An amendment incorporating cinyc's (previously adopted) proposal:
Quote ARTICLE I The Legislative Power. ... Section 8. Whenever a vacancy should occur in the composition of the Assembly, the Governor shall appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term. If the vacancy arises fewer than 336 hours before the commencement of the next regularly scheduled election, the appointed delegate shall serve the remainder of the present term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new delegate may be elected. ARTICLE II The Executive Power. ... Section 5. Should the Governor, by reason of death, impeachment, recall, or resignation, become unable to execute the duties of his office, then the Lieutenant Governor shall become Acting Governor until a new governor may be elected. If there is no Lieutenant Governor at the time of the vacancy, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall become Acting Governor. If there is neither a Lieutenant Governor nor a Speaker at the time of the vacancy, the delegate with the longest continuous service in the Assembly shall become Acting Governor. The person serving as Acting Governor need not vacate their post in the Assembly, but they shall have no vote in its proceedings and shall exercise no administrative powers over it so long as they continue to exercise the powers of governor. ... ARTICLE V Elections. ... Section 6. Except in December, all elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for Governor and Assembly shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 26, 2016, 09:30:25 AM What else is there, now?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 26, 2016, 05:36:30 PM An amendment incorporating cinyc's (previously adopted) proposal: Quote ARTICLE I The Legislative Power. ... Section 8. Whenever a vacancy should occur in the composition of the Assembly, the Governor shall appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term. If the vacancy arises fewer than 336 hours before the commencement of the next regularly scheduled election, the appointed delegate shall serve the remainder of the present term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new delegate may be elected. ARTICLE II The Executive Power. ... Section 5. Should the Governor, by reason of death, impeachment, recall, or resignation, become unable to execute the duties of his office, then the Lieutenant Governor shall become Acting Governor until a new governor may be elected. If there is no Lieutenant Governor at the time of the vacancy, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall become Acting Governor. If there is neither a Lieutenant Governor nor a Speaker at the time of the vacancy, the delegate with the longest continuous service in the Assembly shall become Acting Governor. The person serving as Acting Governor need not vacate their post in the Assembly, but they shall have no vote in its proceedings and shall exercise no administrative powers over it so long as they continue to exercise the powers of governor. ... ARTICLE V Elections. ... Section 6. Except in December, all elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for Governor and Assembly shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. That doesn't seem to cover special elections for the regional Senate seat. Are we not allowed to have them under the federal constitution? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 28, 2016, 10:33:28 AM That doesn't seem to cover special elections for the regional Senate seat. Are we not allowed to have them under the federal constitution? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 28, 2016, 10:37:25 AM Quote ARTICLE IV The Senate. Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the first Friday after the vacancy occurs; but if the vacancy arises fewer than 336 hours before the next regularly scheduled election, the appointed Acting Senator will serve the remainder of the present term. Article IV already provided for special elections to the Senate; this just tweaks it to fit cinyc's proposal. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 29, 2016, 11:52:58 AM Here's what we have so far:
Quote We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region. BILL OF RIGHTS [TBD] ARTICLE I The Legislative Power. Section 1. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in the Assembly of the North. Section 2. The Assembly shall be composed of a number of delegates elected every second month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be a delegate who is not a registered voter of this Region. Section 3. In all elections for the Assembly, the number of delegates to be elected shall be determined according to the number of declared candidates contesting the election. If fewer than five candidates appear on the ballot, then three delegates will be elected; but if six or more candidates appear on the ballot, five will be elected. Section 4. The Assembly shall have the power to determine its own methods of proceedings, to elect its Speaker and other officers, and to judge the qualifications of its members. Section 5. No Regional officer shall be refused the right to introduce legislation in the Assembly, nor shall any rule be made disbarring a group of two or more citizens from exercising the same privilege. Section 6. Every bill passed by the Assembly, before it becomes law, shall first be sent to the Governor. If he approves of it, he should sign it and it will become law; but if he disapproves he may veto it, and it shall be returned to the Assembly. If the Assembly then passes the same bill again by a four fifths vote, it shall become law regardless of the opinion of the Governor. If the Governor fails to either sign or veto a bill within 120 hours of its passage, it shall become law. Section 7. The Assembly may, by a four fifths vote, impeach the Governor for gross negligence or criminal acts; but the Governor shall not be convicted without the concurrence of four fifths of the members present, and the penalty for his conviction shall not exceed removal from office and disbarment from holding any office under this Region for eighteen months. Section 8. Whenever a vacancy should occur in the composition of the Assembly, the Governor shall appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term. If the vacancy arises fewer than 336 hours before the commencement of the next regularly scheduled election, the appointed delegate shall serve the remainder of the present term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new delegate may be elected. ARTICLE II The Executive Power. Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in the Governor of the Northern Region. Section 2. The Governor shall be elected every fourth month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be Governor who is not a registered voter of this Region, nor who has been a citizen thereof for fewer than 720 hours. Section 3. The Governor shall have the power to carry out all acts in association with the enforcement of the laws passed under this Constitution; to fill vacancies in the Assembly; to command the militia in times of war; to appoint, with the consent of the Assembly, the heads of any executive departments which may be established by law; to issue pardons and reprieves for crimes committed under the laws of this Region, which shall be permanent upon their issuance, though he shall have no power to pardon himself; to appoint, in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, the Associate Justice for this Region; and to approve, or veto, all acts passed by the Assembly. Section 4. The governor shall appoint the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth, who shall act as president of the Assembly in the absence of a Speaker, and who shall likewise administer all elections and referendums mandated by this Constitution, except where otherwise stated herein. No person shall be Lieutenant Governor who is not a registered voter of this Commonwealth, nor who is not a sitting delegate in the Assembly. Section 5. Should the Governor, by reason of death, impeachment, recall, or resignation, become unable to execute the duties of his office, then the Lieutenant Governor shall become Acting Governor until a new governor may be elected. If there is no Lieutenant Governor at the time of the vacancy, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall become Acting Governor. If there is neither a Lieutenant Governor nor a Speaker at the time of the vacancy, the delegate with the longest continuous service in the Assembly shall become ActingGovernor. The person serving as Acting Governor need not vacate their post in the Assembly, but they shall have no vote in its proceedings and shall exercise no administrative powers over it so long as they continue to exercise the powers of governor. ARTICLE III The People. Section 1. The people of the Northern Region may initiate the recall of any officer of this Region, except the Associate Justice of the Circuit Court, by delivering to the Lt. Governor a petition stating the reason for recall and signed by one quarter of the total population of the Region. The Lt. Governor shall then open the voting booth, according to the rules and regulations for elections set forth in this Constitution; but if the officer to be recalled is the Lt. Governor, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall open the voting booth. The ballot question shall be, “Shall [A.B.] be recalled from the office of [name of the office held]?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for recall; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against recall. Abstentions will not affect the results. Recalled officers shall forfeit their offices immediately. Section 2. Whenever the Assembly shall be equally divided over any bill, order, or resolution, the Governor may choose to refer the issue to the people. Accordingly, the Lt. Governor shall call a referendum on the proposal, with the ballot question “Shall [name of bill, followed by text] be made law?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for passage; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against passage. Abstentions will not affect the results. Referred legislation shall immediately become law upon its passage by the people. ARTICLE IV. The Senate. Section 1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof. Section 2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for Governor and Assembly shall be denied the right to vote for Senator. Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the first Friday after the vacancy occurs; but if the vacancy arises fewer than 336 hours before the next regularly scheduled election, the appointed Acting Senator will serve the remainder of the present term. continued in next post Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on June 29, 2016, 11:53:28 AM continued from previous post
Quote ARTICLE V. Elections. Section 1. The right to vote in all elections and referendums called according to the provisions of this Constitution shall be exclusive to those persons being eligible to vote in elections for President of the Republic of Atlasia who have been registered to vote in one of the states of this Region for a period of at least 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 2. Voters shall be permitted to edit their ballots until 20 minutes after posting them in the voting booth. No voter shall edit their ballot after the official end of the voting period. Section 3. All elections and referendums of this Region shall be administered by the Lt. Governor. Whenever the Lt. Governor is unable to execute this duty, the Speaker of the Assembly shall administer the election. Section 4. Elections for Governor shall be held in the months of February, June, and October. Elections for Assembly shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December. Section 5. Candidates for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate must declare their candidacy in the appropriate thread by 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Wednesday preceding the election in order to appear on the ballot. Section 6. Except in December, all elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for Governor and Assembly shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 7. Following the expiration of the voting period, the election administrator shall have 24 hours to produce a tally of the votes cast and to announce the persons elected. Section 8. All elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. Section 9. The terms of the elected Governor and delegates shall begin at 12:00:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Friday following their election. Prior to assuming office, all officers shall swear the following oath: “I, [A.B.], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [state office name] and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitutions of the Northern Region and the Republic of Atlasia.” Section 10. All referendums on referred legislation, proposed amendments to this Constitution, and proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body. All recall elections shall begin on the first Friday following the receipt of the valid petition for recall. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. Section 11. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum. ARTICLE VI Amendment. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution by a two thirds vote. Amendments shall become operative following their ratification by a public referendum. Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. ARTICLE VII Implementation. Section 1. The assent of a three fifths of the voting citizens of this Region shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the first regularly scheduled elections. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 29, 2016, 12:19:10 PM Some proposals for a bill of rights/miscellaneous amendments
1. An amendment barring the secession of a state from the region 2. A ban on religious qualifications for office 3. The exemption of campaign money from free speech protections 4. A balanced budget amendment (this is what we had in the former Northeast, and it worked rather well) 5. An amendment to protect Northerners from compulsory military service (might conflict with federal law; I'm not sure) 6. An amendment guaranteeing equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian Northerners Some of these amendments are obviously controversial, but I tried to make the effort to propose amendments that most of the committee members can get behind and that won't prevent the final Constitution from being ratified by the public. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on June 29, 2016, 12:28:12 PM Passing along a concern raised by citizen Poirot:
This is the amendment proposal: Quote Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution by a two thirds vote. Amendments shall become operative following their ratification by a public referendum. Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. I have a question on the two thirds vote in the assembly. Exactly two thirds is enough, it's not more than two thirds. So if the assembly is 3 person, two Yes vote is enough ? I think in a 5 person assembly in the NE we required at least three yes votes and two thirds to pass in case there is very low turnout. If there is 3 a person assembly, 1 yes, 1 abstain and 1 not voting is considered 100% approve. It's not a very high treshold for constituional change but I guess that is what small assembly can do. Under a 3-person Assembly, amendments to the Constitution ought to be unanimous in the same way impeachments are. We might want to fix that. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on June 29, 2016, 01:00:56 PM Some proposals for a bill of rights/miscellaneous amendments 1. An amendment barring the secession of a state from the region 2. A ban on religious qualifications for office 3. The exemption of campaign money from free speech protections 4. A balanced budget amendment (this is what we had in the former Northeast, and it worked rather well) 5. An amendment to protect Northerners from compulsory military service (might conflict with federal law; I'm not sure) 6. An amendment guaranteeing equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian Northerners Some of these amendments are obviously controversial, but I tried to make the effort to propose amendments that most of the committee members can get behind and that won't prevent the final Constitution from being ratified by the public. I think the idea for the intial bill of rights is for it not to be controversial, and let the Assembly amend it later to include controversial matters one-by-one. But that's up to the other members. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 01, 2016, 12:17:59 PM Thoughts/suggestions from other members, please? I don't want the rest of this committee to be a back-and-forth between cinyc and myself when I don't even have power here. Plus it would be nice if we could get this thing wrapped up so that we can have first elections by later this month...
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 01, 2016, 12:30:40 PM I'm going to handle this the same way I did at the ConCon. Delegates have 24 hours to propose rights that they believe should be included in the Regional Constitution. At the end of said 24 hours, we will immediately proceed to a principle vote: all those rights endorsed by a majority of voting delegates will be included in the final document.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 01, 2016, 12:49:00 PM i'll repropose all of scott's, if that's necessary
Some proposals for a bill of rights/miscellaneous amendments 1. An amendment barring the secession of a state from the region 2. A ban on religious qualifications for office 3. The exemption of campaign money from free speech protections 4. A balanced budget amendment (this is what we had in the former Northeast, and it worked rather well) 5. An amendment to protect Northerners from compulsory military service (might conflict with federal law; I'm not sure) 6. An amendment guaranteeing equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian Northerners Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 01, 2016, 11:47:52 PM I'd like a vote on all sections of Article V of the old Mideastern constitution (https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Mideast_Third_Constitution) separately. It is the most complete bill of rights I have seen for a region. Some rights might be controversial, so I'd prefer a one-on-one vote.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on July 02, 2016, 03:36:42 PM I'd oppose the fifth amendment
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 02, 2016, 11:56:27 PM 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 19, and 22 need amended in my opinion. "Only in a manner consistent with the law" and all variations thereof is far too broad for the first four.
18 should not in the Constitution. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Classic Conservative on July 05, 2016, 02:38:22 PM Doesn't the third admendment in which Scott propose contradict federal law?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 05, 2016, 07:50:32 PM Seeing no further debate, we will now proceed with a principle vote on the Bill of Rights. Please vote YES, NO, or Abstain on each of the following proposals. Those proposals supported by a majority of voting delegates will be included in the final draft of the Constitution. Voting will last 24 hours or until all delegates have voted.
PRINCIPLE VOTE on the BILL OF RIGHTS Proposals R001: Right to life, liberty, and property R002: Right to equal protection under the law R003: Prohibition of slavery, and of involuntary servitude except as punishment for crimes R004: Right of all citizens to vote, except when revoked as punishment for crimes R005: Freedom of speech, freedom of the press R006: Exemption of campaign money from free speech protections R007: Freedom of religion, freedom of worship R008: Right to petition, peaceable assembly, and freedom of association R009: Right of workers to organize, right to collective bargaining, except when in conflict with vital Regional interests R010: Right to bear arms R011: Prohibition against the seizure of private property without just compensation R012: Right to privacy R013: Right of all citizens to marry the person of their choosing regardless of gender R014: The Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, except in times of war R015: Prohibition of warrantless search and seizure R016: Right of the accused to trial by jury, protection against retrial for the same crime, right to remain silent R017: Right of the accused to be informed of the nature of the accusation, right to bring witnesses for their defense, right to the assistance of counsel R018: Mandatory jury trial for all suits of common law where the value of the controversy exceeds $100 R019: Prohibition of the death penalty, except on indictment of a grand jury or in the military R020: Prohibition of cruel or unusual punishment, excessive bail, and excessive fines R021: Right of all minors to education, duty of the Region to maintain a public school system R022: Prohibition against the passage of laws "harmful to the public wellbeing" R023: Prohibition of military conscription, except in times of war R024: Prohibition of quartering soldiers in private buildings w/o the owner's consent R025: Prohibition on the use of the military for law enforcement, except in times of war or natural disaster R026: Prohibition on requiring voters to denote their state of registration in the voting booth R027: Prohibition against holding multiple offices R028: Prohibition against religious qualifications for officeholding R029: Prohibition against secession of constituent states R030: Mandatory balanced budget R031: Citizens retain all omitted natural rights OFFICIAL BALLOT R001 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R002 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R003 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R004 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R005 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R006 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R007 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R008 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R009 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R010 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R011 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R012 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R013 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R014 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R015 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R016 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R017 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R018 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R019 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R020 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R021 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R022 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R023 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R024 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R025 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R026 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R027 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R028 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R029 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R030 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R031 [ ] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 05, 2016, 07:56:02 PM PRINCIPLE VOTE on the BILL OF RIGHTS Proposals R001: Right to life, liberty, and property R002: Right to equal protection under the law R003: Prohibition of slavery, and of involuntary servitude except as punishment for crimes R004: Right of all citizens to vote, except when revoked as punishment for crimes R005: Freedom of speech, freedom of the press R006: Exemption of campaign money from free speech protections R007: Freedom of religion, freedom of worship R008: Right to petition, peaceable assembly, and freedom of association R009: Right of workers to organize, right to collective bargaining, except when in conflict with vital Regional interests R010: Right to bear arms R011: Prohibition against the seizure of private property without just compensation R012: Right to privacy R013: Right of all citizens to marry the person of their choosing regardless of gender R014: The Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, except in times of war R015: Prohibition of warrantless search and seizure R016: Right of the accused to trial by jury, protection against retrial for the same crime, right to remain silent R017: Right of the accused to be informed of the nature of the accusation, right to bring witnesses for their defense, right to the assistance of counsel R018: Mandatory jury trial for all suits of common law where the value of the controversy exceeds $100 R019: Prohibition of the death penalty, except on indictment of a grand jury or in the military R020: Prohibition of cruel or unusual punishment, excessive bail, and excessive fines R021: Right of all minors to education, duty of the Region to maintain a public school system R022: Prohibition against the passage of laws "harmful to the public wellbeing" R023: Prohibition of military conscription, except in times of war R024: Prohibition of quartering soldiers in private buildings w/o the owner's consent R025: Prohibition on the use of the military for law enforcement, except in times of war or natural disaster R026: Prohibition on requiring voters to denote their state of registration in the voting booth R027: Prohibition against holding multiple offices R028: Prohibition against religious qualifications for officeholding R029: Prohibition against secession of constituent states R030: Mandatory balanced budget R031: Citizens retain all omitted natural rights OFFICIAL BALLOT R001 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R002 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R003 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R004 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R005 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R006 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R007 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R008 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R009 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R010 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R011 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R012 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R013 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R014 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R015 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R016 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R017 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R018 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R019 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R020 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R021 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R022 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R023 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R024 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R025 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R026 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R027 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R028 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R029 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R030 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R031 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 05, 2016, 08:05:24 PM Explanation of my "NO" votes:
I have no personal objection to R006, but Classic Conservative is right to point out that it is in direct conflict with existing federal law (specifically, the Citizens United ruling). I don't like it, but the Regions have no power to overturn Supreme Court rulings. If you want to work for campaign finance reform, you have to do it with an amendment at the federal level. R022 is horribly vague and would open the floodgates for the collapse of majority rule and the nonpartisan judiciary if ever invoked. Basically, this amounts to a constitutional ban on "bad" laws, granting the judiciary the de facto power to annul any and all laws that they don't like. This is just a really, really, really bad idea - how it got into the Mideast Constitution is beyond me, and I hope to God none of you think this should be carried over into our new Region's government. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 05, 2016, 09:48:02 PM OFFICIAL BALLOT R001 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R002 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R003 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R004 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R005 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R006 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R007 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R008 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R009 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R010 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R011 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R012 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R013 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R014 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R015 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R016 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R017 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R018 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R019 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R020 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R021 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R022 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R023 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R024 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R025 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R026 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R027 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R028 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R029 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R030 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R031 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 05, 2016, 10:07:59 PM Reasons for No votes:
R004 - Voter eligibility is governed by federal law. We can't do anything but follow federal standards. R006 - It is unconstitutional under current law. R009 - Doesn't provide protection to workers who wish not to organize or join a union. And public employee unions have too much power. R012 - Too vague. R013 - Same-sex marriage is governed by federal law. We can't do anything but follow federal standards. R018 - Jury trials in civil suits should be voluntary, not mandatory, especially in complex cases. R019 - There should be no restrictions on the death penalty, which should be legal. R021 - We should be free to set up alternative education systems, i.e. vouchers, if we wish not to run public schools. R022 - Too vague. R023 - We should be able to draft during peacetime, especially if the future looks perilous. R025 - The Regional Guard should be able to conduct anti-terror patrols at airports and the like. It's not clear that they would if this amendment is passed. R026 - I'm not sure why this is necessary - or if it is even allowed under federal law. Federal law generally governs voting rights. R027 - Federal law already has a dual office holding ban. We can't do anything about it, but should keep our options open if federal law ever were repealed. Plus, it would ban Assemblymen from serving in a cabinet (which already is arguably illegal under federal law, anyway). Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 06, 2016, 12:26:12 AM OFFICIAL BALLOT R001 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R002 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R003 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R004 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R005 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R006 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R007 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R008 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R009 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R010 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R011 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R012 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R013 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R014 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R015 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R016 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R017 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R018 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R019 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R020 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R021 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R022 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R023 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R024 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R025 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R026 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R027 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R028 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R029 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R030 [ ] YES [ ] NO [X] Abstain R031 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain Some reasons: 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 19, and 22 need amended in my opinion. "Only in a manner consistent with the law" and all variations thereof is far too broad for the first four. 18 should not in the Constitution. Once voting is over, I motion for the Committee to go over all rights with five or less AYE votes to consider amendments. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 06, 2016, 04:49:30 AM nay on proposals 10 and 22; aye on all others
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on July 06, 2016, 09:33:16 AM PRINCIPLE VOTE on the BILL OF RIGHTS OFFICIAL BALLOT R001 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R002 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R003 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R004 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R005 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R006 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R007 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R008 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R009 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R010 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R011 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R012 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R013 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R014 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R015 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R016 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R017 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R018 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R019 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R020 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R021 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R022 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R023 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R024 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R025 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R026 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R027 [ ] YES [X] NO [ ] Abstain R028 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R029 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R030 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain R031 [X] YES [ ] NO [ ] Abstain Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on July 06, 2016, 09:43:54 AM 1.) Yes
2.) Yes 3.) Yes 4.) No 5.) Yes 6.) No 7.) Yes 8.) Yes 9.) No 10.) No. 11.) Yes 12.) Yes 13.) Yes 14.) Yes 15.) Yes 16.) Yes 17.) Yes 18.) No 19.) Yes 20.) Yes 21.) Yes 22.) No 23.) No 24.) Yes 25.) No 26.) Yes 27.) Yes 28.) Yes 29.) Yes 30.) No 31.) Yes Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 06, 2016, 11:20:30 PM RESULTS R001 PASSED R002 PASSED R003 PASSED R004 FAILED R005 PASSED R006 FAILED R007 PASSED R008 PASSED R009 FAILED R010 PASSED R011 PASSED R012 PASSED R013 PASSED R014 PASSED R015 PASSED R016 PASSED R017 PASSED R018 FAILED R019 FAILED R020 PASSED R021 PASSED R022 FAILED R023 FAILED R024 PASSED R025 FAILED R026 PASSED R027 FAILED R028 PASSED R029 PASSED R030 PASSED R031 PASSED Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 08, 2016, 11:30:25 AM Is there any unfinished business left, or is this thing ready to be voted on?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 08, 2016, 03:08:22 PM Is there any unfinished business left, or is this thing ready to be voted on? I propose putting Poirot's suggestion that if there's a 3-man Assembly, unanimity of all 3 members is necessary to pass a proposed Constitutional Amendment, instead of 2/3rds, to a vote. I also propose that if a vacancy occurs on a Thursday, we don't open special election votes the next day, but the following Friday. There's too little time for people to declare and set up the ballot otherwise. I then propose that the Chairman restate the full constitution, and give us 48 hours to review the text for technical or other changes. If there aren't any, we then proceed to a vote on the full text. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 08, 2016, 10:58:49 PM I offer the following amendment incorporating the results of the last principle vote. After that, we will move ahead with Cinyc's proposals.
Quote DECLARATION OF RIGHTS Section 1. All men and women are born free and equal, and accordingly none shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property but by due process of law. Section 2. All citizens shall be afforded equal protection under the laws of this Region. Section 3. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crimes of which the accused has been duly convicted, shall exist within the bounds of this Region. Section 4. The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are together the greatest bulwark against the institution of a despotic government, and accordingly neither shall be withheld or abridged by any public authority. Section 5. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region effecting the establishment of religion, nor obstructing the freedom of worship, and no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this government. Section 6. In accordance with the great precept that all honest governments are founded upon the consent of the governed, and that government ought therefore to be accountable to the people, the right to peaceably assemble and to petition for the redress of grievances shall not be infringed. Section 7. A well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free people, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Section 8. The seizure of private property for public use without just compensation shall be prohibited. Section 9. The right of two consenting adults to marry shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. Section 10. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, except in times of war or internal rebellion when the public safety may require it. Section 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes, records, communications, and possessions shall not be infringed, nor the warrantless search, seizure, or surveillance of the same permitted; and no warrants shall be issued but upon probable cause, supported by oath of affirmation, and particularly stating the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Section 12. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have right to a speedy and fair trial by a jury of their peers in the state wherein the crime shall have been committed, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted by the witnesses against them, to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in their favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in their defense. No person shall be compelled to bear witness against themselves, nor subjected to excessive bail, nor excessive fines, nor cruel or unusual punishment. Section 13. Insofar as the foundation of any just government is and should be the consent of the governed, and that therefore the people ought to act as the first and greatest bastion against the growth of tyranny, the health and survival of any free nation depends on an educated and thoughtful populace. To this end, it shall be the duty of this government to erect and maintain a system of public schools, open to all minors residing within this Region, and ordered according to the provisions set forth by the legislative power. Section 14. No soldier shall, in times of peace, be lodged in any house or private building without the consent of the owner, nor in times of war except in the manner prescribed by law. Section 15. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region requiring voters to denote their state of residence in the voting booth. Section 16. No budget or appropriation bill shall be passed by the legislative power of this Region for which the totaled expenditures exceed the sum of all revenue collected in the previous year. Section 17. The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed as to deny or disparage those other natural rights and liberties herein unmentioned. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 09, 2016, 03:48:13 AM Quote DECLARATION OF RIGHTS Section 1. All Section 2. All citizens shall be afforded equal protection under the laws of this Region. Section 3. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crimes of which the accused has been duly convicted, shall exist within the bounds of this Region. Section 4. The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are together the greatest bulwark against the institution of a despotic government, and accordingly neither shall be withheld or abridged by any public authority. Section 5. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region effecting the establishment of religion, nor obstructing the freedom of worship, and no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this government. Section 6. In accordance with the great precept that all honest governments are founded upon the consent of the governed, and that government ought therefore to be accountable to the people, the right to peaceably assemble and to petition for the redress of grievances shall not be infringed. Section 7. A well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free people, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Section 8. The seizure of private property for public use without just compensation shall be prohibited. Section 9. The right of two consenting adults to marry shall not be denied or abridged on account of gender or sex. Section 10. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, except in times of war or internal rebellion when the public safety may require it. Section 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes, records, communications, and possessions shall not be infringed, nor the warrantless search, seizure, or surveillance of the same permitted; and no warrants shall be issued but upon probable cause, supported by oath of affirmation, and particularly stating the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Section 12. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have right to a speedy and fair trial by a jury of their peers in the state wherein the crime shall have been committed, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted by the witnesses against them, to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in their favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in their defense. No person shall be compelled to bear witness against themselves, nor subjected to excessive bail, nor excessive fines, nor cruel or unusual punishment. Section 13. Insofar as the foundation of any just government is and should be the consent of the governed, and that therefore the people ought to act as the first and greatest bastion against the growth of tyranny, the health and survival of any free nation depends on an educated and thoughtful populace. To this end, it shall be the duty of this government to erect and maintain a system of public schools, open to all minors residing within this Region, and ordered according to the provisions set forth by the legislative power. Section 14. No soldier shall, in times of peace, be lodged in any house or private building without the consent of the owner, nor in times of war except in the manner prescribed by law. Section 15. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region requiring voters to denote their state of residence in the voting booth. Section 16. No budget or appropriation bill shall be passed by the legislative power of this Region for which the totaled expenditures exceed the sum of all revenue collected in the previous year. Section 17. The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed as to deny or disparage those other natural rights and liberties herein unmentioned. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 09, 2016, 07:18:13 PM ^ Amendment is friendly.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 09, 2016, 07:57:40 PM Emergency Election Legislation:
1. The Chairman of the Northern Regional Committee shall have the power to open a voting booth on the Capital Punishment Abolition Amendment. The voting booth will open at 2:45:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on Saturday, July 9 and close at 2:45:00 PM on Tuesday, July 12. 2. The Chairman of the Northern Regional Committee shall have the power to open a voting booth on any future proposed federal constitutional amendments ratified before the end of this Committee immediately after any such amendment has been passed. If the Chairman does not open a voting booth more than 48 hours after public notice has been given that a federal constitutional amendment has passed, the Vice Chairman may open the voting booth. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 09, 2016, 08:04:21 PM A vote is now open on the Emergency Election Bill proposed by Vice Chairman Cinyc. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain. Voting will last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached.
Quote Emergency Election Legislation Section 1. The Chairman of the Northern Regional Committee shall have the power to open a voting booth on the Capital Punishment Abolition Amendment. The voting booth will open at 2:45:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on Saturday, July 9 and close at 2:45:00 PM on Tuesday, July 12. Section 2. The Chairman of the Northern Regional Committee shall have the power to open a voting booth on any future proposed federal constitutional amendments ratified before the end of this Committee immediately after any such amendment has been passed. If the Chairman does not open a voting booth more than 48 hours after public notice has been given that a federal constitutional amendment has passed, the Vice Chairman may open the voting booth. Section 3. Any Constitutional Amendment shall be considered ratified if and only if more voters cast an "Aye" vote than the combined number of voters who cast a "Nay" or "Abstain" vote. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 09, 2016, 08:04:52 PM AYE!
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 09, 2016, 08:13:00 PM We need to add a section 3, since we have no rules for what wins:
3. Any Constitutional Amendment shall be considered ratified if and only if more voters cast an "Aye" vote than the combined number of voters who cast a "Nay" or "Abstain" vote. (This is what we used for the first two amendments). Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 09, 2016, 08:15:43 PM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on July 09, 2016, 09:14:01 PM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: / on July 09, 2016, 10:45:30 PM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 10, 2016, 12:07:25 AM With a majority in favor, this resolution has been ADOPTED.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 10, 2016, 08:50:12 PM I offer the following amendment:
Quote ARTICLE VI Amendment. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. Delegates have 24 hours to object. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 10, 2016, 08:58:14 PM Do we mean two-thirds/unanimity of all members or just voting members? I think it should be all members.
Otherwise, I am fine with the proposal. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 10, 2016, 09:06:59 PM We also need to specify when a referendum passes. Proposed changes in red:
Quote ARTICLE VI Amendment. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. Any amendment shall be considered ratified if and only if more voters cast an "Aye" vote than the combined number of voters who cast a "Nay" or "Abstain" vote. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 10, 2016, 10:08:52 PM We also need to specify when a referendum passes. Quote Section 11. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum. I agree that "two thirds" should be amended to read "two thirds of all sitting delegates." Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 10, 2016, 10:15:25 PM We also need to specify when a referendum passes. Quote Section 11. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum. I agree that "two thirds" should be amended to read "two thirds of all sitting delegates." Good. I prefer that formulation to having abstentions count, but we've been using the abstentions count rule thus far. I'm happy with your provision, as you've amended it. We also need to say unanimous vote of all sitting delegates, too, I suppose. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 10, 2016, 10:25:12 PM My amended amendment:
Quote ARTICLE VI Amendment. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on July 11, 2016, 04:07:18 PM Aye for the record
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 11, 2016, 09:55:11 PM Seeing no objection, the amendment has been adopted.
I offer the following amendment: Quote ARTICLE V Elections. ... Section 6. Except in December, all elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for Governor and Assembly shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. ... Delegates have 24 hours to object. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 11, 2016, 10:21:28 PM We need the same language for Senate vacancies, as well as constitutional amendments (I think).
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 12, 2016, 01:45:18 AM I think the Committee will have to decide on a new location for the capital and designate that in the preamble. That was the case for the Northeastern Constitution, after all.
A minor detail, perhaps, but the Committee can decide on that after everything else is finished. Maybe we can move the capital to a place more practical than NYC and located near the central part of the region - say, Akron, OH or Erie, PA. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 12, 2016, 04:42:39 AM i'd nominate detroit as the capital
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 12, 2016, 11:56:14 AM Is Detroit capital-oriented? :/
I mean, if we're going Michigan, I'd probably pick Flint before Detroit... :P Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on July 12, 2016, 11:59:26 AM I'd want New York
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 12, 2016, 12:38:56 PM Another point: do we allow voters to select "None of these candidates" for regional elections? Is that something we want to consider adding?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 12, 2016, 01:45:39 PM Another point: do we allow voters to select "None of these candidates" for regional elections? Is that something we want to consider adding? I'd leave that up to the legislature to decide. The Northeast didn't allow it in later years, IIRC. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 13, 2016, 08:31:32 PM Seeing no objection, my amendment has been adopted.
I offer the following amendment (this should be the last one): Quote ARTICLE IV. The Senate. Section 1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof. Section 2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for Governor and Assembly shall be denied the right to vote for Senator. Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the Delegates have 24 hours to object. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 13, 2016, 09:20:42 PM I think we need one more, to make all possible special elections uniform. This is from Article V (Elections):
Quote Section 10. All referendums on referred legislation, proposed amendments to this Constitution, and proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body; but if the passage shall occur on a Thursday, the referendum shall begin on the second Friday following passage. All recall elections shall begin on the first Friday following the receipt of the valid petition for recall; but if the petition is received on a Thursday, the recall election shall begin on the second Friday following receipt. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 13, 2016, 10:35:18 PM I approve of Cinyc's amendment.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 15, 2016, 10:53:43 PM Current version of the Constitution:
Quote We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS Section 1. All people are born free and equal, and accordingly none shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property but by due process of law. Section 2. All citizens shall be afforded equal protection under the laws of this Region. Section 3. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crimes of which the accused has been duly convicted, shall exist within the bounds of this Region. Section 4. The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are together the greatest bulwark against the institution of a despotic government, and accordingly neither shall be withheld or abridged by any public authority. Section 5. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region effecting the establishment of religion, nor obstructing the freedom of worship, and no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this government. Section 6. In accordance with the great precept that all honest governments are founded upon the consent of the governed, and that government ought therefore to be accountable to the people, the right to peaceably assemble and to petition for the redress of grievances shall not be infringed. Section 7. A well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free people, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Section 8. The seizure of private property for public use without just compensation shall be prohibited. Section 9. The right of two consenting adults to marry shall not be denied or abridged on account of gender or sex. Section 10. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, except in times of war or internal rebellion when the public safety may require it. Section 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes, records, communications, and possessions shall not be infringed, nor the warrantless search, seizure, or surveillance of the same permitted; and no warrants shall be issued but upon probable cause, supported by oath of affirmation, and particularly stating the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Section 12. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have right to a speedy and fair trial by a jury of their peers in the state wherein the crime shall have been committed, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted by the witnesses against them, to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in their favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in their defense. No person shall be compelled to bear witness against themselves, nor subjected to excessive bail, nor excessive fines, nor cruel or unusual punishment. Section 13. Insofar as the foundation of any just government is and should be the consent of the governed, and that therefore the people ought to act as the first and greatest bastion against the growth of tyranny, the health and survival of any free nation depends on an educated and thoughtful populace. To this end, it shall be the duty of this government to erect and maintain a system of public schools, open to all minors residing within this Region, and ordered according to the provisions set forth by the legislative power. Section 14. No soldier shall, in times of peace, be lodged in any house or private building without the consent of the owner, nor in times of war except in the manner prescribed by law. Section 15. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region requiring voters to denote their state of residence in the voting booth. Section 16. No budget or appropriation bill shall be passed by the legislative power of this Region for which the totaled expenditures exceed the sum of all revenue collected in the previous year. Section 17. The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed as to deny or disparage those other natural rights and liberties herein unmentioned. ARTICLE I The Legislative Power. Section 1. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in the Assembly of the North. Section 2. The Assembly shall be composed of a number of delegates elected every second month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be a delegate who is not a registered voter of this Region. Section 3. In all elections for the Assembly, the number of delegates to be elected shall be determined according to the number of declared candidates contesting the election. If fewer than five candidates appear on the ballot, then three delegates will be elected; but if six or more candidates appear on the ballot, five will be elected. Section 4. The Assembly shall have the power to determine its own methods of proceedings, to elect its Speaker and other officers, and to judge the qualifications of its members. Section 5. No Regional officer shall be refused the right to introduce legislation in the Assembly, nor shall any rule be made disbarring a group of two or more citizens from exercising the same privilege. Section 6. Every bill passed by the Assembly, before it becomes law, shall first be sent to the Governor. If he approves of it, he should sign it and it will become law; but if he disapproves he may veto it, and it shall be returned to the Assembly. If the Assembly then passes the same bill again by a four fifths vote, it shall become law regardless of the opinion of the Governor. If the Governor fails to either sign or veto a bill within 120 hours of its passage, it shall become law. Section 7. The Assembly may, by a four fifths vote, impeach the Governor for gross negligence or criminal acts; but the Governor shall not be convicted without the concurrence of four fifths of the members present, and the penalty for his conviction shall not exceed removal from office and disbarment from holding any office under this Region for eighteen months. Section 8. Whenever a vacancy should occur in the composition of the Assembly, the Governor shall appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term. If the vacancy arises fewer than 336 hours before the commencement of the next regularly scheduled election, the appointed delegate shall serve the remainder of the present term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new delegate may be elected. ARTICLE II The Executive Power. Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in the Governor of the Northern Region. Section 2. The Governor shall be elected every fourth month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be Governor who is not a registered voter of this Region, nor who has been a citizen thereof for fewer than 720 hours. Section 3. The Governor shall have the power to carry out all acts in association with the enforcement of the laws passed under this Constitution; to fill vacancies in the Assembly; to command the militia in times of war; to appoint, with the consent of the Assembly, the heads of any executive departments which may be established by law; to issue pardons and reprieves for crimes committed under the laws of this Region, which shall be permanent upon their issuance, though he shall have no power to pardon himself; to appoint, in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, the Associate Justice for this Region; and to approve, or veto, all acts passed by the Assembly. Section 4. The governor shall appoint the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth, who shall act as president of the Assembly in the absence of a Speaker, and who shall likewise administer all elections and referendums mandated by this Constitution, except where otherwise stated herein. No person shall be Lieutenant Governor who is not a registered voter of this Commonwealth, nor who is not a sitting delegate in the Assembly. Section 5. Should the Governor, by reason of death, impeachment, recall, or resignation, become unable to execute the duties of his office, then the Lieutenant Governor shall become Acting Governor until a new governor may be elected. If there is no Lieutenant Governor at the time of the vacancy, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall become Acting Governor. If there is neither a Lieutenant Governor nor a Speaker at the time of the vacancy, the delegate with the longest continuous service in the Assembly shall become ActingGovernor. The person serving as Acting Governor need not vacate their post in the Assembly, but they shall have no vote in its proceedings and shall exercise no administrative powers over it so long as they continue to exercise the powers of governor. ARTICLE III The People. Section 1. The people of the Northern Region may initiate the recall of any officer of this Region, except the Associate Justice of the Circuit Court, by delivering to the Lt. Governor a petition stating the reason for recall and signed by one quarter of the total population of the Region. The Lt. Governor shall then open the voting booth, according to the rules and regulations for elections set forth in this Constitution; but if the officer to be recalled is the Lt. Governor, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall open the voting booth. The ballot question shall be, “Shall [A.B.] be recalled from the office of [name of the office held]?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for recall; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against recall. Abstentions will not affect the results. Recalled officers shall forfeit their offices immediately. Section 2. Whenever the Assembly shall be equally divided over any bill, order, or resolution, the Governor may choose to refer the issue to the people. Accordingly, the Lt. Governor shall call a referendum on the proposal, with the ballot question “Shall [name of bill, followed by text] be made law?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for passage; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against passage. Abstentions will not affect the results. Referred legislation shall immediately become law upon its passage by the people. continued in the next post Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 15, 2016, 10:59:37 PM continued from the previous post
Quote ARTICLE IV. The Senate. Section 1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof. Section 2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for Governor and Assembly shall be denied the right to vote for Senator. Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. ARTICLE V. Elections. Section 1. The right to vote in all elections and referendums called according to the provisions of this Constitution shall be exclusive to those persons being eligible to vote in elections for President of the Republic of Atlasia who have been registered to vote in one of the states of this Region for a period of at least 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 2. Voters shall be permitted to edit their ballots until 20 minutes after posting them in the voting booth. No voter shall edit their ballot after the official end of the voting period. Section 3. All elections and referendums of this Region shall be administered by the Lt. Governor. Whenever the Lt. Governor is unable to execute this duty, the Speaker of the Assembly shall administer the election. Section 4. Elections for Governor shall be held in the months of February, June, and October. Elections for Assembly shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December. Section 5. Candidates for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate must declare their candidacy in the appropriate thread by 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Wednesday preceding the election in order to appear on the ballot. Section 6. Except in December, all elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for Governor and Assembly shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 7. Following the expiration of the voting period, the election administrator shall have 24 hours to produce a tally of the votes cast and to announce the persons elected. Section 8. All elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. Section 9. The terms of the elected Governor and delegates shall begin at 12:00:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Friday following their election. Prior to assuming office, all officers shall swear the following oath: “I, [A.B.], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [state office name] and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitutions of the Northern Region and the Republic of Atlasia.” Section 10. All referendums on referred legislation, proposed amendments to this Constitution, and proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body; but if the passage shall occur on a Thursday, the referendum shall begin on the second Friday following passage. All recall elections shall begin on the first Friday following the receipt of the valid petition for recall; but if the petition is received on a Thursday, the recall election shall begin on the second Friday following receipt. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. Section 11. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum. ARTICLE VI Amendment. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. Whenever the total body of delegates should be five in number, a two thirds of all sitting delegates vote shall be sufficient to propose amendments; but when the number of delegates should be three, a unanimous vote of all sitting delegates shall be required. Amendments shall become operative following their ratification by a public referendum. Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. ARTICLE VII Implementation. Section 1. The assent of a three fifths of the voting citizens of this Region shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the first regularly scheduled elections. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 15, 2016, 11:02:00 PM Delegates have 24 hours to nominate a city to serve as the seat of government for this Region. After the 24 hours have elapsed, we will hold a 24 hour STV vote to determine the capital.
I nominate Boston, Massachusetts. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 16, 2016, 01:57:12 AM I nominate New York City, New York.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 16, 2016, 05:25:38 AM nominating detroit
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 16, 2016, 12:06:30 PM Pittsburgh, PA
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on July 16, 2016, 02:42:36 PM I nominate New York City, New York. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 16, 2016, 11:08:12 PM We will now proceed with a final vote on the capital city of the North. Please rank the following options according to your preference. Voting will last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached.
OFFICIAL BALLOT Principle Vote on the Seat of Government [ ] Boston, Massachusetts [ ] Detroit, Michigan [ ] New York City, New York [ ] Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 16, 2016, 11:08:54 PM OFFICIAL BALLOT Principle Vote on the Seat of Government [ 1 ] Boston, Massachusetts [ 4 ] Detroit, Michigan [ 2 ] New York City, New York [ 3 ] Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 17, 2016, 12:04:32 AM 1. New York City, New York
2. Boston, Massachusetts 3. Detroit, Michigan 4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 17, 2016, 12:09:56 AM OFFICIAL BALLOT Principle Vote on the Seat of Government [4] Boston, Massachusetts [3] Detroit, Michigan [2] New York City, New York [1] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 17, 2016, 04:02:17 AM [1] detroit
[2] pittsburgh [3] new york city [4] boston Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 17, 2016, 10:38:44 AM I strongly recommend a more centralized location for the regional capital than Boston or New York. Detroit would be an excellent choice because of its location and having the regional capital would do wonders for the city's struggling economy.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 17, 2016, 04:03:38 PM I'd recommend basically any city that's not NYC. It's already housed a region's capital before, and as I recall some people (myself included) were pushing for a more appropriate capital location that wasn't already a hotbed for the financial and entertainment industries. On principle, I'd personally favor a capital closer to the former Mideastern states because the Northern region shouldn't be seen as merely an extension of the former Northeast.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 17, 2016, 04:17:04 PM New York City would be great for a capital. It would help the prestige of our capital and encourage growth in an area many people live in. Boston, meanwhile, has lots of room for more development and is probably the one which will be the best in ten years economically if we pick it.
Detroit, frankly, needs to have a huge part of the city demolished and rebuilt. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 17, 2016, 04:41:07 PM New York City would be great for a capital. It would help the prestige of our capital and encourage growth in an area many people live in. It already has. Time to start fresh. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on July 17, 2016, 04:54:01 PM 1. NY
2. Boston 3. Pittsburgh 4. Detroit Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 17, 2016, 11:24:23 PM New York City, New York has been selected as the seat of government for the Northern Region.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 17, 2016, 11:48:59 PM jesus wept
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 18, 2016, 01:35:14 AM Jesus wept. - John 10:35, KJV FTFY Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 19, 2016, 08:47:40 PM Is this it?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 19, 2016, 10:21:04 PM I offer the following amendment:
Quote ARTICLE VII Implementation. Section 1. The assent of a three fifths of the voting citizens of this Region shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the first regularly scheduled elections. Section 3. The seat of government shall be at New York City, New York; but the Assembly may designate another city as the temporary capital in times of crisis. This incorporates the results of the last principle vote. Delegates have 24 hours to object. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 20, 2016, 12:24:51 AM I offer the following amendment: Quote ARTICLE VII Implementation. Section 1. The assent of a three fifths of the voting citizens of this Region shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the first regularly scheduled elections. Section 3. The seat of government shall be at New York City, New York; but the Assembly may designate another city as the temporary capital in times of crisis. This incorporates the results of the last principle vote. Delegates have 24 hours to object. I object to the clause "but the Assembly may designate another city as the temporary capital in times of crisis." Crisis is too vague a term. I propose it say "times of war" instead or the clause be completely deleted. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 20, 2016, 05:37:39 PM I propose "crisis, as determined with the recommendation of the Governor or Speaker and confirmed by four-fifths or more of all voting members of the Assembly..."
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 20, 2016, 06:50:11 PM what about having a public referendum on the capital in conjunction with the ratification vote, actually?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 20, 2016, 08:16:48 PM I propose "crisis, as determined with the recommendation of the Governor or Speaker and confirmed by four-fifths or more of all voting members of the Assembly..." what about having a public referendum on the capital in conjunction with the ratification vote, actually? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 20, 2016, 08:33:46 PM On second thought, I think it's best to just pass this and let the Assembly debate any further changes to the Region's capital. I will strike the crisis clause from my original amendment; if there are no objections in 24 hours, we will move forward with a final vote on the proposed Constitution.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 20, 2016, 08:47:44 PM That's a better idea. The Assembly can set the terms for the referendum and so forth.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 22, 2016, 04:22:02 PM One last amendment:
Quote ARTICLE VII As the election mandated by Section 2 will likely take place in early August, this removes the need for a redundant second election two weeks after the initial vote.Implementation. Section 1. The assent of a three fifths of the voting citizens of this Region shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the Section 3. The seat of government shall be at New York City, New York. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on July 22, 2016, 04:29:11 PM I support this
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 22, 2016, 11:32:21 PM I support this, too.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 23, 2016, 01:47:46 AM I also support this.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 23, 2016, 01:26:32 PM One last amendment I support this I support this, too. I also support this. With four delegates in favor, this amendment has been ADOPTED! Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 23, 2016, 01:27:13 PM Current text:
Quote We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS Section 1. All people are born free and equal, and accordingly none shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property but by due process of law. Section 2. All citizens shall be afforded equal protection under the laws of this Region. Section 3. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crimes of which the accused has been duly convicted, shall exist within the bounds of this Region. Section 4. The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are together the greatest bulwark against the institution of a despotic government, and accordingly neither shall be withheld or abridged by any public authority. Section 5. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region effecting the establishment of religion, nor obstructing the freedom of worship, and no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this government. Section 6. In accordance with the great precept that all honest governments are founded upon the consent of the governed, and that government ought therefore to be accountable to the people, the right to peaceably assemble and to petition for the redress of grievances shall not be infringed. Section 7. A well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free people, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Section 8. The seizure of private property for public use without just compensation shall be prohibited. Section 9. The right of two consenting adults to marry shall not be denied or abridged on account of gender or sex. Section 10. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, except in times of war or internal rebellion when the public safety may require it. Section 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes, records, communications, and possessions shall not be infringed, nor the warrantless search, seizure, or surveillance of the same permitted; and no warrants shall be issued but upon probable cause, supported by oath of affirmation, and particularly stating the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Section 12. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have right to a speedy and fair trial by a jury of their peers in the state wherein the crime shall have been committed, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted by the witnesses against them, to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in their favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in their defense. No person shall be compelled to bear witness against themselves, nor subjected to excessive bail, nor excessive fines, nor cruel or unusual punishment. Section 13. Insofar as the foundation of any just government is and should be the consent of the governed, and that therefore the people ought to act as the first and greatest bastion against the growth of tyranny, the health and survival of any free nation depends on an educated and thoughtful populace. To this end, it shall be the duty of this government to erect and maintain a system of public schools, open to all minors residing within this Region, and ordered according to the provisions set forth by the legislative power. Section 14. No soldier shall, in times of peace, be lodged in any house or private building without the consent of the owner, nor in times of war except in the manner prescribed by law. Section 15. No law shall be enforced or enacted by this Region requiring voters to denote their state of residence in the voting booth. Section 16. No budget or appropriation bill shall be passed by the legislative power of this Region for which the totaled expenditures exceed the sum of all revenue collected in the previous year. Section 17. The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed as to deny or disparage those other natural rights and liberties herein unmentioned. ARTICLE I The Legislative Power. Section 1. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in the Assembly of the North. Section 2. The Assembly shall be composed of a number of delegates elected every second month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be a delegate who is not a registered voter of this Region. Section 3. In all elections for the Assembly, the number of delegates to be elected shall be determined according to the number of declared candidates contesting the election. If five or fewer candidates appear on the ballot, then three delegates will be elected; but if six or more candidates appear on the ballot, five will be elected. Section 4. The Assembly shall have the power to determine its own methods of proceedings, to elect its Speaker and other officers, and to judge the qualifications of its members. Section 5. No Regional officer shall be refused the right to introduce legislation in the Assembly, nor shall any rule be made disbarring a group of two or more citizens from exercising the same privilege. Section 6. Every bill passed by the Assembly, before it becomes law, shall first be sent to the Governor. If he approves of it, he should sign it and it will become law; but if he disapproves he may veto it, and it shall be returned to the Assembly. If the Assembly then passes the same bill again by a four fifths vote, it shall become law regardless of the opinion of the Governor. If the Governor fails to either sign or veto a bill within 120 hours of its passage, it shall become law. Section 7. The Assembly may, by a four fifths vote, impeach the Governor for gross negligence or criminal acts; but the Governor shall not be convicted without the concurrence of four fifths of the members present, and the penalty for his conviction shall not exceed removal from office and disbarment from holding any office under this Region for eighteen months. Section 8. Whenever a vacancy should occur in the composition of the Assembly, the Governor shall appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term. If the vacancy arises fewer than 336 hours before the commencement of the next regularly scheduled election, the appointed delegate shall serve the remainder of the present term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new delegate may be elected. ARTICLE II The Executive Power. Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in the Governor of the Northern Region. Section 2. The Governor shall be elected every fourth month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be Governor who is not a registered voter of this Region, nor who has been a citizen thereof for fewer than 720 hours. Section 3. The Governor shall have the power to carry out all acts in association with the enforcement of the laws passed under this Constitution; to fill vacancies in the Assembly; to command the militia in times of war; to appoint, with the consent of the Assembly, the heads of any executive departments which may be established by law; to issue pardons and reprieves for crimes committed under the laws of this Region, which shall be permanent upon their issuance, though he shall have no power to pardon himself; to appoint, in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, the Associate Justice for this Region; and to approve, or veto, all acts passed by the Assembly. Section 4. The governor shall appoint the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth, who shall act as president of the Assembly in the absence of a Speaker, and who shall likewise administer all elections and referendums mandated by this Constitution, except where otherwise stated herein. No person shall be Lieutenant Governor who is not a registered voter of this Commonwealth, nor who is not a sitting delegate in the Assembly. Section 5. Should the Governor, by reason of death, impeachment, recall, or resignation, become unable to execute the duties of his office, then the Lieutenant Governor shall become Acting Governor until a new governor may be elected. If there is no Lieutenant Governor at the time of the vacancy, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall become Acting Governor. If there is neither a Lieutenant Governor nor a Speaker at the time of the vacancy, the delegate with the longest continuous service in the Assembly shall become ActingGovernor. The person serving as Acting Governor need not vacate their post in the Assembly, but they shall have no vote in its proceedings and shall exercise no administrative powers over it so long as they continue to exercise the powers of governor. ARTICLE III The People. Section 1. The people of the Northern Region may initiate the recall of any officer of this Region, except the Associate Justice of the Circuit Court, by delivering to the Lt. Governor a petition stating the reason for recall and signed by one quarter of the total population of the Region. The Lt. Governor shall then open the voting booth, according to the rules and regulations for elections set forth in this Constitution; but if the officer to be recalled is the Lt. Governor, then the Speaker of the Assembly shall open the voting booth. The ballot question shall be, “Shall [A.B.] be recalled from the office of [name of the office held]?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for recall; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against recall. Abstentions will not affect the results. Recalled officers shall forfeit their offices immediately. Section 2. Whenever the Assembly shall be equally divided over any bill, order, or resolution, the Governor may choose to refer the issue to the people. Accordingly, the Lt. Governor shall call a referendum on the proposal, with the ballot question “Shall [name of bill, followed by text] be made law?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for passage; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against passage. Abstentions will not affect the results. Referred legislation shall immediately become law upon its passage by the people. continued in the next post Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 23, 2016, 01:28:07 PM continued from the previous post
Quote ARTICLE IV. The Senate. Section 1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof. Section 2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for Governor and Assembly shall be denied the right to vote for Senator. Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. ARTICLE V. Elections. Section 1. The right to vote in all elections and referendums called according to the provisions of this Constitution shall be exclusive to those persons being eligible to vote in elections for President of the Republic of Atlasia who have been registered to vote in one of the states of this Region for a period of at least 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 2. Voters shall be permitted to edit their ballots until 20 minutes after posting them in the voting booth. No voter shall edit their ballot after the official end of the voting period. Section 3. All elections and referendums of this Region shall be administered by the Lt. Governor. Whenever the Lt. Governor is unable to execute this duty, the Speaker of the Assembly shall administer the election. Section 4. Elections for Governor shall be held in the months of February, June, and October. Elections for Assembly shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December. Section 5. Candidates for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate must declare their candidacy in the appropriate thread by 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Wednesday preceding the election in order to appear on the ballot. Section 6. Except in December, all elections for Governor, Assembly, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for Governor and Assembly shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election. Section 7. Following the expiration of the voting period, the election administrator shall have 24 hours to produce a tally of the votes cast and to announce the persons elected. Section 8. All elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. Section 9. The terms of the elected Governor and delegates shall begin at 12:00:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Friday following their election. Prior to assuming office, all officers shall swear the following oath: “I, [A.B.], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [state office name] and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitutions of the Northern Region and the Republic of Atlasia.” Section 10. All referendums on referred legislation, proposed amendments to this Constitution, and proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body; but if the passage shall occur on a Thursday, the referendum shall begin on the second Friday following passage. All recall elections shall begin on the first Friday following the receipt of the valid petition for recall; but if the petition is received on a Thursday, the recall election shall begin on the second Friday following receipt. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. Section 11. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum. ARTICLE VI Amendment. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. Whenever the total body of delegates should be five in number, a two thirds of all sitting delegates vote shall be sufficient to propose amendments; but when the number of delegates should be three, a unanimous vote of all sitting delegates shall be required. Amendments shall become operative following their ratification by a public referendum. Section 2. The Region shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum. ARTICLE VII Implementation. Section 1. The assent of a three fifths of the voting citizens of this Region shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution. Section 2. Following the ratification of this Constitution, the president of the Legislative Committee shall organize the election of a Governor and Assembly to serve until the regularly scheduled October elections. Section 3. The seat of government shall be determined by a referendum conducted alongside the vote mandated by Section 1 of this Article, and once established shall not be changed but by the method prescribed for the amendment of this Constitution. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 23, 2016, 01:37:41 PM Section 3 of article 7 is being written out, I thought?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 23, 2016, 01:58:41 PM Section 3 of article 7 is being written out, I thought? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 23, 2016, 02:51:49 PM Section 3 of article 7 is being written out, I thought? I think it might be a good idea to just remove the section entirely and leave the process of selecting the capital to referendum via citizens suggesting cities and then voting on them. I'll PM you a draft I'd written up a few days ago. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 23, 2016, 09:54:33 PM Cross-posting:
Quote As the founder of NMEA, I oppose the current draft constitution for the Northern Region as written and will continue to oppose it until the capital is moved to a more centralized location and there are protections put in place to protect the people of the Mideast. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 23, 2016, 10:40:08 PM One nit:
Article I, Section 3 says that if fewer than 5 run for Assembly, 3 are elected, but if 6 or more run, 5 are elected. What happens if there are just 5 is unclear. Fewer than 5 should probably be 5 or fewer, no? Otherwise, the draft looks okay. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 23, 2016, 10:41:29 PM Cross-posting: Quote As the founder of NMEA, I oppose the current draft constitution for the Northern Region as written and will continue to oppose it until the capital is moved to a more centralized location and there are protections put in place to protect the people of the Mideast. The capital of the old Mideast was in Maryland, which was hardly a central location for the region. I offered Pittsburgh, which is pretty central, but no one voted for it but me. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 23, 2016, 10:55:00 PM Fewer than 5 should probably be 5 or fewer, no? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 23, 2016, 11:04:59 PM At Scott's request, I offer the following amendment:
Quote ARTICLE VII Implementation. ... Section 3. The seat of government shall be at New York City, New York, until otherwise specified by law. I am interested to here what the rest of the Committee thinks of this. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 23, 2016, 11:57:59 PM At Scott's request, I offer the following amendment: Quote ARTICLE VII Implementation. ... Section 3. The seat of government shall be at New York City, New York, until otherwise specified by law. I am interested to here what the rest of the Committee thinks of this. I don't like the idea of the capital being changed by simple law. It makes incessant capital moves more likely, which is costly. It should be in the constitution. I have no problem holding a referendum on the capital congruent with the ratification vote. Give people until the Thursday before the vote to nominate cities. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 24, 2016, 08:45:18 PM I have no problem holding a referendum on the capital congruent with the ratification vote. Give people until the Thursday before the vote to nominate cities. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 26, 2016, 12:06:03 AM Okay, since apparently nobody else has anything to say on the matter, I propose that we (a) immediately strike Section 3 of Article VII; and (b) adopt Scott's bill mandating a referendum on the Regional capital alongside the ratification vote on the Constitution. If there are no objections, we will move ahead with a final vote on the Constitution posted above, less 7.3, on Wednesday morning.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 26, 2016, 09:36:51 AM Okay, since apparently nobody else has anything to say on the matter, I propose that we (a) immediately strike Section 3 of Article VII; and (b) adopt Scott's bill mandating a referendum on the Regional capital alongside the ratification vote on the Constitution. If there are no objections, we will move ahead with a final vote on the Constitution posted above, less 7.3, on Wednesday morning. Where is Scott's bill? I think we shouldn't strike Section 3, but say "The capital of the North shall be determined by the referendum run at the time of the ratification of this constitution." Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 26, 2016, 01:39:04 PM Okay, since apparently nobody else has anything to say on the matter, I propose that we (a) immediately strike Section 3 of Article VII; and (b) adopt Scott's bill mandating a referendum on the Regional capital alongside the ratification vote on the Constitution. If there are no objections, we will move ahead with a final vote on the Constitution posted above, less 7.3, on Wednesday morning. Where is Scott's bill? I think we shouldn't strike Section 3, but say "The capital of the North shall be determined by the referendum run at the time of the ratification of this constitution." I'll send it to you. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 27, 2016, 12:39:04 AM I respectfully introduce the following amendment to the Declaration of Rights. I hope that this illustrious committee at least takes up a debate on this amendment. I am willing to discuss this issue through PM if it means we can come up with a compromise.
Quote Section 18. No law shall be passed that disproportionally advantages or disadvantages one subregion of the North over the other Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 27, 2016, 12:43:49 AM I object to Gass's amendment and call it out in the most extreme way possible for its vagueness and lack of specifics.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 27, 2016, 01:46:38 AM I object to Gass's amendment and call it out in the most extreme way possible for its vagueness and lack of specifics. Help me figure out a way to make it better. What specifics would you like to see added? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 27, 2016, 03:10:57 AM I object to Gass's amendment and call it out in the most extreme way possible for its vagueness and lack of specifics. Help me figure out a way to make it better. What specifics would you like to see added? Define a law biased towards a certain region. Otherwise, "no! we can't have legal coastal ports! That's bias towards the coast!" could be an argument. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: SUSAN CRUSHBONE on July 27, 2016, 04:04:45 AM I object to Gass's amendment and call it out in the most extreme way possible for its vagueness and lack of specifics. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 27, 2016, 09:15:47 AM I object to Gass's amendment and call it out in the most extreme way possible for its vagueness and lack of specifics. Help me figure out a way to make it better. What specifics would you like to see added? Define a law biased towards a certain region. Otherwise, "no! we can't have legal coastal ports! That's bias towards the coast!" could be an argument. Well in that situation the argument would be that there should also be legal ports on the Great Lakes. I do think there is a compromise somewhere to be found on this issue. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 27, 2016, 11:01:28 AM Could the gentleman from Wisconsin explain why he feels this amendment is necessary? In particular, I would like to hear why the protections set in place by Section 2 of the Declaration of Rights ("All citizens shall be afforded equal protection under the laws of this Region") is not a sufficient safeguard against sectional bias.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 27, 2016, 11:38:29 AM I object to Gass's amendment and call it out in the most extreme way possible for its vagueness and lack of specifics. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 27, 2016, 12:12:44 PM How about this:
Quote We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, united regardless of past region or history, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 27, 2016, 07:19:21 PM How about this: Quote We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, united regardless of past region or history, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region. In regards to your original amendment, would something like this: Quote from: U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9 No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another... be an acceptable compromise? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 28, 2016, 12:09:01 AM How about this: Quote We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, united regardless of past region or history, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region. In regards to your original amendment, would something like this: Quote from: U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9 No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another... be an acceptable compromise? Is there a way we can make it more general rather than explicitly on ports? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on July 29, 2016, 12:39:34 AM With all due respect to Gass, I really don't see the need for this amendment at all and I would advise the Committee to vote it down unless its supporters can come up with a pressing need for the amendment or an example of a situation that would necessitate its existence. The Constitution already affords the same rights to all people as written, so residence in historical boundaries should apply. I say this as someone who's voiced support for moving the capital to a more central location to ensure fairness and respect to the people of the old Mideast.
Maybe I'm being impatient, but I believe this whole process has been very thorough and seeing as we're the last region not to have a government yet in place, we ought to think about wrapping things up. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 29, 2016, 01:30:00 PM Is there a way we can make it more general rather than explicitly on ports? On further consideration, I have to concur with Scott: the protections set in place by Section 2 of the Declaration of Rights are more than sufficient to guard against the potential for sectional bias, and an attempt to further expand on this topic could end up doing more harm than good by inadvertently striking down positive examples of sectionally-conscious legislation (e.g. farm subsidies). In accordance with Cynic's suggestion, I offer the following amendment: Quote ARTICLE VII Implementation. ... Section 3. The seat of government shall be determined by a referendum conducted alongside the vote mandated by Section 1 of this Article, and once established shall not be changed but by the method prescribed for the amendment of this Constitution. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Gass3268 on July 29, 2016, 11:49:12 PM I will withdraw my concern, if we can get a bill passed early in the first session that more explicitly deals with this issue. Would that be possible?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 29, 2016, 11:51:41 PM I will withdraw my concern, if we can get a bill passed early in the first session that more explicitly deals with this issue. Would that be possible? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on July 30, 2016, 03:12:31 AM I will withdraw my concern, if we can get a bill passed early in the first session that more explicitly deals with this issue. Would that be possible? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 30, 2016, 11:07:14 AM Truman's proposed change looks good to me. I'd vote Aye.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 30, 2016, 02:26:51 PM Seeing no objection, the amendment has been ADOPTED.
As such, and seeing no further debate, I motion for a FINAL VOTE on the proposed Constitution of the North. Delegates have 24 hours to object. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 30, 2016, 09:27:59 PM I think you technically need to get my blessing to do so under the rules we promulgated. I have no objection to voting on the proposed constitution now.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 30, 2016, 11:40:51 PM I also third for a final vote, and with no objections appearing we should be able to go to a vote, especially if someone fourths it.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 31, 2016, 07:16:55 PM I think you technically need to get my blessing to do so under the rules we promulgated. I have no objection to voting on the proposed constitution now. The proposed Constitution may be read in full here. (https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=237585.msg5175578#msg5175578) Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on July 31, 2016, 07:19:52 PM AYE!
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on July 31, 2016, 07:24:49 PM Aye!
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on July 31, 2016, 11:14:01 PM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on August 01, 2016, 05:12:32 AM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on August 01, 2016, 05:49:24 AM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on August 02, 2016, 08:01:10 PM With five delegates in favor and none opposed - by a unanimous vote - the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region has PASSED this committee.
I introduce the following bill authorizing a referendum on this Constitution and a simultaneous vote on the capital of the North as mandated by Article VII, Section 3 of the document. Quote AN ACT to organize a Referendum on the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region and on the seat of government thereof WHEREAS, this Committee, acting in accordance with the Tenth Article of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, has approved by a unanimous vote the draft of the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region; WHEREAS, the provisions of the aforementioned proposal require that it be ratified by a vote of the People of the North before taking effect; Be it enacted by the Legislative Committee of the Northern Region; Section 1 (Referendum on Ratification) i. The proposed Constitution of the Northern Region shall be put to a vote of the people. ii. The Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM (EST) on Friday, August 12. Voting will last exactly 72 hours from the moment that the voting booth becomes officially open, and any vote cast outside of this period shall be counted invalid. iii. The ballot question shall be, "Shall the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region be ratified?" A vote of "YES" shall be considered a vote in favor of ratification, and a vote of "NO" shall be counted as a vote against ratification. A simple majority of all "YES" and "NO" votes shall be required to ratify the proposed Constitution. Abstentions shall not affect the results. iv. The proposed Constitution shall become effective immediately upon the moment of its ratification. Section 2 (Selection of the Seat of Government) i. The Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall open a thread wherein citizens of the North may nominate cities for this Region's seat of government. ii. Any citizen of the North may nominate a city pursuant to the first clause of this Section. In order to be considered valid, nominated cities must exist within the territory of the Northern Region and must be seconded by another citizen. iii. When opening the voting booth for the referendum mandated by Section 1 of this Act, the Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall include on the ballot a referendum on the seat of this Region's government. iv. The method of voting in this referendum shall be Instant Runoff Voting. In order to be selected as the seat of government, a nominated city must receive a majority of the votes cast. Write-ins shall not be permitted. Abstentions shall not affect the results. Section 3 (Election of the First Government) i. In accordance with the Seventh Article of the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region, the election of the Governor and Assembly of the Northern Region shall be held following the ratification of the proposed Constitution. ii. In the event of ratification, the Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM (EST) on Friday, August 19. Voting shall last 72 hours from the moment that the voting booth becomes officially open. iii. In order to be included on the ballot, all candidates for Governor and Assembly must declare their candidacy in the Candidate Declaration Thread on or before 12:00:00 AM (EST) on Wednesday, August 17. All declarations of candidacy made prior to the passage of this Act shall be considered valid. iv. The election shall be conducted according to the provisions of the Constitution of the Northern Region. The method for electing the Governor shall be Instant Runoff Voting. The method for electing the Assembly shall be Single Transferable Vote. v. The elected Governor and Assembly shall assume office upon the certification of the results of the election by the Chairman of the Legislative Committee. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on August 02, 2016, 09:33:05 PM Why next Friday instead of this Friday?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: The world will shine with light in our nightmare on August 02, 2016, 09:38:22 PM Are the people voting on the Constitution and the capital at the same time?
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on August 02, 2016, 09:47:38 PM Are the people voting on the Constitution and the capital at the same time? Yes. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on August 02, 2016, 10:50:21 PM Why next Friday instead of this Friday? Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on August 03, 2016, 12:16:45 AM Any further actions by this Committee ought merely to ensure the proper transition to our new government.
I support the extension to next Friday. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on August 03, 2016, 01:01:23 PM It's already Wednesday, so we might as well wait until next week at this point. The bill looks fine to me.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on August 04, 2016, 07:07:57 PM Seeing no further debate, I call a final vote on the proposed electoral bill. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain. Voting will last 24 hours or until a majority has been reached.
Quote AN ACT to organize a Referendum on the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region and on the seat of government thereof WHEREAS, this Committee, acting in accordance with the Tenth Article of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, has approved by a unanimous vote the draft of the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region; WHEREAS, the provisions of the aforementioned proposal require that it be ratified by a vote of the People of the North before taking effect; Be it enacted by the Legislative Committee of the Northern Region; Section 1 (Referendum on Ratification) i. The proposed Constitution of the Northern Region shall be put to a vote of the people. ii. The Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM (EST) on Friday, August 12. Voting will last exactly 72 hours from the moment that the voting booth becomes officially open, and any vote cast outside of this period shall be counted invalid. iii. The ballot question shall be, "Shall the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region be ratified?" A vote of "YES" shall be considered a vote in favor of ratification, and a vote of "NO" shall be counted as a vote against ratification. A simple majority of all "YES" and "NO" votes shall be required to ratify the proposed Constitution. Abstentions shall not affect the results. iv. The proposed Constitution shall become effective immediately upon the moment of its ratification. Section 2 (Selection of the Seat of Government) i. The Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall open a thread wherein citizens of the North may nominate cities for this Region's seat of government. ii. Any citizen of the North may nominate a city pursuant to the first clause of this Section. In order to be considered valid, nominated cities must exist within the territory of the Northern Region and must be seconded by another citizen. iii. When opening the voting booth for the referendum mandated by Section 1 of this Act, the Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall include on the ballot a referendum on the seat of this Region's government. iv. The method of voting in this referendum shall be Instant Runoff Voting. In order to be selected as the seat of government, a nominated city must receive a majority of the votes cast. Write-ins shall not be permitted. Abstentions shall not affect the results. Section 3 (Election of the First Government) i. In accordance with the Seventh Article of the proposed Constitution of the Northern Region, the election of the Governor and Assembly of the Northern Region shall be held following the ratification of the proposed Constitution. ii. In the event of ratification, the Chairman of the Legislative Committee shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM (EST) on Friday, August 19. Voting shall last 72 hours from the moment that the voting booth becomes officially open. iii. In order to be included on the ballot, all candidates for Governor and Assembly must declare their candidacy in the Candidate Declaration Thread on or before 12:00:00 AM (EST) on Wednesday, August 17. All declarations of candidacy made prior to the passage of this Act shall be considered valid. iv. The election shall be conducted according to the provisions of the Constitution of the Northern Region. The method for electing the Governor shall be Instant Runoff Voting. The method for electing the Assembly shall be Single Transferable Vote. v. The elected Governor and Assembly shall assume office upon the certification of the results of the election by the Chairman of the Legislative Committee. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on August 04, 2016, 07:19:35 PM AYE!
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Kingpoleon on August 04, 2016, 07:22:37 PM AYE
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN on August 05, 2016, 05:58:39 AM AYE
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on August 05, 2016, 12:23:13 PM Aye
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on August 05, 2016, 12:50:59 PM With a majority in favor, this bill has PASSED the Committee.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Blair on August 05, 2016, 01:00:58 PM aye ftr
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on August 10, 2016, 09:52:23 PM I offer the following proposal for your consideration:
Quote AN ACT to provide for the election of an active government Section 1. No person shall appear on the ballot as a candidate for the Assembly on the Northern Region who has made no post either on the Fantasy Government Board, the Fantasy Elections Board, or the Regional Governments Board within two weeks of the scheduled commencement of the election. There are currently five declared candidates for Northern Assembly who, under the provisions of the recently passed electoral bill, qualify to appear on the ballot: these are Clyde1998, Danderns, FairBol, lwp2004, and Spark498. Two of these candidates - Spark and Danderns - have not posted in Atlasia for weeks, possibly months (I lost patience after scrolling through all of Spark's July posts without finding a single comment made in Atlasia). This is highly problematic, because the number of candidates running for Assembly determines the size of that chamber. If both Spark and Danderns remain on the ballot and one more candidate enters the race, the number of seats up for election would jump to five despite the absence of real interest to justify that increase. This bill would allow me to remove these zombies from the ballot, providing a legislature sized to fit the actual state of affairs in our Region. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: cinyc on August 14, 2016, 09:20:49 PM I don't think we have the power to make rules about who can run for Assembly. That's something that should have been put in the constitution.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Clyde1998 on August 14, 2016, 09:28:39 PM I don't think we have the power to make rules about who can run for Assembly. That's something that should have been put in the constitution. Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Unconditional Surrender Truman on August 22, 2016, 03:25:41 PM With the election of a regular government for the Northern Region, in accordance with Article X, Section 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia and Article V of the Rules of Order, I hereby declare this Committee to be DISSOLVED.
Title: Re: Northern Regional Committee Post by: Poirot on August 22, 2016, 09:39:32 PM Thank you committee members for taking up the big challenge of writing the regional constitution.
|