Talk Elections

Section 1: Votes
1. In their vote in the Elections to the House and the Presidency, each voter shall list some, none, or all of the candidates in the voter's order of preference for them.
2. If no numbering of the preferences is stated, then the candidate at the top of the list shall be presumed to be the first preference, the candidate on the second line of the list shall be presumed to be the second preference, and so on.
3. A voter may cast a write-in vote in any election, except a runoff election.
4. In order to write-in a candidate, the voter shall not be required to explicitly specify that their vote is for a write-in candidate.
5. In order for write-in votes for a candidate to qualify as countable votes, the person written-in must formally accept the write-in candidacy before the end of voting in the given election.
6. A voter may vote for "None of the Above" in any election, except a runoff election. Any voter may vote "None of the Above"; any and all lower preferences of the voter shall be ignored.
7. Persons who edit their post in which their vote(s) are contained at the place of voting after twenty minutes shall have their vote counted as void. Campaigning shall also be prohibited in the voting booth and shall result in the disqualification of their vote.

Section 2: Determination of the Winner
1. If any candidate shall gain a majority of highest preference votes, then that candidate shall be declared the winner of the election.
2. If no candidate has a majority of highest preference votes, the candidate with the fewest highest preferences shall be eliminated, and their votes redistributed according to the next-highest preferences of the voters.
3. If, after the implementation of Clause 2 of this Section, any candidate shall have a majority of the highest preference votes, then that candidate shall be declared the winner of the election. If no such candidate shall exist, then Clause 2 of this Section shall be implemented again until such a candidate does exist, or until all candidates have the same number of highest preference votes.
4. If two or more candidates are tied for the least number of highest preference votes, but none of those candidates are tied for the greatest number of highest preference votes, then the following procedure shall be used to determine which candidate is eliminated:
     a. The candidate with the least total number of preferences expressed by voters shall be eliminated.
     b. The Senate shall vote on which candidate to eliminate, with the Vice President being able to cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary.

Section 3: Runoff Elections
1. If all remaining candidates shall have the same number of highest preference votes, then the following procedure shall be used to break the tie:
2. Runoff elections shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the first Thursday after the initial election and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after the beginning.
3. Those candidates who have tied shall be automatically entered onto the ballot. No other candidacies shall be allowed.
4. Voters shall only be able to cast a vote for one candidate.
5. If any candidate shall gain a majority of the votes cast, then he shall be declared winner.
6. In the event that litigation is pending before the Supreme Court at the time a runoff is due to be held, the Supreme Court may delay the runoff in a specified manner if it thinks the result of such litigation would have a substantive impact on the runoff.

Section 4: Tied Runoff Elections
If the Runoff Election procedure specified in section 4 results in a tie, then:
1. One of the tied candidates may concede their portion of the term. The rules for determining the winner shall proceed based on as if the number tied candidates is reduced by one.
2. The two candidates shall each serve for one half of a term.
     a. The two candidates will be allowed to determine the order in which the term is split.
     b. If no agreement is reached regarding the order of the terms that each candidate serves in, if   
         one of the tied candidates is an incumbent, then that candidate shall serve the first session.
     c. If both of the tied candidates are incumbents, due to redistricting or other circumstances, or if
        neither of the candidates are incumbents, and no agreement has been reached regarding the
        order of the terms that each candidate serves in, then the candidates shall serve in alphabetical
        order, going by their names used on the Registered Voter Roll.
3. In the event of a tie between more than two candidates:
     a. The tied candidates may make any agreement they see fit.
     b. If an agreement cannot be made by (a), the Senate shall either:
                1. Select one candidate to serve the entire term.
                2. Select a schedule that will allow all tied candidates to serve a portion of the term.
4. If one of the term sharing senators resigns or is elected or appointed to another office, than the other will serve out the remainder of the term.

Section 5: None of the Above
If, in an election, the None of the Above option shall have gained more votes than each candidate, then a new election shall be held under the following procedure
1. The new election shall be held between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the second Thursday after the initial election and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter at 1800 Eastern Standard Time on the second Thursday after the election, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after the beginning.
2. None of the candidates defeated by the None of the Above option in the original may be declared candidates in the new election. However, a voter may still write-in any such candidate.
3. The candidacy declaration deadline for the new election shall be the same as for special elections.
4. Except as regards Clause 2 of this Section, all other provisions of this Act shall apply to the new election.

Section 6: Absentee Voting
1. As mandated by Article V, Section 2, Clause 8 of the Federal Constitution, all voters shall have the right to cast absentee votes after the candidacy declaration period has expired.
2. Upon the candidacy declaration deadline occurring the Secretary of Federal Elections or Deputy Secretary of Federal Elections shall establish a thread for absentee voting which shall include a full ballot. In the event that a runoff is necessary, absentee voting shall open as soon as is practical after the certification of the original election results.
3. Voters wishing to vote by absentee shall post their votes as they otherwise would.
4. In the event that a person votes by absentee and regularly then both votes will be discounted.
5. In the case of runoff elections, an absentee booth shall be opened as soon as possible after the declaration by the Department of Federal Elections that a runoff election is to be held.

Section 7: Applicability
Any instance of the word "candidate" in Sections 1 through to 6 shall be read as "ticket" in the case of Presidential elections.

Section 8: Candidacy Declarations
1. The candidacy declaration deadline for regular elections to the House shall be twenty-four hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election and for special elections to the House shall be twenty-four hours before the commencement of the election.
2. A candidate for a regular or special election to the House may withdraw their candidacy up to twenty-four hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election.
3. The candidacy declaration deadline for full tickets of a Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate to declare shall be seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election. However, should the Vice-Presidential candidate withdraw their candidacy, then the Presidential candidate may nominate a new Vice-Presidential candidate up to seventy-two hours before the commencement of the election.
4. In all cases, the assent of both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate shall be necessary for them to appear together as a ticket on the ballot.
5. A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election may only run as part of one ticket, indicating such in the Candidate Declaration Thread, or through his or her vote in the case of a write-in candidacy. A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election must have a declared Vice Presidential candidate in order to be a valid candidate.

Section 9: Administration of Voting Booths
1. Whenever possible, the Secretary of Federal Elections, or the Deputy Secretary of Federal Elections, shall be the administrator of the voting booth. If both shall be absent or unable to administer the voting booth, then the President shall designate an executive officer to do so instead.
2. The administrator of a voting booth shall be free to design the ballot as they see fit, as long as the content of the ballot is clear and unambiguous.
3. The administrator of a voting booth shall post links to all relevant statute regarding electoral law on the ballot.
4. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all regular House elections.
5. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday; and three days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Section 10: Certification of Election Results
1. When the voting period has expired, the administrator of the voting booth or a moderator of the Forum shall lock the thread containing the voting booth. The thread shall not be unlocked except to enter the official certification of the election result onto the thread.
2. Certification of the election result shall be conducted as soon as reasonably possible after the voting booth shall have closed by the administrator of the voting booth. If the administrator of the voting booth shall not be available to conduct such certification, then he or she shall designate another executive officer of the federal government to carry out such certification in their stead.
3. In certifying the result the administrator shall list all those votes which he or she has discounted, and the reasons for these votes being discounted. The voting booth administrator shall discount all votes that are invalid under the law, and shall only count those remaining votes for which he or she is able to make a reasonable determination as to the intent of the voter subject to such conditions as imposed by Section 11 of this Act.
4. The certifying officer may post provisional certifications of the election results, but these shall be of no legal effect.
5. Once the certifying officer is content that he has a full and complete certification he shall post an official certification which shall be final in all respects, unless a Court order shall instruct otherwise.

Section 11: Reasonable Determination of Intent
1. Where a voter lists only the Presidential candidate of a ticket in a Presidential election and this is the sole occurrence of the Presidential candidate on the ballot, then the vote shall be construed to be for the ticket which the Presidential candidate is a member of.
2. Where a voter lists all candidates or tickets running and places some mark to the right or left of one and only one of the candidates or tickets, then the vote shall be construed to be for that candidate or ticket.
3. The enumeration of certain reasonable determinations of intent in this section shall not be construed to be exclusive.

Section 12: Concession of Victory
1. If a candidate shall concede their victory of a House election after the certification of the election result, then the candidate with the next greatest number of highest preference votes in that election shall then be declared victor.
2. If both members of a Presidential ticket shall concede their victory in the Presidential election after the certification of the election result, then the members of the ticket with the next greatest number of highest preference votes in that election shall then be declared victors.
3. If a victor who has conceded shall wish to retract their concession, then they may only do so with the permission of the newly declared victor.
4. If an election shall produce a tie, then any candidate or ticket may decline to go forward to the runoff. If such actions shall leave only one candidate or ticket in the runoff, then that candidate or ticket shall be declared the victor.
5. If a tied candidate or ticket that has withdrawn shall wish to re-enter the runoff, then they may only do so with the permission of the other candidates or tickets in the tie.
6. Concessions made before the certification of election results, or on or after the date on which the newly elected official is due to be sworn in, are of no legal effect whatsoever.

Section 13: Statute of Limitations
1. Lawsuits challenging the validity of certified election results shall only be valid if filed with the Supreme Court within one week of the certification of such results.
2. Lawsuits challenging the validity of election results certified on or before 31 May, 2016 shall not be valid.
3. Clause 1 shall not apply in the case of elections resulting in a runoff, in which cases, lawsuits challenging the validity of certified election results shall only be valid if filed with the Supreme Court before the official opening time of the official voting booth (not including any associated absentee voting booth) for the associated runoff election.

Section 14: Federal Activity and Political Party Requirements
1. A person may become a registered voter if they have attained fifteen posts and have been registered at the forum for at least 7 days. In registration, the person must state their name and State of fantasy residence; In addition, they may optionally state a political affiliation.
2. All those persons who have registered to vote 7 days (168 hours) before the commencement of the election posted at least 10 times in the 8 weeks (56 days) prior to the commencement of an election shall be defined as active for the purposes of that election. If a voter changes their state of registration within the 7 days, the state from which they were originally registered shall be the state from which their vote is cast.
3. Persons may only change their State of registration from one region to another region once every 180 days. Changes in State of registration may only occur within a single region every 72 hours.
4. Any registered voter who fails to vote in elections for six months for which they are qualified to vote shall have their registration no longer considered valid. The said voter may only be deregistered after missing three federal elections, not including runoffs and special elections. A vote in a special election or runoff will be counted towards activity the same as a vote in a regular federal election. This clause shall not be construed to deny a forum user the right to register anew.
5. Anyone who has cast an absentee ballot shall be regarded as an active voter, provided he or she fulfills the definition by the time the election commences for which the ballot was cast, of an "active voter"; However, the post containing the ballot shall not count towards the total number of required posts.
6. Any political party of three or more members is considered to be an organized political party.

Section 15: Determination of Election Dates
1. Presidential elections shall be held in the months of February, June and October. Elections shall begin between 0000 Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the election month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
2. Regular elections to the Senate shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning, except in the month of December. Regular elections to the Senate in the month of December shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the second Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the second Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
3. Candidates elected in federal elections shall take office at 1200 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.

Section 6: Absentee Voting
1. As mandated by Article V, Section 2, Clause 8 of the Federal Constitution, aAll voters shall have the right to cast absentee votes after the candidacy declaration period has expired.
2. Upon the candidacy declaration deadline occurring the Secretary of Federal Elections or Deputy Secretary of Federal Elections shall establish a thread for absentee voting which shall include a full ballot. In the event that a runoff is necessary, absentee voting shall open as soon as is practical after the certification of the original election results.
3. Voters wishing to vote by absentee shall post their votes as they otherwise would.
4. In the event that a person votes by absentee and regularly then both votes will be discounted.
5. In the case of runoff elections, an absentee booth shall be opened as soon as possible after the declaration by the Department of Federal Elections that a runoff election is to be held.

Section 9: Administration of Voting Booths
1. Whenever possible, the Secretary of Federal Elections, or the Deputy Secretary of Federal Elections, shall be the administrator of the voting booth. If both shall be they are absent or unable to administer the voting booth, then the President shall designate an executive officer to do so instead.
2. The administrator of a voting booth shall be free to design the ballot as they see fit, as long as the content of the ballot is clear and unambiguous.
3. The administrator of a voting booth shall post links to all relevant statute regarding electoral law on the ballot.
4. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all regular House elections.
5. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday; and three days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Section 15: Determination of Election Dates
1. Presidential elections shall be held in the months of February, June and October. Elections shall begin between 0000 Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the election month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
2. Regular elections to the Senate House of Representatives shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning, except in the month of December. Regular elections to the Senate House of Representatives in the month of December shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the second Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the second Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
3. Candidates elected in elections for federal officeholders shall take office at 1200 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.

3. Candidates elected in federal elections

If a runoff for a Presidential election results in a tie, the House of Representatives may choose of the two candidates to be President.

Section 15: Determination of Election Dates
1. Presidential elections shall be held in the months of February, June and October. Elections shall begin between 0000 Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the election month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
2. Regular elections to the Senate shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning, except in the month of December. Regular elections to the Senate in the month of December shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the second Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the second Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
3. Candidates elected in federal elections shall take office at 1200 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.
4. The President and Vice President shall take office at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, on the first Friday following the completion of the Presidential elections.
5. The Senators shall take office at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday after the completion of all elections by the regions for that class have been completed.
6. The members of the House of Representatives shall take office at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday following the completion of the House elections.

4. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all regular House elections.
5. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday; and three days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

4. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice in the Fantasy Elections Forum of the hours in which voting shall take place for all regular federal elections.
5. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters three days advance public notice in the Fantasy Elections Forum of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections.

Section 1: Votes
1. In their vote in the Elections to the House and the Presidency, each voter shall list some, none, or all of the candidates in the voter's order of preference for them.
2. If no numbering of the preferences is stated, then the candidate at the top of the list shall be presumed to be the first preference, the candidate on the second line of the list shall be presumed to be the second preference, and so on.
3. A voter may cast a write-in vote in any election, except a runoff election.
4. In order to write-in a candidate, the voter shall not be required to explicitly specify that their vote is for a write-in candidate.
5. In order for write-in votes for a candidate to qualify as countable votes, the person written-in must formally accept the write-in candidacy before the end of voting in the given election.
6. A voter may vote for "None of the Above" in any election, except a runoff election. Any voter may vote "None of the Above"; any and all lower preferences of the voter shall be ignored.
7. Persons who edit their post in which their vote(s) are contained at the place of voting after twenty minutes shall have their vote counted as void. Campaigning shall also be prohibited in the voting booth and shall result in the disqualification of their vote.

Section 2: Determination of the Winner
1. If any candidate shall gain a majority of highest preference votes, then that candidate shall be declared the winner of the election.
2. If no candidate has a majority of highest preference votes, the candidate with the fewest highest preferences shall be eliminated, and their votes redistributed according to the next-highest preferences of the voters.
3. If, after the implementation of Clause 2 of this Section, any candidate shall have a majority of the highest preference votes, then that candidate shall be declared the winner of the election. If no such candidate shall exist, then Clause 2 of this Section shall be implemented again until such a candidate does exist, or until all candidates have the same number of highest preference votes.
4. If two or more candidates are tied for the least number of highest preference votes, but none of those candidates are tied for the greatest number of highest preference votes, then the following procedure shall be used to determine which candidate is eliminated:
     a. The candidate with the least total number of preferences expressed by voters shall be eliminated.
     b. The Senate shall vote on which candidate to eliminate, with the Vice President being able to cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary.

Section 3: Runoff Elections
1. If all remaining candidates shall have the same number of highest preference votes, then the following procedure shall be used to break the tie:
2. Runoff elections shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the first Thursday after the initial election and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after the beginning.
3. Those candidates who have tied shall be automatically entered onto the ballot. No other candidacies shall be allowed.
4. Voters shall only be able to cast a vote for one candidate.
5. If any candidate shall gain a majority of the votes cast, then he shall be declared winner.
6. In the event that litigation is pending before the Supreme Court at the time a runoff is due to be held, the Supreme Court may delay the runoff in a specified manner if it thinks the result of such litigation would have a substantive impact on the runoff.

Section 4: Tied Runoff Elections
If the Runoff Election procedure specified in section 4 results in a tie, then:
1. One of the tied candidates may concede their portion of the term. The rules for determining the winner shall proceed based on as if the number tied candidates is reduced by one.
2. The two candidates shall each serve for one half of a term.
     a. The two candidates will be allowed to determine the order in which the term is split.
     b. If no agreement is reached regarding the order of the terms that each candidate serves in, if   
         one of the tied candidates is an incumbent, then that candidate shall serve the first session.
     c. If both of the tied candidates are incumbents, due to redistricting or other circumstances, or if
        neither of the candidates are incumbents, and no agreement has been reached regarding the
        order of the terms that each candidate serves in, then the candidates shall serve in alphabetical
        order, going by their names used on the Registered Voter Roll.
3. In the event of a tie between more than two candidates:
     a. The tied candidates may make any agreement they see fit.
     b. If an agreement cannot be made by (a), the Senate shall either:
                1. Select one candidate to serve the entire term.
                2. Select a schedule that will allow all tied candidates to serve a portion of the term.
4. If a runoff for a Presidential election results in a tie, the House of Representatives may choose of the two candidates to be President.
5. If one of the term sharing senators resigns or is elected or appointed to another office, than the other will serve out the remainder of the term.

Section 5: None of the Above
If, in an election, the None of the Above option shall have gained more votes than each candidate, then a new election shall be held under the following procedure
1. The new election shall be held between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the second Thursday after the initial election and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter at 1800 Eastern Standard Time on the second Thursday after the election, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after the beginning.
2. None of the candidates defeated by the None of the Above option in the original may be declared candidates in the new election. However, a voter may still write-in any such candidate.
3. The candidacy declaration deadline for the new election shall be the same as for special elections.
4. Except as regards Clause 2 of this Section, all other provisions of this Act shall apply to the new election.

Section 6: Absentee Voting
1. All voters shall have the right to cast absentee votes after the candidacy declaration period has expired.
2. Upon the candidacy declaration deadline occurring the Secretary of Federal Elections shall establish a thread for absentee voting which shall include a full ballot. In the event that a runoff is necessary, absentee voting shall open as soon as is practical after the certification of the original election results.
3. Voters wishing to vote by absentee shall post their votes as they otherwise would.
4. In the event that a person votes by absentee and regularly then both votes will be discounted.
5. In the case of runoff elections, an absentee booth shall be opened as soon as possible after the declaration by the Department of Federal Elections that a runoff election is to be held.

Section 7: Applicability
Any instance of the word "candidate" in Sections 1 through to 6 shall be read as "ticket" in the case of Presidential elections.

Section 8: Candidacy Declarations
1. The candidacy declaration deadline for regular elections to the House shall be twenty-four hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election and for special elections to the House shall be twenty-four hours before the commencement of the election.
2. A candidate for a regular or special election to the House may withdraw their candidacy up to twenty-four hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election.
3. The candidacy declaration deadline for full tickets of a Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate to declare shall be seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election. However, should the Vice-Presidential candidate withdraw their candidacy, then the Presidential candidate may nominate a new Vice-Presidential candidate up to seventy-two hours before the commencement of the election.
4. In all cases, the assent of both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate shall be necessary for them to appear together as a ticket on the ballot.
5. A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election may only run as part of one ticket, indicating such in the Candidate Declaration Thread, or through his or her vote in the case of a write-in candidacy. A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election must have a declared Vice Presidential candidate in order to be a valid candidate.

Section 9: Administration of Voting Booths
1. Whenever possible, the Secretary of Federal Elections shall be the administrator of the voting booth. If they are absent or unable to administer the voting booth, then the President shall designate an executive officer to do so instead.
2. The administrator of a voting booth shall be free to design the ballot as they see fit, as long as the content of the ballot is clear and unambiguous.
3. The administrator of a voting booth shall post links to all relevant statute regarding electoral law on the ballot.
4. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice in the Fantasy Elections Forum of the hours in which voting shall take place for all regular federal elections.
5. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters three days advance public notice in the Fantasy Elections Forum of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections.

Section 10: Certification of Election Results
1. When the voting period has expired, the administrator of the voting booth or a moderator of the Forum shall lock the thread containing the voting booth. The thread shall not be unlocked except to enter the official certification of the election result onto the thread.
2. Certification of the election result shall be conducted as soon as reasonably possible after the voting booth shall have closed by the administrator of the voting booth. If the administrator of the voting booth shall not be available to conduct such certification, then he or she shall designate another executive officer of the federal government to carry out such certification in their stead.
3. In certifying the result the administrator shall list all those votes which he or she has discounted, and the reasons for these votes being discounted. The voting booth administrator shall discount all votes that are invalid under the law, and shall only count those remaining votes for which he or she is able to make a reasonable determination as to the intent of the voter subject to such conditions as imposed by Section 11 of this Act.
4. The certifying officer may post provisional certifications of the election results, but these shall be of no legal effect.
5. Once the certifying officer is content that he has a full and complete certification he shall post an official certification which shall be final in all respects, unless a Court order shall instruct otherwise.

Section 11: Reasonable Determination of Intent
1. Where a voter lists only the Presidential candidate of a ticket in a Presidential election and this is the sole occurrence of the Presidential candidate on the ballot, then the vote shall be construed to be for the ticket which the Presidential candidate is a member of.
2. Where a voter lists all candidates or tickets running and places some mark to the right or left of one and only one of the candidates or tickets, then the vote shall be construed to be for that candidate or ticket.
3. The enumeration of certain reasonable determinations of intent in this section shall not be construed to be exclusive.

Section 12: Concession of Victory
1. If a candidate shall concede their victory of a House election after the certification of the election result, then the candidate with the next greatest number of highest preference votes in that election shall then be declared victor.
2. If both members of a Presidential ticket shall concede their victory in the Presidential election after the certification of the election result, then the members of the ticket with the next greatest number of highest preference votes in that election shall then be declared victors.
3. If a victor who has conceded shall wish to retract their concession, then they may only do so with the permission of the newly declared victor.
4. If an election shall produce a tie, then any candidate or ticket may decline to go forward to the runoff. If such actions shall leave only one candidate or ticket in the runoff, then that candidate or ticket shall be declared the victor.
5. If a tied candidate or ticket that has withdrawn shall wish to re-enter the runoff, then they may only do so with the permission of the other candidates or tickets in the tie.
6. Concessions made before the certification of election results, or on or after the date on which the newly elected official is due to be sworn in, are of no legal effect whatsoever.

Section 13: Statute of Limitations
1. Lawsuits challenging the validity of certified election results shall only be valid if filed with the Supreme Court within one week of the certification of such results.
2. Lawsuits challenging the validity of election results certified on or before 31 May, 2016 shall not be valid.
3. Clause 1 shall not apply in the case of elections resulting in a runoff, in which cases, lawsuits challenging the validity of certified election results shall only be valid if filed with the Supreme Court before the official opening time of the official voting booth (not including any associated absentee voting booth) for the associated runoff election.

Section 14: Federal Activity and Political Party Requirements
1. A person may become a registered voter if they have attained fifteen posts and have been registered at the forum for at least 7 days. In registration, the person must state their name and State of fantasy residence; In addition, they may optionally state a political affiliation.
2. All those persons who have registered to vote 7 days (168 hours) before the commencement of the election posted at least 10 times in the 8 weeks (56 days) prior to the commencement of an election shall be defined as active for the purposes of that election. If a voter changes their state of registration within the 7 days, the state from which they were originally registered shall be the state from which their vote is cast.
3. Persons may only change their State of registration from one region to another region once every 180 days. Changes in State of registration may only occur within a single region every 72 hours.
4. Any registered voter who fails to vote in elections for six months for which they are qualified to vote shall have their registration no longer considered valid. The said voter may only be deregistered after missing three federal elections, not including runoffs and special elections. A vote in a special election or runoff will be counted towards activity the same as a vote in a regular federal election. This clause shall not be construed to deny a forum user the right to register anew.
5. Anyone who has cast an absentee ballot shall be regarded as an active voter, provided he or she fulfills the definition by the time the election commences for which the ballot was cast, of an "active voter"; However, the post containing the ballot shall not count towards the total number of required posts.
6. Any political party of three or more members is considered to be an organized political party.

Section 15: Determination of Election Dates
1. Presidential elections shall be held in the months of February, June and October. Elections shall begin between 0000 Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the election month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
2. Regular elections to the House of Representatives shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning, except in the month of December. Regular elections to the House of Representatives in the month of December shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the second Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the second Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
3. Candidates elected in federal elections for federal officeholders shall take office at 1200 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.