The Strategic Registration Amendment [Passed to Regions]

[DownWithTheLeft]

I fully support this bill and work to see its passage in the Northeast.  However, I support the free move.  If strategic registration occurs, it is usually right when the person signs up so giving them seven days is a legitimate because that probably means they aren't strategically registering.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

For the sake of the SoFA, I offer the following amendment

The Strategic Registration Amendment

1. Article V, Section 2, Clause 7 is hereby amended to read: "Persons may only change their State of registration once every 180 days four months.

2. New citizens registering to vote shall have seven days in which the 180 days four month requirement does not apply for one "free move." After the individual has used their "free move" or after the 7 days have passed, the 180 day four month limit applies, with seven days deducted from the overall limit.

[Jayhawker]

I'm not too crazy about lowering the limit, honestly. And using "month" instead of "day" is somewhat unfair, thanks to February. Some people might not have to wait as long.

[Alexander Hamilton]

I'm not too crazy about lowering the limit, honestly. And using "month" instead of "day" is somewhat unfair, thanks to February. Some people might not have to wait as long.

Elections aren't held on days, so it doesn't matter.

[President Marokai]

I'm not too crazy about lowering the limit, honestly. And using "month" instead of "day" is somewhat unfair, thanks to February. Some people might not have to wait as long.

Four months will also enable people to move around, if they start at the right time, according to every other election cycle, essentially doing nothing to stop the problem, just delaying it.

And yes, I agree that we should use numbers instead of "months."

[Alexander Hamilton]

One week+4 months is better then.

[Rowan]

Bump it back up to 180. I will not support an amendment for it to be lower.

[Alexander Hamilton]

Bump it back up to 180. I will not support an amendment for it to be lower.

Has your support been crucial to any bill? So far all your votes have been pretty damn irrelevant.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Listen all I did was write up the suggestions of the former President Bgwah so they could be voted upon. I don't really have an opinion on this.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

And I just realised I screwed up the math. It should be 6 months not 4. GPorter still has me a little rattled from earlier.

I withdraw my amendment.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The Strategic Registration Amendment

1. Article V, Section 2, Clause 7 is hereby amended to read: "Persons may only change their State of registration once every 180 days six months.

2. New citizens registering to vote shall have seven days in which the 180 days six month requirement does not apply for one "free move." After the individual has used their "free move" or after the 7 days have passed, the 180 day six month limit applies, with seven days deducted from the overall limit.

Thats better, I think.



Just so you know that is 180 days that is struck out not 100. The strike through blends in the 8 making it look like a zero. ex. 88 88both numbers are eighty eight.

[Fritz]

I support Yankee's amended amendment.

Bump it back up to 180. I will not support an amendment for it to be lower.

Has your support been crucial to any bill? So far all your votes have been pretty damn irrelevant.

Please Hamilton, this is the Senate floor.  If you have substantive input, you may speak.  But do not come in here to insult or harrass the Senators.  That is a privelege we reserve to ourselves. 

[President Marokai]

Alright, I gave this some time, but there was no further imput unfortunately.

I take Tmth's discomfort on the issue of changing the days into "months" as an objection to the amendment. If that wasn't the case, I still object anyhow, and this is going up for a vote. Bolded parts are the amended areas.

The following amendment is now at a vote, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain.

The Strategic Registration Amendment

1. Article V, Section 2, Clause 7 is hereby amended to read: "Persons may only change their State of registration once every six months.

2. New citizens registering to vote shall have seven days in which the six month requirement does not apply for one "free move." After the individual has used their "free move" or after the 7 days have passed, the six month limit applies, with seven days deducted from the overall limit.

[Fritz]

Aye.  I agree with using months rather than days.  Much simpler, and besides elections and terms are determined by the months, not the number of days.

[President Marokai]

I have to vote Nay. I'm with Tmth that it's easier to just do it by days, as each month has a different amount of time involved, and it just makes it unnecessarily complicated. No need for the additional irritation, in my view.

I'd also like to say we measure most other things in days like this specifically for that reason, and we've made changes to that effect in the past. Doing it in days is standard practice.

[Fritz]

We sure disagree a lot, for members of the same party. 

How is days less complicated?  Let's say the starting point is February 9th.  What is 6 months from then?  Why, August 9th, of course.  What is 180 days from then?  That takes a little more figuring, and the answer will be different next year from this year's answer.

Elections and commencement of terms are scheduled to occur on particular weekends of particular months- not a fixed number of days.

[President Marokai]

It is odd, isnt it?

Ultimately it's a minor difference that doesn't make that big of a deal one way or another to me. We have day requirements for joining and running for certain offices, which is what I was referring to.

Like I said, it's no big deal to me, I'd just prefer to stick with a set amount of days so one person doesn't get a few days shaved away and another guy has to deal with additional days between moves. It depends alot on when you join and when you move, but such a thing could occur.

[Vasall des Midas]

I'll say it once more, a bit clearer this time: The Senate ought not to include the weird phrase "free move" in the Constitutional text under any circumstances.

[Vasall des Midas]

There is currently no such thing as a legally defined thing called a "free move" though, and absolutely no argument for creating it. If you want to stop people from moving between the 8th and 180th day after registering as well as within 180 after moving, it would be wise to write an amendment that simply says so.

E.G.:

The Strategic Registration Amendment

Article V, Section 2, Clause 7 is hereby amended to read: "Persons may only change their State of registration once every 180 days.
Citizens may not change their State of registration between the 8th and 180th day after registering to vote."

[Јas]

I don't accept that the so-called "free move" actually exists at all at present, nor that there exists a legal basis for it. It is a matter for the SoFA to enforce the legal reality and a matter for legal challenge if this is not done. Despite the length of this thread, it's quite unclear why anyone here actually does support the idea.

It doesn't appear likely either that the proposals under discussion will have any significant impact on the blight that is strategic registration. If fellow Senators want an end to strategic registration then the only manner to really accomplish it is through ending the current system of regional Senate seats - rendering such strategic registration pointless.


At any rate, I agree with Lewis as above, so at least as a start, I'm introducing his amendment:

Article V, Section 2, Clause 7 is hereby amended to read: "Persons may only change their State of registration once every 180 days.
Citizens may not change their State of registration between the 8th and 180th day after registering to vote."

[Badger]

If the 180 day calculation vs. 6 months is used I guarantee you there will be voters who get screwed because they miscalculated by one day, and godawful time consuming debates calculating over individual voters. 6 months is VASTLY easier to compute, and the marginal differences in actual time of a day or two between 6 month periods having months with slightly varied month lengths is a nominal inconsequential price to pay for accuracy and ready brightline understandable deadlines.

[President Marokai]

Whether or not you agree about the free move, we have a vote ongoing here, people.

[Rowan]

Abstain, for now.

[Hashemite]

Whether or not you agree about the free move, we have a vote ongoing here, people.

Ah, got cluttered over by other stuff.

Nay. I agree with Marokai and tmth's issues.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Aye