Office of ZuWo - Fresh start in the Pacific!

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Looks like we have a chance to hold back consolidation for now.

[ZuWo]

Looks like we have a chance to hold back consolidation for now.

There are Senators who are notorious for supporting the reintroduction of failed federal amendments (such as the anti-region "Fair Amendment Procedure Amendment") so I wouldn't be surprised to see the same issue come up again and again.

[ZuWo]

The following has passed the Assembly:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

After a lot of consideration I have decided to veto this bill. My reasons for vetoing it are mainly fiscal as I want to avoid a deficit. However, if during the next budget debate it turns out that the Mideast has enough money to fund this or a similar kind of tax cut I will support /encourage the next Governor to support it.

[ZuWo]

Election for Mideast Governor/Lt. Governor: Endorsement

Fellow Mideasterners

My time as Mideast Governor is slowly coming to an end and each one of you will have the opportunity to elect a new regional executive next week. The election is going to be very competitive; the fact that three very different tickets are running for the highest office in our region is a great satisfaction to me. It means that the Mideast is still a vibrant region with a healthy competiton between the right and the left. While I appreciate the sincere effort Siren and OAM have made throughout the campaign I have decided to endorse Spiral and TJ.

During my time as a Mideastern officeholder I have had the privilege to serve with both of them. Lt. Governor TJ was a member of the Assembly before winning an at-large Senate seat, being our region's Superior Court Judge and being elected Mideast Regional Senator. Senator Spiral served as the Mideast's Lt. Governor and was then elected Regional Senator. Both TJ and Spiral have always shown great dedication to our region and its citizens. They have been pragmatic center-right officeholders who, while fighting for a competitive Atlasian economy, have never neglected the needs and demands of the less fortunate members of our society.

If elected Governor and Lt. Governor of the Mideast, Spiral/TJ will set their very own priorities. Both of them are diligent and extremely knowledgeable individuals. They are highly competent on fiscal as well as scientifical issues and therefore possess important skills for the offices they are running for. They will continue the successful policies that have been implemented in the last months and years and will do what is necessary to keep the Mideast an economically successful and active region.

Spiral and TJ will handle quite a few issues differently than I did (which is probably for the better!) but still they do not advocate a massive overhaul of the measures that have made this region the vibrant and successful place it is today. By all objective accounts the Mideast is undoubtedly in strong shape today so I am convinced that a certain degree of political continuity is to the benefit of our region.

Regardless of your political affiliation I hope each one of you will make your voice heard at the election next week. I, for one, will cast my vote for Senator Spiral and Lt. Governor TJ.

Governor ZuWo

[ZuWo]

Mideast Governor/Assembly Election

The following Mideasterners have officially declared their candidacy for Mideast Governor/Lt. Governor:

Spiral/TJ
Siren/OAM
Franzl/Sibboleth

The following Mideasterners have officially declared their candidacy for Mideast Assembly:

DC al Fine
Inks
outofbox
JCL
hifly
Franzl
afleitch
Njall
Adam C. Fitzgerald

I will try to open the voting booth at 4 PM forum time on Thursday.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

The following has passed the Assembly:

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[ZuWo]

Mideasterners, you have seven days to vote on the following federal amendment:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=185936.msg4019860#msg4019860

[ZuWo]

Mideasterners,

the Mideast elections have started!

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=185955.0

[ZuWo]

Mideasterners have about 23 and a half hours left to cast their vote in the regional elections. The results so far suggest that we are going to be blessed with another high-turnout election.

The Governor is planning to cast his vote tomorrow afternoon at a local polling station near his city villa in Louisville, where he is planning to work as a political analyst, commentator and advisor after his term ends.

[ZuWo]

Citizen Riley Keaton has put together a bill that addresses the consequences of the chemical spill in West Virginia. I will introduce it to the Assembly as soon as possible. I realize there is not a lot of time left but I hope we will be able to pass a version of Riley Keaton's bill in the current session of the Assembly.

I applaud Rileay Keaton for his work. It's refreshing to see new players with so many productive ideas!

[ZuWo]

AFAIK, the ballots from Riley (new) and MasterJedi (only 9 posts in 56 days), should be invalid.

Thanks! It looks like you're right. Riley's vote can't be counted because his registration is too recent and MasterJedi's tenth post before the beginning of the election appears to have been made 10 minutes early.

[ZuWo]

A huge thanks to TJ for calculating the Mideast Assembly election results!

Mideast Elections January 2014 Assembly Results

1st Count: 38 Valid Votes, Quota = 7
Inks (7 votes):  Oldiesfreak, Obscure, Anton Kreitzer, JerryArkansas, RogueBeaver, Frodo, Inks)
JCL (7 votes): Elections Guy, Spiral, Rosetta Stoned, Reaganfan, JCL, TJ in Cleve, ZuWo
DC al Fine (5 votes): Cassius, DC al Fine, MilesC56, Shua, Cathcon
Njall (5 votes): Averroës Nix, Mr. X, Njall, Gass, OAM
Franzl (5 votes): Franzl, Benconstine, Kalwejt, Realpolitik, Lewis Trondheim
Adam C. FitzGerald (4 votes): Snowstalker, Adam C. FitzGerald, TDAS04, Siren
Afleitch (3 votes): Badger, Vosem, Afleitch
Hifly (1 vote): Hifly
Outofbox6 (1 vote): Outofbox6
Ivalid (2 votes): TheRileyKeaton (Needs to be registered 7 days in advance), MasterJedi (10th post is ten minutes too early)

Inks and JCL are elected with quota

Hifly and Outofbox6 are eliminated

Transfer of Hifly’s vote:
DC al Fine (1 vote): Hifly

Transfer of Outofbox6’s vote:
DC al Fine (1 vote): Outofbox6

2nd Count: 38 Valid Votes, Quota = 7
Inks (7 votes):  Oldiesfreak, Obscure, Anton Kreitzer, JerryArkansas, RogueBeaver, Frodo, Inks)
JCL (7 votes): Elections Guy, Spiral, Rosetta Stoned, Reaganfan, JCL, TJ in Cleve, ZuWo
DC al Fine (7 votes): Cassius, DC al Fine, MilesC56, Shua, Cathcon, Hifly, Outofbox6
Njall (5 votes): Averroës Nix, Mr. X, Njall, Gass, OAM
Franzl (5 votes): Franzl, Benconstine, Kalwejt, Realpolitik, Lewis Trondheim
Adam C. FitzGerald (4 votes): Snowstalker, Adam C. FitzGerald, TDAS04, Siren
Afleitch (3 votes): Badger, Vosem, Afleitch

DC al Fine is elected with quota

Afleitch is eliminated

Transfer of Afleitch’s vote:
Franzl (2 votes): Badger, Afleitch
Njall (1 vote): Vosem

3rd Count: 38 Valid Votes, Quota = 7
Inks (7 votes):  Oldiesfreak, Obscure, Anton Kreitzer, JerryArkansas, RogueBeaver, Frodo, Inks)
JCL (7 votes): Elections Guy, Spiral, Rosetta Stoned, Reaganfan, JCL, TJ in Cleve, ZuWo
DC al Fine (7 votes): Cassius, DC al Fine, MilesC56, Shua, Cathcon, Hifly, Outofbox6
Franzl (7 votes): Franzl, Benconstine, Kalwejt, Realpolitik, Lewis Trondheim, Badger, Afleitch

Njall (6 votes): Averroës Nix, Mr. X, Njall, Gass, OAM, Vosem
Adam C. FitzGerald (4 votes): Snowstalker, Adam C. FitzGerald, TDAS04, Siren

Franzl is elected with quota

Njall is elected without quota

Inks, JCL, DC al Fine, Franzl, and Njall are elected to the Mideast Assembly

[ZuWo]

Governor/Lt. Governor Results

Spiral/TJ - 22 votes (58%)
Siren/OAM - 11 (29%)
Franzl/Sibboleth - 5 (13%)

Spiral/TJ are elected Governor/Lt. Governor of the Mideast.

[ZuWo]

On a personal note I would like to congratulate Spiral/TJ on their victory and want to thank Siren/OAM for having run a spirited campaign. I am now officially a lame-duck Governor and wish the Governor-elect and Lt. Governor-elect all the best.

Likewise, I extend my congratulations to Inks, JCL, DC al Fine, Njall and Franzl who have been elected to the Mideast Assembly.
 

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Citizen Riley Keaton has put together a bill that addresses the consequences of the chemical spill in West Virginia. I will introduce it to the Assembly as soon as possible. I realize there is not a lot of time left but I hope we will be able to pass a version of Riley Keaton's bill in the current session of the Assembly.

I applaud Rileay Keaton for his work. It's refreshing to see new players with so many productive ideas!

If it's going to be passed, it needs to be introduced by tomorrow.  That being said, I'm usually not a huge fan of last-minute bills, and I'd rather see it done next session.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Here's an interesting issue.  MasterJedi posted twice in the Mod Corner within the last 8 weeks, making his vote, technically, legal by the letter of the law.  But ZuWo would have no way of knowing this.  Perhaps the law should be changed, but until then, MasterJedi's vote was legally cast.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Here's an interesting issue.  MasterJedi posted twice in the Mod Corner within the last 8 weeks, making his vote, technically, legal by the letter of the law.  But ZuWo would have no way of knowing this.  Perhaps the law should be changed, but until then, MasterJedi's vote was legally cast.

Can you prove this?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Here's an interesting issue.  MasterJedi posted twice in the Mod Corner within the last 8 weeks, making his vote, technically, legal by the letter of the law.  But ZuWo would have no way of knowing this.  Perhaps the law should be changed, but until then, MasterJedi's vote was legally cast.

Can you prove this?

I can.  And I can do it without revealing any non-public posts.  His vote is currently #10 (and he hasn't posted in non-public boards since voting, so that number should be the same for everyone.  If post #20 occurred after November 21, his vote was valid:

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Weren't the results certified already though, legally speaking?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Weren't the results certified already though, legally speaking?

There's no law against recertification.

[TJ in Oregon]

I think this is enough of a problematic gray area that I think we need an explicit law or ruling on it in any case. It really would be unacceptable, whatever the outcome is here, to have in place for future elections a policy that posts visible only to moderators would count toward activity requirements.

There's also another little loophole in our voting laws at play here: if ZuWo had opened the voting booth 10 minutes earlier, MasterJedi's vote would have been valid regardless. This leaves open the possibility of a governor selecting when to begin an election on the basis of making a voter eligible or ineligible should his 10th post have been 56 days prior to the day the election can begin. I suggest the law should be 10 posts in the 56 days prior to the earliest possible time when the election could legally begin.

Now, I suspect ZuWo was unaware MasterJedi's vote was apparently invalid under current law until well after the election began (not alleging any foul play here, and in fact foul play would have led ZuWo to make the opposite decision if he was trying to). I just want to make that clear This is merely a hypothetical that could apply to a future election

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

It should be amended so that it's before the earliest possible start to the election, just like the registration clause in the Constitution.

[ZuWo]

There's also another little loophole in our voting laws at play here: if ZuWo had opened the voting booth 10 minutes earlier, MasterJedi's vote would have been valid regardless. This leaves open the possibility of a governor selecting when to begin an election on the basis of making a voter eligible or ineligible should his 10th post have been 56 days prior to the day the election can begin. I suggest the law should be 10 posts in the 56 days prior to the earliest possible time when the election could legally begin.

Since MasterJedi's vote did not impact the outcome of the election I am not going to recertify the election results. Lt. Governor TJ raises a very important point, though: there is an inconsistency in our voting laws. While the federal Constitution states that voters must have been registered for at least seven days before the earliest possible commencement of an election, the End to the Zombie Apocalypse Act merely says that a voter must have made at least 10 posts in the 56 days prior to the commencement of an election to be eligible to vote. I encourage the Senate to correct that.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Meh ... if I have time to write up a brief, I'll probably sue.  We haven't had a case in a while, and it'll give HappyWarrior something fun to do.

[Anna Komnene]

Meh ... if I have time to write up a brief, I'll probably sue.  We haven't had a case in a while, and it'll give HappyWarrior something fun to do.

Hopefully someone can find him.