evergreen v. rpryor
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  evergreen v. rpryor
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Author Topic: evergreen v. rpryor  (Read 1779 times)
SUSAN CRUSHBONE
evergreen
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« on: May 27, 2016, 09:55:56 AM »

i'm filing to challenge s.o.f.e. rpryor's invalidation of my vote (as well as dkrol's) in the recent regional committee elections as unconstitutional. i'll post a proper opening statement after the court acknowledges.
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windjammer
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« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2016, 10:33:00 AM »

This has been se en and my colleagues will be alerted.
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SUSAN CRUSHBONE
evergreen
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« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2016, 07:53:43 AM »

thank you, justice windjammer.

now, my argument is simple.

i) The relevant regulations for the election in question are provided by the Fourth Constitution, supplemented by preëxisting law. This is obvious from reading Article X:
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It is explicitly stated that the House elections "will be conducted according to the regulations set forth in this Constitution and the existing body of law," and it would be absurd to assume that the Regional Committee elections, which should have been held concurrently, would follow a different procedure. Moreover, given the fact that the Fourth Constitution has been ratified and that "all acts passed under any previous Constitutions shall remain in effect, until [the House and Regional Committee elections have been completed," it is clear that this applies to any situation: the law of the land is currently the Fourth Constitution, plus preëxisting law. And, critically, the Third Constitution holds no power anymore.

ii) Although the Third Constitution makes a clear requirement that "In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election," (A3C V2(3)) no such requirement appears in the body of law, nor in the Fourth Constitution. Instead, we see a clear proclamation that "The right of citizens of the Republic of Atlasia to vote shall not be denied, except in regards to persons whose account is fewer than 168 hours old, or in consequence of failing to meet such requirements for activity as may be established by law." (A4C I(4)).

iii) It is obvious that the previous registration time limit does not constitute an "activity requirement," firstly because that's, well, kind of obvious, and secondly because the Third Constitution defined activity requirements separately from the registration limit. (A3C V2(2),(5))

iv) Therefore, there is not, and cannot be, a requirement that voters have been registered for a certain amount of time in any election conforming to the current version of the Fourth Constitution.

thank you for your time.

p.s. in fact, the same clause (A4C I(4)) means vote-editing restrictions are unconstitutional as well, but that's not the topic of this case.
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windjammer
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« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2016, 01:27:38 PM »

Writ of Certiorari

The Supreme Court of Atlasia grants certiorari to hear the question of whether  rpryor's invalidation of evergreen's vote during the last regional committee election violated the constitution.

Schedule

Petitioner has seventy-two hours to file her brief.  It is expected no later than 2:00PM EDT on  Wednesday, June 1, 2016.

Respondent has an additional seventy-two hours to file his brief.  It is expected no later than 2:00PM EDT on Saturday, July 4, 2016.

Amicus Briefs will be accepted until 2:00PM EDT on Sunday, July 5, 2016.

Additional time may be granted to either party, and the right of either party to respond to the filed briefs may be granted upon request.

A period of argument (Q&A) will be scheduled after presentation of the briefs in case any member of the Court has any questions for the parties.
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SUSAN CRUSHBONE
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« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2016, 01:57:06 PM »

i made my argument in the opening statement:

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It is explicitly stated that the House elections "will be conducted according to the regulations set forth in this Constitution and the existing body of law," and it would be absurd to assume that the Regional Committee elections, which should have been held concurrently, would follow a different procedure. Moreover, given the fact that the Fourth Constitution has been ratified and that "all acts passed under any previous Constitutions shall remain in effect, until [the House and Regional Committee elections have been completed," it is clear that this applies to any situation: the law of the land is currently the Fourth Constitution, plus preëxisting law. And, critically, the Third Constitution holds no power anymore.

ii) Although the Third Constitution makes a clear requirement that "In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election," (A3C V2(3)) no such requirement appears in the body of law, nor in the Fourth Constitution. Instead, we see a clear proclamation that "The right of citizens of the Republic of Atlasia to vote shall not be denied, except in regards to persons whose account is fewer than 168 hours old, or in consequence of failing to meet such requirements for activity as may be established by law." (A4C I(4)).

iii) It is obvious that the previous registration time limit does not constitute an "activity requirement," firstly because that's, well, kind of obvious, and secondly because the Third Constitution defined activity requirements separately from the registration limit. (A3C V2(2),(5))

iv) Therefore, there is not, and cannot be, a requirement that voters have been registered for a certain amount of time in any election conforming to the current version of the Fourth Constitution.

thank you for your time.

p.s. in fact, the same clause (A4C I(4)) means vote-editing restrictions are unconstitutional as well, but that's not the topic of this case.
[/quote]
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SUSAN CRUSHBONE
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« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2016, 05:48:26 PM »

i would like to ask the court to bar rpryor from (mal-)certifying the house results until this case is resolved
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windjammer
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« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2016, 06:07:25 PM »

i would like to ask the court to bar rpryor from (mal-)certifying the house results until this case is resolved
May I ask why???
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SUSAN CRUSHBONE
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« Reply #7 on: May 29, 2016, 06:28:08 PM »

i would like to ask the court to bar rpryor from (mal-)certifying the house results until this case is resolved
May I ask why???
rpryor has announced his intent on applying the same (false) standard to the house election; an incorrect certification would cause (small amounts of) chaos and lessen trust in our democratic institutions, especially now, at the first election under the new system.
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rpryor03
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« Reply #8 on: May 29, 2016, 07:11:37 PM »

Thank you Honorable Justices for hearing this case.

I would like to draw your attention to Article X, Section 2, Sub-Section iii of the Fourth Constitution. The sub-section says "At such time as both the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be seated, this Constitution shall be considered fully implemented." As such, this means that the Constitution will only be fully in effect once the Senate and the House are fully seated and beginning business, neither of which has yet occurred. Article X.2.iii also states that at that time, "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." As such, this means that only at that point shall the Fourth Constitution take effect. I was advised to the same effect by Speaker Truman, the architect of our new Constitution, who informed me:

Per Article X, the Fourth Constitution will not take effect until after the seating of the new Congress; therefore, all regulations set in place by the Third Constitution remain valid.

As such, I have aboded by the Third Constitution's Article V, Section 2, Sub-Section 2 that states: "The Senate shall have power to define these activity requirements by appropriate legislation." The appropriate legislation in this case is the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act (F.L. 14-2) Section 14, which states "All those persons who have 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."

Article V, Section 2, Sub-Section 3 of the Third Constitution states: "In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election. If a voter changes their state of registration between that time and the election, the state from which they were originally registered shall be the state from which their vote is cast."

Therefore, the regulations placed in force through the third constitution are still in force until the seating of the Senate.

Justices, I thank you for your time.
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SUSAN CRUSHBONE
evergreen
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« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2016, 01:59:03 AM »

i'll just reëmphasize that the fourth constitution, article x, section 2(i) explicitly states: "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."
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rpryor03
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« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2016, 09:04:52 AM »

And the existing body of law, Ms. Evergreen. The existing body of law includes the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act (F.L. 14-2) Section 14, which states "All those persons who have 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."
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SUSAN CRUSHBONE
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« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2016, 09:08:32 AM »

And the existing body of law, Ms. Evergreen. The existing body of law includes the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act (F.L. 14-2) Section 14, which states "All those persons who have 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."
and, indeed, dkrolga and i meet that requirement. the question at hand is about the registration waiting period, not about activity.
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windjammer
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« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2016, 10:12:26 AM »

Thank you for having (quickly) submitted your brief.
Considering how quick it has been:
Amicus Briefs will be accepted until 11:00AM EDT on Tuesday, May 31, 2016.
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windjammer
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« Reply #13 on: May 31, 2016, 12:58:09 PM »

 The submission period is now closed and no further briefs will be accepted. The case is under discussion.

Evergreen and rpryor, you will be PMed if the members of the Supreme Court have questions for you.
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windjammer
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« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2016, 10:56:43 AM »

Supreme Court of Atlasia
Nyman, DC
evergreen v. rpryor

Opinion of the Court.

(Junior Associate Justice Windjammer delivered the opinion of the Court.)

After consideration of the submitted briefs and the facts of the case, the Court has come to a unanimous decision.

The Fourth Constitution states:

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While many provisions of  the Third Constitution are still in effect, Art.X S.2 makes it clear that the regional committee elections are [to be conducted according to regulations set forth in the Fourth Constitution and the existing body of law.

A key piece of the question before the Court is who is an eligible voter in the elections during the transition period from the Third Constitution to the Fourth Constitution. Since the election is to be conducted in accordance with the regulations set forth in the Fourth Constitution, we must examine its statement concerning who is an eligible voter:

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According to the Fourth constitution, only 2 reasons exist that can invalidate a vote cast by a registered voter:
-the voter registered on the atlas forum less than 168 hours before the beginning of the election,
-requirements for activity that may have been established by law

Thus, since the election was held in accordance with the procedures given in the Fourth Constitution, the definition of voter eligibility described in the Fourth Constitution must be used.

The Court notes that the Fourth Constitution does also state that the election is to be held in accordance with the existing body of law, which includes the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act which says

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Since 2006, activity requirement has been defined as a minimum number of posts in the 8 weeks prior to the commencement of an election, (and since 2012 as a minimum of 10 posts  in the 8 weeks prior to the commencement of an election). While the Court recognizes that the activity requirements described in the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act are still in effect, those regulations do not pertain to the dispute in question in this case; citizens evergreen and dkrolga registered on the atlas forum more than 168 hours  and posted at least 10 times prior to the commencement of the regional committee election.

Thus, the Court finds that the votes cast by Evergreen and Dkrolga in the regional committee election were validly cast and the Court hereby orders Sec. RPryor to count the ballots in question as valid.

The Supreme Court would like to thank evergreen and rpryor for their full cooperation and their rapidity of posting their brief.
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SUSAN CRUSHBONE
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« Reply #15 on: June 07, 2016, 12:48:30 PM »

thank you, justice windjammer.
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rpryor03
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« Reply #16 on: June 07, 2016, 02:15:23 PM »

Thank you, Justice Windjammer.
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TJ in Oregon
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« Reply #17 on: June 07, 2016, 11:28:04 PM »

I join in full the opinion delivered by Justice Windjammer.
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