Consolidated Electoral System Reform Bill (Withdrawn)

[MasterJedi]

This is forum affairs and goes into the 5th slot for that.



Consolidated Electoral System Reform Bill

Section 1: Votes

1.   In their vote in the Elections to the Senate 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 his or her 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 who votes for "None of the Above" may do so only as a first preference; any and all lower preferences of the voter shall be ignored.
7.    If a voter shall explicitly cast a vote in a Senate race for which they are not qualified to vote, then the vote in that Senate race shall be considered non-extant, and the voter may post a new vote in the correct Senate race if applicable

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 first preferences shall be eliminated, and his or her 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:
i. The candidate with the least total number of preferences expressed by voters shall be eliminated.
ii. 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: Run-off Elections

If all remaining candidates shall have the same number of highest preference votes, then the following procedure shall be used to break the tie:

1.    Run-off 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.
2.   Those candidates who have tied shall be automatically entered onto the ballot. No other candidacies shall be allowed.
3.   Voters shall only be able to cast a vote for one candidate.
4.   If any candidate shall gain a majority of the votes cast, then he shall be declared winner.
5.    In the event that litigation is pending before the Supreme Court at the time a run-off is due to be held, the Supreme Court may delay the run-off in a specified manner if it thinks the result of such litigation would have a substantive impact on the run-off.

Section 4: Tied Run-off Elections

If the Run-off 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 a Senate session.
a. The two candidates will be allowed to determine the order in which the terms are 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:
i. Select one candidate to serve the entire term.
ii. 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 Forum Affairs or Deputy Secretary of Forum Affairs shall establish a thread for absentee voting which shall include a full ballot. In the event that a run-off 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.

Section 7: Applicability

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

[MasterJedi]

Section 8: Candidacy Declarations

1.   The candidacy declaration deadline for regular elections to the Senate shall be seven days before the commencement of the election (i.e. this would be no later than midnight Eastern Standard time on the Thursday prior to the election) and for special elections to the Senate shall be two days before the commencement of the election.
2.   The candidacy declaration deadline for full tickets of a Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate to declare shall be seven days before the commencement of the election (i.e. this would be no later than midnight Eastern Standard time on the Thursday prior to the election). However, should the Vice-Presidential candidate withdraw his candidacy, then the Presidential candidate may nominate a new Vice-Presidential candidate up to 72 hours before the commencement of the election.
3.   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.

Section 9: Administration of Voting Booths

1.   Whenever possible, the Secretary of Forum Affairs, or the Deputy Secretary of Forum Affairs, 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 he or she sees 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 Senate 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 Senate 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 Senate 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 his 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 12 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 Presidenitial 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.
4.   The provisions of this section do not override the Akno21 v. Fritz Supreme Court decision.

Section 12: Concession of Victory

1.   If a candidate shall concede his or her victory of a Senate 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 his or her concession, then he or she 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 run-off. 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 run-off, 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 18 March, 2006 shall not be valid.

Section 14: Federal Activity Requirements

1.   All those persons who have posted at least 25 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.
2.   Those persons considered inactive (defined as not active) shall not be qualified to vote in a particular election.
3.   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.

This Act consolidates Sections 1 through to 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act and Section 4 through to 14 (renumbered) of the Electoral System Reform Act
____________________________________________________________

Sponsor: Sen. Dave Hawk

[Democratic Hawk]

Basically, the purpose of this Bill, which shall, hitherto, be referred to as the CESRA, is to consolidate Atlasia’s Federal Election Law into one single Act. Essentially, all it does is “unify” Sections 1 through to 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act and Sections 4 through to 14 (renumbered) of the Electoral System Reform Act

Previously, the Electoral System Reform Act had been subject to two modifications by way of my Modified Electoral System Reform Act and the Second Modified Electoral System Reform Act

However, it was raised by former Senator Peter Bell on the Forum Affairs Commission on Elections (FACE) that when we put Sections 1 to 4 of the ESRA out of force, that we actually lost a couple of the reforms that hadn’t been intended, namely:

1)   The provision in Section 1, Clause 7 of the ESRA that allowed for Senate votes in the wrong region or district to be considered non-extant

Therefore, I have added this clause to Section 1 of the CESRA

2)   The provision in Section 4, Clause 5 of the ESRA that allowed for the Supreme Court to delay run-off elections where litigation was pending

Therefore, I have added this clause to Section 3 of the CESRA

He also raised issues that pertained to the passing of the Flexi-Time Amendment and pointed out that it would be prudent to move the end of candidacy declarations to 7 days before the earliest possible opening time. Therefore, I’ve amended Section 8, Clauses 1 and 2 to reflect this. In effect, candidatures for federal elections must be declared before midnight Eastern Standard Time one week before the earliest possible opening time for the election, which is midnight Eastern Standard Time

Senator Bell also raised issues pertaining to runoff elections and elections caused by the victory of ‘None of the Above’. Therefore, I have amended Section 3, Clause 1 and Section 5, Clause 1 to reflect this. This will bring such elections in line with the same flexi-time arrangements as exist for regular and special elections

'Hawk'

[Democratic Hawk]

I have been advised by former Senator Bell that aspects of the CESRA are problematic; therefore, on his advice, I have made the necessary adjustments

I, hereby, introduce the following amendment (changes in green ):

Section 8: Candidacy Declarations
1.   The candidacy declaration deadline for regular elections to the Senate shall be seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election and for special elections to the Senate shall be two days before the commencement of the election.
2.   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 his candidacy, then the Presidential candidate may nominate a new Vice-Presidential candidate up to 72 hours before the commencement of the election.

Section 10: Certification of Election Results

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.

This Act consolidates Sections 1 through to 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act and Section 4 through to 14 (renumbered) of the Electoral System Reform Act and repeals all operative section of all previous electoral legislation.

'Hawk'

[Peter]

This Act consolidates Sections 1 through to 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act and Section 4 through to 14 (renumbered) of the Electoral System Reform Act and repeals all operative section of all previous electoral legislation.

Thats actually meant to legislative text? I thought you were just explaining what the Bill was doing.

Also, you need to be crystally explicit as to what you are repealing, such as the explicitness that was used in the repeals in Section 12 of the UECA - you cannot expect the Court to osmotically obtain what "previous electoral legislation" is.

You will need to fully repeal Sections 1 thro' 11 of the UECA; Sections 1 thro' 16 of the ESRA and the entirity of Peter Will Fix It.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Ah, but its not. That text was originally part of Section 8 and referred to the 7 sections immediately before it. The text now sits in Section 7 and refers to the 6 sections immediately before and itself.

[Democratic Hawk]

In accordance with the explicit advice given by former Senator Bell, I, hereby, introduce this further amendment to the CESRA:

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 15: Repealed Legislation

This Act repeals the following legislation:

1. Sections 1 through to 11 of the Unified Electoral Code Act.
2. Sections 1 through to 16 of the Electoral System Reform Act.
3. Peter Will Fix It Act.

The following text is stricken from the legislation:

This Act consolidates Sections 1 through to 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act and Section 4 through to 14 (renumbered) of the Electoral System Reform Act and repeals all operative section of all previous electoral legislation.

I trust that this is all that is required; however, I’d appreciate clarification as to whether only Sections 1 through to 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act and Sections 5 through to 15 (before renumbering) of the Electoral System Reform Act should be repealed because, as far as I can ascertain only these Sections of aforesaid Acts are still operative . Sections 4 through to 11 of the UECA having been repealed by the Section 17 of the ESRA and Sections 1 through to 4 of the ESRA having been rejected in the national public poll as stipulated by the Peter Will Fix It Act

I have contacted former Senator Bell on this matter and await his reply

On a lighter note, I swear electoral law will be the death of me

'Hawk'

[Democratic Hawk]

I, hereby, request that this Bill be withdrawn from the Senate floor. It is my intention to reintroduce it once I've fixed it

'Hawk'

[MasterJedi]

Since this is withdrawn and in the fifth slot, no new legislation will come on at this time.