The Examiner: Election Tracker

[Јas]

The Examiner

11 April 2008

Special Election Underway

Voting has opened in the Special Election to fill the vacancy arising from the judgment in Brandon H v Department of Forum Affairs. Fmr. President Colin Wixted has taken a commanding lead in the early polling in the special Senate election, with half the votes cast so far and very strong second preference returns from others.

Polling will continue through the weekend.

Current Tally:
Colin 9
Lewis 3
SPC 3
Xahar 3

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meekermariner becomes PPT

Following the completion of the nomination period, Sen. meekermariner (PLP-ME) was declared to be the new PPT by the Vice President. meekermariner was the only Senator to express an interest in the position. He suceeds Sen. Verily who resigned the position earlier in the week.

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Trans Fat Regulation Bill

The Trans Fat Regulation Bill, which was drafted by Vice President Ebowed, has opened for debate in the Senate. The bill seeks to ban foods containing non-naturally occurring trans fats. The Secretary of External Affairs, MasterJedi, has asked that the Senate table the bill.

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National Policy Standardisation Amendment

Little or no movement has been made with the voting on the National Policy Standardisation Amendment. The vote of Gustaf in the Midwest brought the nominal totals there to 3-3, but questions may be raised as to whether the nay vote of hughento may be ineligible on campaigning grounds.

With no change elsewhere, it seems less than likely that the Amendment will be ratified, maintaining an outright majority only in the Mideast region.

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Amendment to the Taiwan Relations Act

Sen. Verily’s proposed Amendment to the Taiwan Relations Act to include the Kinmen and Matsu islands under the terms of the Act, has reached the Senate floor.

[Јas]

sections 18 and 19 of the Proportional Representation Act – which allow parties to nominate replacement Senators – were in contravention of a constitutional requirement that seats must be filled by election.

In fact, section 19 of the PRA was not declared unconstitutional, but it needs a constitutional section 18 to operate.  If the Senate were to amend section 18 of the PRA so as to have the major party in question conduct a special election at the time required by Article I Section 4 Clause 5 and the Eleventh Amendment, then such an amended section 18 would not run afoul of the decision in Brandon H v Department of Forum Affairs and section 19 would be able to operate.

Thanks for that, I've amended the article accordingly.

[Meeker]

I live in Virginia

[Јas]

I live in Virginia

Examiner policy when describing Senators is to use (Party-Region/District), hence Sen. meekermariner (PLP-ME).
NE; ME; MW; PAC; and SE are used for the various regions.
States aren't used because they are irrelevant (at least in this context).

It's a little unfortunate that ME can cause some confusion.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I know there was a little bit of confusion about it earlier, so I do want to reiterate—all currently registered Atlasian voters are eligible to vote in this weekend's Special Election.

[Meeker]

I live in Virginia

Examiner policy when describing Senators is to use (Party-Region/District), hence Sen. meekermariner (PLP-ME).
NE; ME; MW; PAC; and SE are used for the various regions.
States aren't used because they are irrelevant (at least in this context).

It's a little unfortunate that ME can cause some confusion.

Ah, my mistake.

[Јas]

The Examiner

12 April 2008

Senate Race Tightens

The race for the latest available Senate seat has tightened up considerably over the past 24 hours. Colin Wixted retains the lead he has held since polling opened, but The Examiner’s count gives him only a 3 vote advantage over Lewis Trondheim in the final round.

Unofficial Examiner Tallies:

Candidate	1st Count	2nd Count	3rd Count
Colin Wixted (NLC)	12	14	18
Lewis Trondheim (JCP)	9	12	15
South Park Conservative (NLC)	8	8
Xahar (PLP)	5

(Last voter: Speed of Sound)

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PLP: Dusk or Dawn?

The PLP took yet another stumble yesterday, with the decision by Mideast Gov. HappyWarrior to reject the leadership of the party. In a statement at the party convention, he said:
“I have decided that I can not in good conscience accept the chairmanship of the PLP at this time.  I am not sure that I plan to even remain a member of this party which has recently become something I am not.  If Sensei departs the party after the April elections I am sorry to say that I may as well.  Recent party trends have personally bothered me and I just can't agree with the actions and beliefs of many of our newer members.”

Following this statement, the future of the party itself may have been brought into doubt with the loss of a series of figures in recent times and with leading members opening considering following suit. There has however now emerged two candidates for the leadership – EarlAW and MATCHU[D].

Fmr. Senator EarlAW wants “party unity” to be his main goal, but admits “I have no idea what this dispute is all about”. He claims that this will help him to act as a moderator. He further warned that leaving the party was of no benefit to anyone leading only to the “unnecessary splitting up of the left”. 

His opponent, MATCHU[D], has promised to “renergize an already fading battery powering the engine of Progessive liberalism through Atlasia”. He also claims that “active membership will regain momentum” under his leadership.

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Trans Fats Bill Saturated with Criticism

The Trans Fat Regulation Bill which has suffered from sustained criticism in the Senate since its introduction, has lost the sponsorship of Sen. meekermariner (PLP-ME). 

A particular issue of concern with a number of citizens had been that the bill would not apply to the regions. This is not believed to be the reason why the President threatened to veto the bill, which was drafted by his Vice President, Ebowed.

No Senator has yet stepped forward to take up sponsorship of the bill.

[Хahar 🤔]

Trans Fats Bill Saturated with Criticism

[Јas]

The Examiner

13 April 2008

Wixted Holding On

Heading into the final hours of the Special Election, Colin Wixted continues to hold on to a narrow lead over Lewis Trondheim, whose momentum appears to have disappeared. Nonetheless, the relatively slim margim at play means that the election is likely to remain too close to call until much nearer the balloting deadline.

Unofficial Examiner Tallies:

Candidate	1st Count -	2nd Count -	3rd Count
Colin Wixted (NLC)	14	16	21
Lewis Trondheim (JCP)	11	15	18
South Park Conservative (NLC)	9	9
Xahar (PLP)	6

(Last voter: Peter Bell)

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National Policy Standardization Amendment

Coming into the latter stage of its voting period, the National Policy Standardization Amendment is now almost certain to fail. The vote of Peter Bell in the Mideast means that the Amendment now lacks a clear majority in any Atlasian region.

Unofficial Examiner Regional Tallies:

	NE -	ME -	MW -	PAC -	SE
Aye	4	4	3	2	0
Nay	7	4	4	4	0

[Hash]

OK, I must ask the Southeast governor to open the SE booth as soon as possible.

[Frodo]

OK, I must ask the Southeast governor to open the SE booth as soon as possible.

If the current trend against the amendment holds, it won't even matter what Governor Caldwell does.   

[Хahar 🤔]

OK, I must ask the Southeast governor to open the SE booth as soon as possible.

If the current trend against the amendment holds, it won't even matter what Governor Caldwell does.  

TCash101, actually. Preston got voted out in February.

[Hash]

OK, I must ask the Southeast governor to open the SE booth as soon as possible.

If the current trend against the amendment holds, it won't even matter what Governor Caldwell does.   

Yes, me knows, but methinks the people of the Southeast should be able to vote on this.

[Speed of Sound]

Notice: Lewis had taken the lead with 34 minutes to go.

[Meeker]

Notice: Lewis had taken the lead with 34 minutes to go.

Beat me to it. Late GOTV or just a coincidence?

[Speed of Sound]

Notice: Lewis had taken the lead with 34 minutes to go.

Beat me to it. Late GOTV or just a coincidence?

Late gotv for sure.

[Meeker]

The tension mounts...

[bgwah]

Notice: Lewis had taken the lead with 34 minutes to go.

Beat me to it. Late GOTV or just a coincidence?

Late gotv for sure.

'

tee hee

[Meeker]

And that's that. JCP gain from NLC.

[CultureKing]

Congrats to Lewis on his win, I look forward to working with another member of the JCP in the senate.
And now for a slightly annoying graphic:

[Colin]

I knew I should join the JCP. It's the only party that seemingly matters now-a-days.

Well congrats to Lewis since it does look like he has the win.

[Хahar 🤔]

Congrats to Lewis on his win, I look forward to working with another member of the JCP in the senate.
And now for a slightly annoying graphic:

Look at his post count! Isn't that weird? An SMF Easter egg?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

And that's that. JCP gain from NLC.

Indeed, though both were all but guaranteed to have been elected in the April general election.

[Meeker]

And that's that. JCP gain from NLC.

Indeed, though both were all but guaranteed to have been elected in the April general election.

True, and I'm sure Colin will win a Senate seat in a week.

[Хahar 🤔]

Projections for the elections:

Lewis, Colin, Afleitch, Earl win seats. Last seat is a tossup between Sensei and Bacon King.