Office of Northeast Chief Judicial Officer cinyc

[tpfkaw]

Unfortunately I'm having very intermittent access to a computer today, I may require an extension as well.

[cinyc]

Unfortunately I'm having very intermittent access to a computer today, I may require an extension as well.

Any response yet?

[cinyc]

Notice of Special Northeast Election:

There are TWO vacancies in the Northeast Assembly, caused by the inactivity of Representatives Giovanni and EarlAW.

A voting booth to fill the vacancy will be opened on  Friday, June 3 at 12:00:00AM and shall remain open until the end of the day Sunday, Eastern time.

Candidates who wish to have their name placed on the special election ballot shall declare their intention to run in the special election on the Candidate Declaration Thread before 12:00:00 Eastern time on Thursday, June 2.

[tpfkaw]

Unfortunately I'm having very intermittent access to a computer today, I may require an extension as well.

Any response yet?

I'm very sorry, I've been very busy the past few days and I've also mainly only had internet access on my cell phone, I'll try to have a detailed response in tonight.

[tpfkaw]

My response is quite simple.

Each of those ties were lawfully broken by Governor Hantheguitarman, in place of the Lieutenant Governor.  Since the Governor has the sole power to appoint both the Lt. Governor and the CJO, the powers of those two positions could be considered part of the executive, and therefore should those positions be absent the Governor is the highest executive official and therefore would assume the powers and responsibilities of those positions.

The position of Lt. Governor was indeed absent, Fezzyfestoon never even swore in after his election.  We did discuss appointing someone else as Lt. Governor, but we could not find anyone willing to fill the position (unsurprising, since we couldn't fill every Assembly seat).  Dallasfan65, myself, and Hantheguitarman (if he were still here) would all testify to that effect.

I would furthermore like to point out that Napoleon is in agreement with my position on this matter; he attempted to recall, then threatened to impeach Governor Ghost_white for failing to open a voting booth.  Opening voting booths, however, is a power that the constitution's language grants only to the Chief Judicial Officer.  Nevertheless, the position of CJO was vacant (indeed, no election was even held for the position), and so the powers and responsibilities of the CJO reverted to the Governor by virtue of the constitutionally executive nature of the position, at least with regards to its executive administerial functions.  Napoleon and I are in agreement on this, as evidenced by his attempt to recall Ghost_white.  I am therefore somewhat confused as to what constitutes the legal basis for his complaint in this case.

[cinyc]

Thank you, Lt. Governor wormyguy.

Speaker Napoleon?  Do you have any response to the Lt. Governor's brief before I start asking more detailed questions?

[Napoleon]

Yeah but I just moved in to a new place so I'm trying to get everything set up. I may be able to have something tonight.

[cinyc]

Yeah but I just moved in to a new place so I'm trying to get everything set up. I may be able to have something tonight.

That's perfectly fine.  I originally gave you 2 days for a formal response, so since the Lt. Governor's statement came a bit later than expected (though perfectly justified due to the long weekend), you have until tomorrow before I start asking questions without a brief.

[cinyc]

Certification of June 3, 2011 Northeast Assembly Special Election:

JBach717 a.k.a. Cincinnatus and Marokai Blue a.k.a. Marokai Crisis have been elected as Northeast Assemblymen in the June 3, 2011 Northeast Assembly Special Election.

On the particulars, all 15 votes were validly cast.  The quota was 5 (15 votes/(2 seats+1)=5).  Cincinnatus was elected on the first ballot with 6 first preferences before even attempting to remove votes cast for people who did not accept write-ins.  Marokai Blue was first-preferenced by 4 people.  Everyone who first-preferenced Cincinnatus second-preferenced Marokai Blue, making him deemed elected on the second ballot after transferring Cincinnatus' second preferences to him.

[cinyc]

Speaker Napoleon -

Are you going to have a formal response by tomorrow afternoon or should I start asking questions?

[cinyc]

I guess there will be no formal response brief then.

I do have a few questions-

Lt. Governor wormyguy - please explain how Lt. Governor fezzyfestoon's absence was temporary if he never swore in.

Speaker Napoleon  - Are you asking for me to strike down those other laws as well?  Also, when does a Lt. Governor's failure to swear in become more than a temporary absence?  After a week?  A month?  Never?

[Napoleon]

Since the Un-Stealing Act was repealed, only the other laws stand. I believe they should be struck down due to being passed illegally.

An absence should only be considered temporary when it is declared to be so by the officeholder going absent.

[homelycooking]

cinyc,

The Northeast Constitution requires those elected in a regular election to be seated on the Tuesday after the conclusion of the vote, as well as for the election results to be declared the Monday after:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

As I may have been elected, I would respectfully request that you release the results of the election
as soon as possible, so that I and others might know what the electorate has decided.

Assemblyman homelycooking

[cinyc]

cinyc,

The Northeast Constitution requires those elected in a regular election to be seated on the Tuesday after the conclusion of the vote, as well as for the election results to be declared the Monday after:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

As I may have been elected, I would respectfully request that you release the results of the election
as soon as possible, so that I and others might know what the electorate has decided.

Assemblyman homelycooking

I know.  I apologize.  I was busy yesterday and didn't have a chance to look at the Assembly results in greater detail until tonight.   Preliminary certification to follow in my next response - but I need Smid or someone else's input before certifying Redcommander due to a potential STV quirk.

This isn't a good excuse for my tardiness, but doing a PR-STV tally isn't as easy as you might think.  It takes time and thought to tally the votes.  You really need to set an hour or so aside to do it.

[cinyc]

PRELIMINARY Election Certification

I am going to partially preliminarily partially certify the results and ask a bit of help before completing the Assembly count.  This certification is PRELIMINARY - if there are any mistakes, please tell me in my office thread.

Invalid voter: Giovanni
Reason: Not a resident of the Northeast 7 days before the election, according to the Census Bureau.  Giovanni was not included on the list of Northeast voters provided to me by the Census Bureau on the date of the election and is currently listed as becoming a citizen of the Northeast on June 14:



Under the Northeast Voting Regulations,  a voter must be "registered with the Atlasian Secretary of Forum Affairs as a voter of a Northeastern state 7 days prior to the day appointed for the election" in order to be eligible to vote in the Northeast.  Either way, Giovanni wasn't according to the records provided me by the successor to the SoFA.  

Should Giovanni wish to appeal this determination, it must be done in federal court.  Section 7 of the Northeast Voting regulations allows appeals on federal issues.  Whether the Registrar General's determination is incorrect is a federal issue, not a regional one.
-----------------------------------------------------

Certification of Northeast Governor's Election

20RP12 a.k.a. Jake Matthews is elected Northeast Governor by a vote of 11-1.  

======================
Dallasfan65 wrote himself in, so first ballot votes for him were counted.  Ghost_white neither voted nor declared his candidacy, so first-ballot votes for him were not counted.

Please note that under Section 5 of the Northeast Voting Regulations and the New Northeast Constitution, gubernatorial elections are decided by plurality voting "with voters listing a single candidate that is on the ballot as their favored choice."  I have not allocated second preferences - though it obviously wouldn't change the result.

Certification of Northeast Lt. Governor's Election

Winfield is elected Northeast Lt. Governor with 3 votes.  

============
No other votes have been validly cast.  Dallasfan65 and 20RP12 neither wrote-in themselves nor declared that they were candidates for Lt. Governor in the Candidate Declaration Thread before the voting booth closed.

Partial Certification of the Northeast Assembly Elections

homelycooking, FallenMorgan, wormyguy, Cincinnatus, Elyski729 and Winfield are elected to the Northeast Assembly.

================

The quota was 2.  Integer[(14 votes/7 Seats +1) +1] = Integer[1.75 +1] = Integer [2.75] = 2.

Write-in votes for FallenMorgan, Winfield and Redcommander are valid because each person wrote themselves in.  Write-in votes for Elyski729 are valid because Elisky279 declared an intention to accept write-ins in the Candidate Declaration Thread before the polls closed.  All other write-ins - including those for Giovanni, who wrote himself in a vote I have deemed invalid - are not valid.

homelycooking, FallenMorgan, wormyguy and Cincinnatus were elected on the first ballot.  Winfield and Elyski729 were elected on the second ballot.

Only homelycooking exceeded the quota on the first ballot.  Unfortunately, none of the overflow went directly to Redcommander.  As a result, I will need to consult with greater experts than me on PR-STV voting to determine whether Redcommander has been elected.

[homelycooking]

Thank you, cinyc.

Is Winfield permitted by law to hold two offices (Lieutenant Governor and Assemblyman), or will he be forced to choose one or the other?

[cinyc]

Thank you, cinyc.

Is Winfield permitted by law to hold two offices (Lieutenant Governor and Assemblyman), or will he be forced to choose one or the other?

He will be forced to choose one or the other.  A special election will ultimately held to fill whichever office he does not choose.  If he is completely inactive, the Assembly seat will be deemed vacated if he misses three consecutive final votes on legislation.  Whether he'd still be considered Lt. Gov - well, that's part of the current case before me. 

I'm waiting for a response from wormyguy before rendering judgment - though if he doesn't respond by the end of the week, I will start drafting my opinion.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Sweet

[Lincoln Republican]

Thank you, cinyc.

Is Winfield permitted by law to hold two offices (Lieutenant Governor and Assemblyman), or will he be forced to choose one or the other?

He will be forced to choose one or the other.  A special election will ultimately held to fill whichever office he does not choose.  If he is completely inactive, the Assembly seat will be deemed vacated if he misses three consecutive final votes on legislation.  Whether he'd still be considered Lt. Gov - well, that's part of the current case before me. 

I'm waiting for a response from wormyguy before rendering judgment - though if he doesn't respond by the end of the week, I will start drafting my opinion.

I have decided to become Lt. Gov.  Thank you.

[cinyc]

I have decided to become Lt. Gov.  Thank you.

Then, there will be a special election for Northeast Assembly this week or next.  I have some loose ends to tie up, but it should be for at least one seat - and perhaps only one.

My preliminary certification is now final.  I will have to do further research to determine who wins the 7th Assembly seat.  It's not an easy issue, complicated by the fact that Giovanni wrote himself in for Assembly by an otherwise invalid vote.  Whether that's good enough needs to be researched.

I don't have time to tie up all the loose ends this evening.  I hope to have a decision by tomorrow.  In the interim, everyone else can swear in - the Governor, Lt. Governor and 6 (now 5) people mentioned as winning Assembly seats can swear in.

[Smid]

My preliminary certification is now final.  I will have to do further research to determine who wins the 7th Assembly seat.  It's not an easy issue, complicated by the fact that Giovanni wrote himself in for Assembly by an otherwise invalid vote.  Whether that's good enough needs to be researched.

I would recommend that regardless of the outcome, the laws surrounding elections should be tightened to prohibit the election of any person who is not entitled to cast a ballot for the position they are seeking.

[homelycooking]

cinyc, have you come to a decision on the possible election of Redcommander?

[cinyc]

cinyc, have you come to a decision on the possible election of Redcommander?

Yes.  The relevant portion of the Atlasian Constitution is silent on write-in declaration rules for Assembly.  Per past practice, write-ins have been allowed if the candidate declared an intention to accept write-ins before the close of the election booth OR wrote themselves in on their ballot - but, as far as I can tell, no one raised an issue regarding what happens if that write-in is invalid.

Compiling election results is not as easy as many think.  Declaring an intention to accept write-ins in the official thread makes things easier for the CJO, especially when some posters change their top-listed screen name as often as they change their underwear.  In the absence of any Northeast law that I am aware of governing write-ins, those who cast an invalid write-in vote are not treated as having agreed to cast write-ins.  

Nevertheless, I encourage the Assembly to pass a law to clarify acceptance of write-in votes, perhaps as an update the the Northeastern Voting Regulations.  I also strongly encourage the Assembly to get someone to update the Northeast Wiki.  It is in dire shape since I last updated the statute section - and laws that can't be easily found are laws that may be forgotten.  I didn't have the time to look through the whole Assembly thread to make sure I found absolutely everything.  If anyone who was in the Assembly at the time remembers passing any law regarding write-ins, please tell me in the thread.

Because I have previously declared Giovanni's vote to be invalid, Redcommander has been elected to the Northeast Assembly.  This decision will become effective as of 12:01AM on Friday, June 24, to give time for anyone who was in the Assembly at any time since the Wiki was last updated remembers any law I might have missed.

[Cincinnatus]

I'm sure such a law would be gladly introduced.  The only one currently regarding write-in votes that I'm aware of would be the Vacancy filling Act, which deals with special elections.  Hopefully the Assembly can get this taken care of.

[cinyc]

There's going to be a special election to fill the vacancy created by Lt. Governor Winfield's decision to take that post instead of the Assembly seat he won next week, anyway - and Giovanni will be a Northeast resident for 7 days by then.   Hopefully, this all ends up being much ado about nothing.  But if someone wants to sue, they can.