Dixieland: Constitutional Convention

[Mr. Reactionary]

First National Constitutional Convention of the South

Greetings Southerners and thank you for traveling to the Election and History Games Board.

Pursuant to Executive Order 68, I hereby open this Constitutional Convention. Now that the South has declared independence from the Republic of Atlasia, we have a wonderful task before us: designing and adopting a new national constitution for the South.

This will be a fun experiment for our people. No longer are we bound to the idiotic constraints of the fatally flawed Atlasian constitution. We can consider any number of amendments, structural changes, and what have you to govern our people into the prosperity of the future.

This process will begin by me posting the existing constitution and then the Atlasian constitution piece by piece since both are relevant to this discussion.

Then comes the fun, where we consider our future. While there are appointed delegates, I think its important for there to be buy in and participation from all Southern citizens.

As a reminder, here is the census roll:

Prepared at the request of the Secretary of State's Office:

Southern Census as of 3:00pm EST on May 16, 2023

	SNP	Fed	Pax	Lab	NKT	Ind	Total
Upper South	13 (▲4)	6 (▲1)	5 (▲1)	1 (---)	0 (---)	0 (▼1)	25 (▲5)
Deep South	15 (▲3)	4 (▼2)	2 (---)	2 (---)	1 (---)	1 (---)	25 (▲1)
Total	28 (▲7)	10 (▼1)	7 (▲1)	3 (---)	1 (---)	1 (▼1)	50 (▲6)

Eligible Southern Voters

Agafin
AncestralDemocrat
BG-NY
blackraisin
BlahTheCanuck
CELTICEMPIRE
Computer89
DeadPrez
DieselDogg
diptheriadan
Donerail
DPKdebator
fhtagn
FranciscoM97
Fuzzy Bear
ghost_white
Hammy
holtridge
Lechasseur
ListMan38
LordRichard
Louisville Thunder
Muaddib
NCYankee
nfvlmv
Octosteel
OriAr
Penn_Quaker_Girl
PiT (The Physicist)
Politics Fan
Ragnaroni
Razze
reagente
RFayette
satsuma
Spiral
Sprouts
Steelers
Sunmerican Dream
Talleyrand
Tea Party Hater
TexasConservative
TheReckoning
TheSaint250
thumb21
TimTurner
tmthforu94
UlmerFudd
UWS

I have also been in contact with some Southerners abroad who have expressed interest in remote participation which will be allowed for cause. So expect to see remote participation from some old friends.

Once we have a new constitution, we can pick up where we left off before a secret cabal of nefarious Lincolnites and Fremonters broke every rule and law in Atlasia to destroy the game and led us to legally, lawfully, constitutionally, and justifiably exercise our right to secede. Even now, they conspire in secret servers, despite our having left. Rather than hide in the dark like the rats and snakes of Lincoln and Fremont, we shall, in public light choose our own destiny.

In conclusion, I welcome each of you to this convention and express my beliefs that we will emerge from this a stronger, freer, and happier nation, having now excised ourselves of the cancer that was Atlasia. Thank you.

- R, Southern Attorney General

Executive Order 68

As the House of Burgesses has authorized a new constitutional convention, I hereby appoint the following individuals to the Constitutional Convention: Mr. Reactionary, reagente,
LordDrachir, Old School Republican, and Deadprez

For continuity of government purposes, the Constitutional Convention thread shall be posted in the Election and History Games forum. Mr. Reactionary shall be the interim chair of this Constitutional Convention.

It is so ordered.

x Young Texan

[Mr. Reactionary]

Existing Southern Constitution

We, the people of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Greenland, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, in order to preserve the inherent equal rights of all individuals to a free and peaceful life, hereby ordain and establish this constitution for the Southern Region.

Article I: The Region

1. The South and the Constitution thereof shall be representative of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Greenland, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

2. The region may also be referred to as the Southern Region.

3. The regional capital for The South established in this Constitution shall be Nashville, Tennessee.

4. For purposes of electoral representation, The South shall be divided into two Subregions:

i. The Upper Southern Subregion shall consist of the states of Arkansas, Delaware, Greenland, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

ii. The Deep Southern Subregion shall consist of the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Texas.

Article II: Bill of Rights

The people of The South are naturally endowed by our creator, God, with certain inalienable rights which shall not be infringed under this constitution, including:

1. Freedom of Speech — All persons in the South are entitled to their freedom of thought and expression of their ideas and to communicate these ideas. No person shall be compelled to communicate or fund any thought repugnant to him, excepting sworn testimony before a court or board as well as information necessary and proper to commercial transactions. No laws shall be passed regulating or restraining the freedom of persons to reduce protected speech into other mediums, to make noncommercial copies thereof, and to publish or broadcast this protected speech. Freedom of speech and press shall be protected by the law with exceptions made for only those categories of speech not traditionally protected at common law. There shall be no law limiting the right of southern citizens to submit petitions to their elected officials free from retaliation and to sue in a proper court for proper relief. Additionally, there shall be no law prohibiting the right of persons to gather or assemble, on either public or private property, for any peaceful reason. Persons enjoy the right to associate together for the purpose of exercising any other right in concert, including the right to form entities for such purpose subject to law, as well as the right to exclude persons from noncommercial associations, the right to refuse to associate with an association, and the freedom from excessive burdens imposed upon associations.

2. Equality — All persons in the South are born equal, and shall be treated as so under the law, no matter their sex, race, color, or ethnicity, religion, parentage, disability, economic status, or State of residence within the Region. The provision of separate but equal facilities or programs based on sex in areas where such separation is traditional does not violate this provision. No government institution may explicitly favor one group over another, including through affirmative action programs, nor shall any government exempt its officers or employees from any law applying generally to the public nor shall the executive suspend any law without consent of the legislature. No title of nobility shall be granted within the Southern Region. No person in the South shall be excluded from participating in public life based on the arbitrary classifications enumerated herein, including participation in the militia, in court proceedings as a witness or juror, or in consideration for public office or employment.

3. Democracy — The people of The South live in a republican democracy, and therefore all law-abiding citizens who meet voting requirements as established by law shall be granted the right to vote.

4. Rights of the Accused — All persons accused of a crime shall be presumed innocent until convicted by law. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or felony crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and locale wherein the crime shall have been committed, as determined by law and allowing for changes of venue when an impartial jury cannot be empaneled, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and be provided with a copy thereof; to a writ of habeas corpus when appropriate; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel for his defense, to present evidence of his innocence, offer jury instructions, exclude evidence obtained in violation of this Bill of Rights, and raise alternative arguments without prejudice. No person shall be tried for a crime in absentia or by a bill of attainder. Vague criminal laws shall be construed in favor of the accused. A person may voluntarily waive any of these rights upon declaration under oath to the court that such waiver is being made knowingly and freely. A jury conviction shall be unanimous. All persons standing trial shall be entitled to a copy of any exculpatory evidence in the possession of the prosecutor.

5. Right to Privacy — All people have the general right to privacy subject to the public health and safety. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, records, and property, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. A copy of the warrant shall be provided to the person being searched. No Soldier, militiaman, police, or public employee shall, in time of peace be quartered in any private property, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, invasion, or imminent peril, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. No person shall be required by law to present identification merely to be physically present in a public place. No list or database shall ever be created, compiled, or maintained of any privately owned weapons nor shall any list or database of persons exercising these rights be created.

6. Right to Religious Freedom — Each person possesses the right to believe or not believe whatever religious ideas they choose. No government shall infringe upon anyone's right to believe, worship, or participate in religious rites, subject to laws of general applicability where a reasonable accommodation is not possible. No person conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms shall be compelled to do so. Furthermore there shall be no preference, endorsement, nor biases against or in favor of any one religion or a combination of religions, nor shall the religious be excluded from receiving public funds. No religious test or oath of office shall be required for public office or public employment. No government power shall be delegated to a religious body or organization nor shall the government have any power to determine or resolve disputed religious doctrine. The use of nondenominational prayers by public officials and employees shall not constitute the preferencing or endorsement of a religion nor shall the use of the Bible as a teaching tool in public schools, provided that such instructional use is not presented as pure fact.

7. Right to Property — All persons possess the general right of quiet enjoyment of their real, personal, and intangible property including the right to use, transport, alienate, and dispose of such property subject to the public interest. The taking of private property of any type for actual use by the public without just compensation determined by a proper court of law is prohibited, and the owner of any property taken in such manner shall have the right to reacquire such property for just compensation if such property is not actually used by the public.

8. Right to Travel — All persons have the right to move, travel, and roam, with or without other persons and with or without their lawful property on public lands and right-of-ways, when such movement does not imminently jeopardize the public health or safety. All persons also have the right to hunt, fish, forage for sustenance, camp, harvest timber, and consume public natural resources subject to reasonable laws for the promotion of conservation and good stewardship.

9. No Taxation Without Representation — No citizen subject to taxation who meets the general voting requirements shall be denied the opportunity to vote for their representation in government.

10. Right to Arms —The right of all persons who have not been convicted of a violent crime or have been declared incompetent through due process of law to own and publicly carry as many of any type of any lawful weapon as is desired for whatever lawful purpose shall not be infringed. Lawful weapons include but shall not be limited to any caliber of any firearm that can be carried and operated by a single person, bladed or blunt melee weapons, fireworks, hand-propelled explosives such as hand grenades, and electric stun guns. Accessories and ammunition for lawful weapons shall be construed as lawful weapons.

11. Cruel and Unusual Punishment — Excessive bail shall not be required nor unreasonably denied when the suspect is not a flight or safety risk, nor excessive fines or punitive damages imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Humane capital punishment after due process for murder or rape convictions shall not be considered a cruel or unusual punishment.

12. Personal autonomy — All persons are sovereign over their physical persons. All persons have a right to be born when such birth does not endanger the life of the mother. All persons have a right to a name. All persons have the right to engage in self-dense. No competent person shall be compelled to receive any medical treatment, sterilization, abortion, drug, or vaccine, nor shall any competent person be compelled to ingest anything, or have an organ or body part removed, or receive any tattoo, marking, or microchip. No person shall be compelled to become impregnated or engage in sexual conduct with any person nor shall any unrelated consenting adults be prohibited from engaging in non-commercial sexual conduct in private, subject to reasonable public health measures to prevent the spread of sexually transmissible diseases and reasonable protections against coercive sex resulting from hierarchical power imbalances. Slavery and involuntary servitude, whether as a result of legal status, punishment, peonage, debts, or contracts is hereby prohibited. This shall not include participation in legal proceedings or in a draft or militia service during an emergency declared pursuant to law.

13. Family — All persons have the right to form families. No two consenting adults disrelated by blood by at least two degrees of family lineage shall be prohibited from legal marriage. No person shall be prohibited by law from conceiving and bearing children nor shall any law unreasonably limit the legal adoption of children by adults determined by law to be competent parents or of incapacitated adults by family members determined by law to be competent guardians. Parents shall have the right to direct the care, custody, and education of their child, provided that the best interests of the child are not greatly endangered by such determination. Family members and descendants shall be entitled to prevent the intentional desecration, destruction, damaging, or removal of the graves of and public monuments to their loved ones, whether by force, injunction, or other legal remedy.

14. Contract — All persons possess the general right to contract with other persons, whether for goods, property, wages, labor, personal services, insurance, or other lawful purpose, subject to the public policy and laws of the Southern Region. No person shall refuse to contract with another person for goods, property, wages, or insurance on the basis of being a member in a classification protected in Paragraph 2 of this Bill of Rights.

15. Labor — All persons possess the right to engage in a skilled trade, the right to alienate their labor, the right to collectively bargain their labor, the right to form and join unions for such purpose, the right to refuse to join or fund unions without retaliation, and the right to privacy both through a secret ballot in any union certification election and protection from having personal information given by an employer to representatives of a union.

16. Civil Lawsuits — In civil cases where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty-five thousand dollars fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court, than according to the rules of the common law nor shall any jury be bifurcated between determining facts and determining a reward. The legislature may establish a cap on punitive, non-economic, and other intangible damages. Equitable remedies shall be solely reserved for the judiciary which shall possess the power to issue all writs to provide an adequate remedy. No defendant shall be denied the presumption of non-liability. Any person may settle a civil claim without approval of a court.

17. Crime Victims— The victim of any crime as determined by due process of law shall be entitled to restitution from the criminal, the right to address the court prior to sentencing, and the right to notice when the criminal has escaped or is released from prison.

18. Marijuana — The right of adults to cultivate, harvest, and consume tobacco, marijuana, cannabis, or derivatives thereof for personal use shall not be violated, subject to reasonable regulation of the time, place, and manner of consuming the same. No law shall prohibit in totality the commercial sale or distribution of such products.

19. Revolution — Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

20. Other Rights — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

[Dereich]

I've already made my statement on this. If a thread is directly connected to Atlasia, it belongs on the Atlas Fantasy boards not E&H.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Article III: The Executive Branch

1. The executive authority of The South shall be vested in the President of The South. The President must be a registered voter in The South.

2. The President must be elected democratically by the people of The South. Elections are to be held every April for President. The appropriate election administrator will open the voting booth at 12:00:00am EDT of the penultimate Friday of the month and will close said booth the following Sunday at 11:59:59pm EDT. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballot received no more than 168 hours prior to the opening of the polls.

3. Candidates for governor will be given until the Wednesday at 11:59:59 pm EDT preceding the first date of polling in the election they wish to contest to announce their candidacy and appear on the ballot. This is to be done by officially declaring their candidacy in the Candidate Declaration Thread.

4. When the polls close, the appropriate election administrator of The South shall be given twenty-four hours to count the votes and declare a winner. All Presidential elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. The newly elected President is to be officially sworn in on the Friday following the election. In the case of a tie, the members of the outgoing House of Burgesses will vote between the tied candidates to elect the new President. The winner will be eligible to swear in immediately. There may only be one President at any point in time. Once a new President is sworn in, the old one forfeits their office.

5. Should the office of President fall vacant at any point during the term, the Vice President shall assume the role of President.

6. In the event that the President of The South, the Vice President of the South, or any other executive official, commits an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the Region and that is legally prohibited, The House of Burgesses shall begin impeachment proceedings upon the sponsoring of one or more articles of impeachment by a member of the House of Burgesses and the seconding of such articles by another member. Should three-fourths of the House vote to convict on one or more articles, the executive officer in question shall immediately forfeit their office.

7. The President shall have the power to carry out all acts in association with the enforcement of the laws passed under this Constitution; to fill vacancies in the House; to command the regional militia in times of war; to appoint, with the consent of the House of Burgesses, the heads of any executive departments which may be established by law; to issue pardons and reprieves for crimes committed under the laws of this Region, which shall be permanent upon their issuance, though he shall have no power to pardon himself; to appoint, in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, the Associate Justice for this Region; and to approve, or veto, all acts passed by the House of Burgesses.

8. The President has veto power over any piece of legislation passed by The House of Burgesses. The President may have the power to veto sections of legislation as opposed to the whole of any legislation, if provided for by law. The President must either sign or veto a piece of legislation or if applicable sections of legislation within one week of its passage, otherwise it will go into effect.

9. The President is obligated to present a yearly budget by July 1 of each year. The structure and procedure for the budget process are to be determined by law. The budget of all government activities is to be voted on by the House after a normal debate period. The budget shall remain in effect for 1 year from its date of passage, or until July 21st of the calendar year after that of its passage, whichever is earlier. The President is obligated to ensure that the budget does not provide for any deficits except in times of emergency or war, a condition the House must successfully endorse by a two-thirds majority. All budgets must include a plan for revenue and taxation.

10. Elections and referendums conducted under the authority and according to the provisions of this Constitution, shall be administered by the executive of the region; and the President of The South, in their capacity as chief of the executive branch, shall therefore bear title as administrator of elections for the region; but by their prerogative, the President may confer these duties upon a secondary office as may be established by law. In the event the President, or secondary officer so designated, should be unable to fulfill this obligation, then the chief officer of the House, or in their absence the most senior member thereof, shall assume the title and authority of the administrator.

11. The office of President is to be deemed vacant upon the resignation, recall, or impeachment of the sitting Governor. A President who takes no action over a fourteen (14) day period shall automatically forfeit their office unless an official leave of absence is acknowledged prior.

12. The President of the South shall have the authority to put non-binding ballot questions to a vote. The President of the South shall have complete discretion to schedule these non-binding ballot questions, except that the voting booth for such questions must open 12:00:00am EDT on a Friday and close the following Sunday at 11:59:59pm EDT. The ballot question must specify that it is non-binding.

13. The Vice President must be elected democratically by the people of The South separately from the President of The South. Elections are to be held every April for Vice President. The appropriate election administrator will open the voting booth at 12:00:00am EDT of the penultimate Friday of the month and will close said booth the following Sunday at 11:59:59pm EDT. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballot received no more than 168 hours prior to the opening of the polls.

14. Candidates for Vice President will be given until the Thursday at 11:49:59 pm EDT preceding the first date of polling in the election they wish to contest to announce their candidacy and appear on the ballot. This is to be done by officially declaring their candidacy in the Candidate Declaration Thread.

15. When the polls close, the appropriate election administrator of The South shall be given twenty-four hours to count the votes and declare a winner. All vice-presidential elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. The newly elected Vice President is to be officially sworn in on the Friday following the election. In the case of a tie, the outgoing President will select one of the tied candidates to be the new Vice President. There may only be one Vice President at any point in time. Once a new Vice President is sworn in, the old one forfeits their office.

16. The office of Vice President is to be deemed vacant upon the resignation or impeachment of the sitting Vice President. A Vice President who takes no action over a fourteen (14) day period shall automatically forfeit their office unless an official leave of absence is acknowledged prior.

17. Should the office of Vice President fall vacant at any point during the term, the President shall appoint, with the consent of the House of Burgesses, a new Vice President.

18. The House of Burgesses may pass a law providing an order of succession in the event that both the office of President and Vice President are vacant.

Article IV: The Legislative Branch

1. The legislative power of The South shall be vested to the Southern Legislature, which shall be composed of four (4) representatives. The House of Burgesses shall be divided into two classes, Class I and Class II. Each class will consist of one (1) representative elected by each of the two sub-regions.

2. Representatives elected from a given subregion are to be elected by all citizens registered to vote in the respective subregion. Representatives must be registered to vote in The South to qualify.

3. Elections to Class I seats of the House of Burgesses shall occur every April. Elections to Class II seats of the House of Burgesses shall occur in April of 2023, then every subsequent October. Each Class of seat to the House of Burgesses shall always be voted on separately, as their own ballot line. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballot received no more than one week prior to the opening of the polls.

4. Candidates for the House of Burgesses will be given until the Wednesday at 11:59:59 pm EDT preceding the first date of polling in the election they wish to contest to announce their candidacy and appear on the ballot. This is to be done by officially declaring their candidacy in the Candidate Declaration Thread. Candidates should specify which subregional seat and seat class they are running for.

5. When the polls close, the appropriate election administrator shall be given twenty-four (24) hours to count the votes and declare elected representatives. All legislative elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. The newly elected representatives shall officially assume office on the Friday following the election, marking the beginning of a new legislative session. In the case of a tie, all tied candidates are to participate in a runoff election the following week to determine a winner, organized by the appropriate election administrators. If a tie remains, the President shall appoint a new Delegate until a new one is elected, in which case the appointed legislator shall forfeit their office.

6. Vacancies in the House of Burgesses shall be filled in a manner specified by law, and until such determination is made, by Presidential appointment. Vacancies occur upon resignation, recall, impeachment, failure to swear in within one week of the legislative session opening or failure to vote on final passage of four consecutive pieces of legislation without publicly declaring absence.

7. All legislation shall first be considered in the House of Burgesses. Legislation shall be considered by the House of Burgesses upon petition of the President, Vice President, any representative, or two Southerners.

8. Any piece of legislation attaining a majority of votes cast in the legislature shall be considered passed by the House of Burgesses. No legislation shall become law without obtaining such a majority. In the event of a tie, the Vice President is empowered to break the tie, giving the piece of legislation a requisite majority

9. The House of Burgesses shall determine its own methods of proceedings, and shall have the power to select its own officers and to judge the qualifications of its members.

10. The House of Burgesses shall have the power to override the President’s veto by a three-fourths majority vote.

11. Initiatives may be proposed for public referendum with the support of at least 25% of the number of registered voters in The South. Alternatively, initiatives may be proposed for public referendum with the support of the Governor and a member of the House of Burgesses. The Secretary of Elections, or should that office be vacant the Dean of the House of Burgesses, shall have complete discretion to schedule these initiatives, except that the voting booth for such initiatives must open 12:00:00am EDT on a Friday and close the following Sunday at 11:59:59pm EDT.

12. The laws of the House of Burgesses shall be the supreme law of the South, and no State, local, territorial, tribal, or other subordinate government in the South shall be entitled to nullify, countermand, or contradict Southern law. The House of Burgesses shall have the power to determine the eligibility and methods of organizing and electing any subordinate NPC State or local government office or title in the South.

13. The Vice President of the South shall be the president of the House of Burgesses.

Article V: Judicial Branch

1. The judicial power of The South shall be vested in the Southern Circuit Court, whose membership is the Associate Justice from The South.

2. The jurisdiction of the Southern Circuit Court shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution and all official acts made under its authority and to controversies between two or more citizens of the South. No State, local, territorial, or tribal government shall be entitled to invoke sovereign immunity in the Southern Circuit Court unless expressly authorized by a duly passed statute from the legislature.

3. Treason against The South, shall consist only in levying War or Rebellion against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

4. The Southern Legislature shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article VI: Senators

1. As mandated by the federal constitution, The South shall elect one (1) senator to represent the entire region in the federal senate and one (1) senator to represent each subregion in the federal senate. Senators must be a registered voter in the South.

2. The regional senator shall be elected in the months of February, June and October. The subregional senators shall be elected in the months of April, August and December.

3. The appropriate election administrator will open the voting booth at 12:00:00am EDT of the penultimate Friday of the month, and will close said booth the following Sunday at 11:59:59pm EDT. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballot received no more than one week prior to the opening of the polls.

4. Candidates for senator will be given until the Wednesday at 11:59:59 pm EDT preceding the first date of polling in the election they wish to contest to announce their candidacy and appear on the ballot. This is to be done by officially declaring their candidacy in the Candidate Declaration Thread.

5. When the polls close, the appropriate election administrator of the South shall be given twenty-four hours to count the votes and declare a winner. All senatorial elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. The newly elected senator is to be officially sworn in on the Friday following the election. In the case of a tie, all tied candidates are to run in a run-off election the following week to determine a winner, organized by the appropriate election administrator. If a tie remains, the previous senator shall remain in office until a senator is elected. Once a new senator is sworn in, the old one forfeits their office.

6. If the office of senator is to become vacant at some point while they are in office, the President may appoint a Southern citizen to fill out the remainder of the term if the next scheduled election for the seat is less than 2 weeks away. If the vacancy occurs 2 weeks to 8 weeks before the next scheduled election for the seat, the President may appoint a Southern citizen with the advice and consent of the Southern Legislature to fill out the remainder of the term. If the vacancy occurs more than 8 weeks before the next scheduled election for the seat, the election administrator shall conduct a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the term. Said election must occur within 14 days of the vacancy.

Article VII: Recall Procedure

1. The people of The South shall have the power to call a referendum on any law signed by the President during the legislative session in which it was passed by the process of petition. Petitions that collect twelve or more signatures shall be considered valid. When a valid petition is presented, the appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth on the next Friday at 12:00:00am EDT and shall close said booth the following Sunday at 11:59:59pm EDT. The referendum question is: “Shall [name of law, followed by text] be upheld as law?” Every citizen will be given the opportunity to vote YES to uphold and NO to repeal during this time. Abstentions will not affect the results. Any bill that fails to receive a majority approval will become null and void. Only votes and signatures from registered Southern voters shall be considered valid for these questions.

Article VIII: Amendments

1. Amendments to this Constitution shall be proposed by the House of Burgesses. A proposed amendment in the House shall be forwarded to the citizens of the Southern Region for ratification by popular vote by the citizens of the Southern Region upon an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the total members of the House of Burgesses. Alternatively, should an amendment be approved unanimously by the House of Burgesses, the House of Burgesses can amend the constitution with the signature of the President.

2. For amendments forwarded to the citizens of the Southern Region, the appropriate election administrator shall open the polling booth at 12:00:00am EDT on the Friday after the Amendment is referred out of the House of Burgesses. The appropriate election administrator shall close the polling booth at 11:59:59pm EDT on the following Sunday. If the date for opening the polling booth coincides with another Southern election, the appropriate election administrator shall include the vote on any proposed Amendments in the polling booth for that election.

3. Any Amendment proposed by the House of Burgesses shall only become effective upon an affirmative vote of a majority of those citizens of the Southern Regio who vote for or against the proposed Amendmentor by unanimous approval by the House of Burgesses and Presidential signature.

4. Whenever three-fourths of the House of Burgesses or one-fourth of the registered voters of the Southern Region considers it desirable to comprehensively improve this constitution, the President shall call for a Constitutional Convention to propose revisions to this document, or replace it entirely. The Constitutional Convention shall consist of a minimum of three members chosen at the discretion of the President.

5. Amendments to the federal constitution shall be voted upon by the people of The South in the same manner as amendments to the Southern Constitution.

6. To be approved, all federal amendments will require the affirmative vote of a majority of those citizens of The South who vote for or against the proposed Amendment.

7. The South shall become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Atlasia for a new economic and political partnership.

Article IX: Continuity

1. Any law passed by the Southern Region prior to the adoption of this constitution shall remain in force unless modified by this Constitution or by subsequent legislation.

2. The provisions of this Constitution, and the provisions of any laws enacted pursuant thereto or prior thereto shall, to the maximum extent permissible be severable from one another if ever struck down by any court.

3. The House of Burgesses may make contingent laws that only go into effect upon the occurrence of future or speculative events, however unlikely, to ensure continuity of government, sound planning, and the faithful execution of this Constitution.

4. Every Article and Section of this Constitution is severable from the other. If a section of this Constitution is found invalid, the text of that section shall be replaced by its previous version, should a previous version exist.

5. Article VIII, Section 2 shall apply to Amendments referred to the Southern public prior to the ratification of this article that have not yet received a vote as of the time of the ratification of this article.

Article X: Unilateral Sovereignty from the Republic of Atlasia

1. Given a public affirmative vote in support of the Southern becoming sovereign, should the Southern have failed to secure sovereignty after the following avenues have been attempted:

1a. Formal dialogue between the President of Atlasia and the President of the South.

1b. Any legislation considered by the full Senate on further devolved powers for the regions.

1c. Commissions, Committees, or Delegations authorized by executives from both parties having discussed separation formally.

2. The Southern Region may formally withdraw itself from the Republic of Atlasia, as the threshold for secession under the Federal Constitution has been satisfied.

3. The House of Burgesses may introduce legislation formalizing the South's exit from the Republic of Atlasia or delegate said authority in a manner of its own choosing. This legislation may include contingency clauses.

4. Should any legislation or action with regards to secession be enacted, the South will be a fully independent nation and exclusively subject to this constitution. All mentions of the Federal Government, the Republic of Atlasia, and Atlasia shall hereby be stricken, and the South will be a separate entity.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I've already made my statement on this. If a thread is directly connected to Atlasia, it belongs on the Atlas Fantasy boards not E&H.

It no longer is directly connected after the Atlasian SCOTUS decision

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I've already made my statement on this. If a thread is directly connected to Atlasia, it belongs on the Atlas Fantasy boards not E&H.

It no longer is directly connected after the Atlasian SCOTUS decision

This isn’t a discussion nor is it up for debate.  You guys have your answer and it’s final.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

In addition to picking fights with the entire rest of the game, why don’t we also pick a fight with moderators of unrelated boards! They’ll be quaking in their boots at our might, how can this possiblyyyyyyyyy go wrong?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

If anything, people should be grateful that Yankee has demonstrated the restaint he's been showing. I'm sure that will change over the coming week when irrelevant sedition government crap starts getting deleted, people react with the usual Trumpian "it's rigged!" victimhood, and then we'll rebuild the South once people take their ball and go home. It would actually be best for everyone at this point.

[Sunmerica United - A Sunrise Production]

In addition to picking fights with the entire rest of the game, why don’t we also pick a fight with moderators of unrelated boards! They’ll be quaking in their boots at our might, how can this possiblyyyyyyyyy go wrong?

Tell me, does it feel good? To be the court conservatives of the illegitimate regime of both the forum and the game? Yankee, LT, you and others - does it feel good?

[Devout Centrist]

Tell me, does it feel good? To be the court conservatives of the illegitimate regime of both the forum and the game? Yankee, LT, you and others - does it feel good?

You make it sound like they murdered your pet.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

In addition to picking fights with the entire rest of the game, why don’t we also pick a fight with moderators of unrelated boards! They’ll be quaking in their boots at our might, how can this possiblyyyyyyyyy go wrong?

Tell me, does it feel good? To be the court conservatives of the illegitimate regime of both the forum and the game? Yankee, LT, you and others - does it feel good?

[Saint Milei]

I like this idea.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I move to adjourn this convention

[reagente]

I move to adjourn this convention

I second this.

[ChiefFireWaterMike]

I move to adjourn this convention

I second this.

I third this

[reagente]

Convention closed.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Somebody had to make this reference.