SB 121-04: Officeholders Need to Show up Amendment - Failed

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

If this gets ratified in June, will that make it an ex post facto law? If so we’d need to extend the timeframe for enforcement to August.

If it is passed here in a timely fashion, Fremont will ratify it concurrently with its local elections. Lincoln will have a special booth to ratify it. That will complete the 2 required regions.

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

If this gets ratified in June, will that make it an ex post facto law? If so we’d need to extend the timeframe for enforcement to August.

If it is passed here in a timely fashion, Fremont will ratify it concurrently with its local elections. Lincoln will have a special booth to ratify it. That will complete the 2 required regions.

Alright, no objections here then. I just wanted to make sure we could get this done in time.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

A final vote is beginning

Aye

[Senator Spark]

Aye

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

Aye

[West_Midlander]

Nay

[YE]

Nay.

[Blair]

Nay

[Senator Spiral]

Aye. I do have personal reservations, but I would rather defer to the Atlasian people for final judgment.

[ReallySuper]

ʻAe. I will personally vote against this in the referendum, but like Senator Spiral I think the people should have their say and as a current officeholder I should not stand in the way of that.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Aye

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Requiring officeholders to vote in every election in which they are eligible is functionally suboptimal and will make it harder to field proper candidates and have a game that can even operate. Requiring someone to vote in an election if they are to be regarded as elected would be enough, but this takes it too far.
A shame that a more moderate version of this wasn't up for a final vote.
You could make the case that something this fundamentally dangerous if enacted yet possibly looking fairly attractive to average voters is too dangerous to even put on the ballot.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I do thank Senator Dwarven Dragon for contributing to the public debate regardless. We should take this idea seriously and not forget what it represents. As such I'm supportive of a referendum on a law which requires people to vote in an election if they are to be regarded as a winner in it, with a carve out for if their vote was a matter of legal litigation. This gives us flexibility to change elements of it more easily in the future, prevents someone from simply being thrown out of office due to their vote being legally contested or not being legally recognized due to non-activity-related circumstances, while letting the people themselves vote on whether they feel this would be a change with merit. It's far less onerous to simply demand that people vote in their own election than to require they vote in every election.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

The vote is 6-3-0-9. A two thirds vote of the entire chamber being necessary, this fails.

[Joseph Cao]

So nine officeholders didn't show up to vote on the Officeholders Need To Show Up Amendment?

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

So nine officeholders didn't show up to vote on the Officeholders Need To Show Up Amendment?

ironic.