N312: Amendment to Article 1 of the Northern Constitution (Passed)

[Drew]

I know that Section 3E of the SOAP says that "A piece of proposed legislation shall pass if a majority of Delegates vote in favor of it (with abstentions and absences not counted as votes)", and that this can potentially lead to a tie.  My view is, shouldn't the majority of the seats in the chamber need to vote affirmatively in order to pass legislation?  Because the chamber size is always an odd number, there wouldn't be any ties.  In other words, 2 out of 3 for a 3-person Assembly, or 3 out of 5 for a 5-person Assembly, as determined by number of candidates that run.  If two Assemblypeople were to resign, leaving one Assemblyperson, that person could simply introduce legislation and pass it through the chamber with his/her sole vote.  And in the event of a gubernatorial veto, couldn't the Assemblyperson then override with 1 out of 1 vote (100%)?

I wholeheartedly agree that the Constitution is vague on this issue, and that it's important to fill vacancies ASAP.  But it seems to me that it should be a true majority of the chamber, and this therefore would moot the possibility of a tie.  Additionally, legislation could still be passed with one vacancy (i.e. 2-0 with 1 vacancy).  I am willing to put this idea into a separate amendment proposal.

Also, any legislation passed previously with a tie or without a true majority would be grandfathered in and would not have to be re-passed under the proposed new policy.

[Drew]

Considering the need for government and specifically the Assembly to remain functional during a vacancy, as well as the need to avoid gridlock occurring during such a void, I will support this Amendment.

[Drew]

Aye