evergreen v. rpryor

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

i'm filing to challenge s.o.f.e. rpryor's invalidation of my vote (as well as dkrol's) in the recent regional committee elections as unconstitutional. i'll post a proper opening statement after the court acknowledges.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

thank you, justice windjammer.

now, my argument is simple.

i) The relevant regulations for the election in question are provided by the Fourth Constitution, supplemented by preëxisting law. This is obvious from reading Article X:

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It is explicitly stated that the House elections "will be conducted according to the regulations set forth in this Constitution and the existing body of law," and it would be absurd to assume that the Regional Committee elections, which should have been held concurrently, would follow a different procedure. Moreover, given the fact that the Fourth Constitution has been ratified and that "all acts passed under any previous Constitutions shall remain in effect, until [the House and Regional Committee elections have been completed," it is clear that this applies to any situation: the law of the land is currently the Fourth Constitution, plus preëxisting law. And, critically, the Third Constitution holds no power anymore.

ii) Although the Third Constitution makes a clear requirement that "In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election," (A3C V2(3)) no such requirement appears in the body of law, nor in the Fourth Constitution. Instead, we see a clear proclamation that "The right of citizens of the Republic of Atlasia to vote shall not be denied, except in regards to persons whose account is fewer than 168 hours old, or in consequence of failing to meet such requirements for activity as may be established by law." (A4C I(4)).

iii) It is obvious that the previous registration time limit does not constitute an "activity requirement," firstly because that's, well, kind of obvious, and secondly because the Third Constitution defined activity requirements separately from the registration limit. (A3C V2(2),(5))

iv) Therefore, there is not, and cannot be, a requirement that voters have been registered for a certain amount of time in any election conforming to the current version of the Fourth Constitution.

thank you for your time.

p.s. in fact, the same clause (A4C I(4)) means vote-editing restrictions are unconstitutional as well, but that's not the topic of this case.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

i made my argument in the opening statement:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

It is explicitly stated that the House elections "will be conducted according to the regulations set forth in this Constitution and the existing body of law," and it would be absurd to assume that the Regional Committee elections, which should have been held concurrently, would follow a different procedure. Moreover, given the fact that the Fourth Constitution has been ratified and that "all acts passed under any previous Constitutions shall remain in effect, until [the House and Regional Committee elections have been completed," it is clear that this applies to any situation: the law of the land is currently the Fourth Constitution, plus preëxisting law. And, critically, the Third Constitution holds no power anymore.

ii) Although the Third Constitution makes a clear requirement that "In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election," (A3C V2(3)) no such requirement appears in the body of law, nor in the Fourth Constitution. Instead, we see a clear proclamation that "The right of citizens of the Republic of Atlasia to vote shall not be denied, except in regards to persons whose account is fewer than 168 hours old, or in consequence of failing to meet such requirements for activity as may be established by law." (A4C I(4)).

iii) It is obvious that the previous registration time limit does not constitute an "activity requirement," firstly because that's, well, kind of obvious, and secondly because the Third Constitution defined activity requirements separately from the registration limit. (A3C V2(2),(5))

iv) Therefore, there is not, and cannot be, a requirement that voters have been registered for a certain amount of time in any election conforming to the current version of the Fourth Constitution.

thank you for your time.

p.s. in fact, the same clause (A4C I(4)) means vote-editing restrictions are unconstitutional as well, but that's not the topic of this case.
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[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

i would like to ask the court to bar rpryor from (mal-)certifying the house results until this case is resolved

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

i would like to ask the court to bar rpryor from (mal-)certifying the house results until this case is resolved

May I ask why???

rpryor has announced his intent on applying the same (false) standard to the house election; an incorrect certification would cause (small amounts of) chaos and lessen trust in our democratic institutions, especially now, at the first election under the new system.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

i'll just reëmphasize that the fourth constitution, article x, section 2(i) explicitly states: "Following the ratification of this Constitution, the incumbent President of the Republic of Atlasia shall designate a temporary Elections Officer, who shall administer the election of the new House of Representatives. Elections for these offices will be conducted according to the regulations set forth in this Constitution and the existing body of law, and shall commence not more than two weeks following the receipt of the certificates of ratification from the several Regions."

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

And the existing body of law, Ms. Evergreen. The existing body of law includes the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act (F.L. 14-2) Section 14, which states "All those persons who have posted at least 10 times in the 8 weeks (56 days) prior to the commencement of an election shall be defined as active for the purposes of that election."

and, indeed, dkrolga and i meet that requirement. the question at hand is about the registration waiting period, not about activity.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

thank you, justice windjammer.