7th Council of Lincoln Legislative Introduction Thread

[Sestak]

Fixed Council Amendment

To fix the Council size at the most stable and unencumbering five-member arrangement

1. Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of Lincoln is amended as follows:

3. In all general elections for the Council, the number of councilors to be elected shall be five. as follows:
a) In cases where there are 5 candidates on the ballot or less (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 3
b) In cases where there are between 6 and 8 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 5
c) In cases where there are 9 or more candidates on the ballot (excluding write ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 7

[Sestak]

Reducing Unnecessary Special Elections Amendment

To eliminate special elections for hyper-short terms.

1. Article V, Section 7 of the Constitution of Lincoln is amended as follows:

7. Except in December, all elections for governor, Council, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for governor and by-elections for Council shall begin on the  Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Wednesday or Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. However, should a vacancy occur less than 16 days (but more than 48 hours) prior to any regularly scheduled Senate, Council, or first round gubernatorial election, the special election shall instead be held concurrently with that election. Should a vacancy in the Council arise less than 16 days before the scheduled election of the next Council, the seat shall remain vacant for the remainder of the current Council and no special election shall be held. If a Senate seat or the Governorship is vacated less than 30 days before the next scheduled election for the seat, no special election shall be held; the acting governor or appointed Senator shall serve until the election. In the case of a Senate seat, the winner of the regularly scheduled election shall be considered to have also been elected for the remainder of the sitting term and shall replace the appointed Senator upon certification. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time (or Eastern Daylight Time from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November.). Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election.