FT 15.15 – Local Electoral Calendar Act (Debating)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to bring state and local elections in line with parliamentary terms

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Local Electoral Calendar Act."

Section 2 (Electoral calendar for state and local elections)
i. The terms of the state (or territorial) and municipal governments now sitting shall end on 29 June 2020, and the terms of their successors then begin.
ii. Hereafter, all officers of the states (or territories) and municipalities of Frémont shall serve terms of three months commencing on the first Monday following their election.
iii. All regular state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be on the ultimate Saturday of the month in which they are given to proceed.
(a) Elections for the state (or territorial) and municipal governments to assume office on 29 June 2020, in accordance with the provisions of §2(i) of this Act, shall proceed on 27 June 2020.
(b) Thereafter, regular elections for state (or territorial) and municipal office shall proceed in March, June, September, and December.
iv. The filing deadline for all state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be thirty days before the election.

Section 3 (Amendment to the Universal Suffrage Act)
i. §4(ii) of the Universal Suffrage Act is amended to read as follows:

No sooner than thirty days before the election, and no later than fifteen days before, the ministry of elections will send to every non-apparent citizen an envelope prominently labeled: "CONTAINS ELECTION MATERIALS."

Sponsor: Harry S Truman, FM

The first minister has the floor.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As the speaker has indicated elsewhere she is otherwise occupied at the moment (an understandable plight in these unusual and challenging times), I have taken the liberty of bringing this article to the floor in my capacity as president of parliament. This legislation would amend the Universal Suffrage Act passed earlier this year to bring our state and municipal elections in line with the Holy See. This involves shortening the term of state and municipal offices from three years to three months (since this bill was written, the pontifex maximus has indicated that he will report these elections biannually, so this may suggest the advisability of an amendment) and altering the timeframe for the distribution of mail ballots accordingly.

I eagerly anticipate your thoughts and suggestions for improvement.

[OBD]

This seems like a commonsense act, and I will obviously support it when it comes to a vote. However, a 2-day lame duck period seems a bit short, and I'd like to see more guidelines on what dates in a month elections would take place (e.g. the election will take place on the 27th of each month, etc. etc.), as while the date officeholders take office is clear when the election occurs isn't.

These might be moot points though, thanks quarantine brain.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

This seems like a commonsense act, and I will obviously support it when it comes to a vote. However, a 2-day lame duck period seems a bit short, and I'd like to see more guidelines on what dates in a month elections would take place (e.g. the election will take place on the 27th of each month, etc. etc.), as while the date officeholders take office is clear when the election occurs isn't.

These might be moot points though, thanks quarantine brain.

The lame duck period is short, but so are the terms. Two days is the same amount of time between a regional election and the seating of a new parliament. The original purpose of the lame duck term was to allow newly-elected legislators to travel from their homes to the capitol, a process that no longer takes several weeks to achieve; so providing for an extended lame duck period only creates an unnecessary buffer between the delivery of a new mandate and the point at which it is recognized in the composition of state and municipal governments. With regard to election days, my thought was that having the election always be on a Saturday would increase voter participation, especially as we make the transition to VBM (so that people won't have to calculate for the lack of Sunday mail delivery when posting their ballots).

[OBD]

This seems like a commonsense act, and I will obviously support it when it comes to a vote. However, a 2-day lame duck period seems a bit short, and I'd like to see more guidelines on what dates in a month elections would take place (e.g. the election will take place on the 27th of each month, etc. etc.), as while the date officeholders take office is clear when the election occurs isn't.

These might be moot points though, thanks quarantine brain.

The lame duck period is short, but so are the terms. Two days is the same amount of time between a regional election and the seating of a new parliament. The original purpose of the lame duck term was to allow newly-elected legislators to travel from their homes to the capitol, a process that no longer takes several weeks to achieve; so providing for an extended lame duck period only creates an unnecessary buffer between the delivery of a new mandate and the point at which it is recognized in the composition of state and municipal governments. With regard to election days, my thought was that having the election always be on a Saturday would increase voter participation, especially as we make the transition to VBM (so that people won't have to calculate for the lack of Sunday mail delivery when posting their ballots).

Alright, that sounds fine then.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Proposing an amendment:

AN ACT
to bring state and local elections in line with parliamentary terms

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Local Electoral Calendar Act."

Section 2 (Electoral calendar for state and local elections)
i. The terms of the state (or territorial) and municipal governments now sitting shall end on 29 June 2020, and the terms of their successors then begin.
ii. Hereafter, all officers of the states (or territories) and municipalities of Frémont shall serve terms of six months commencing on the first Monday following their election.
iii. All regular state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be on the ultimate Saturday of the month in which they are given to proceed.
(a) Elections for the state (or territorial) and municipal governments to assume office on 29 June 2020, in accordance with the provisions of §2(i) of this Act, shall proceed on 27 June 2020.
(b) Thereafter, regular elections for state (or territorial) and municipal office shall proceed in March, June, September, and December.
iv. The filing deadline for all state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be thirty days before the election.

Section 3 (Amendment to the Universal Suffrage Act)
i. §4(ii) of the Universal Suffrage Act is amended to read as follows:

No sooner than thirty days before the election, and no later than fifteen days before, the ministry of elections will send to every non-apparent citizen an envelope prominently labeled: "CONTAINS ELECTION MATERIALS."

[Lumine]

Naturally the region is free to pursue its own mechanism, but personally I'd much prefer if the bill didn't set a firm election cycle for all states twice a year. This because the ideal - from the point of view of the NPC election mechanism - would be to have a few states voting every month, which wouldn't be possible here.

I wonder if there would be support to allow states - directly or by omission - to essentially choose their own months for elections, which would allow for the rotation mechanism to work and ensure there's NPC elections for different parts of Fremont at the end of every month.

[Lumine]

Bumping this after a week, any thoughts?

[OBD]

Oh crap, forgot about this. 24 hours to object to Truman's amendment.

[OBD]

Actually I'm going to object to the Truman amendment and propose my own:

AN ACT
to bring state and local elections in line with parliamentary terms

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Local Electoral Calendar Act."

Section 2 (Electoral calendar for state and local elections)
i. The terms of the state (or territorial) and municipal governments now sitting shall end on 29 June 2020, and the terms of their successors then begin.
ii. Hereafter, all officers of the states (or territories) and municipalities of Frémont shall serve terms of six months commencing on the first Monday following their election.
iii. All regular state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be on the ultimate Saturday of the month in which they are given to proceed.
(a) Special elections for the state (or territorial) and municipal governments to assume office on 29 June 2020, in accordance with the provisions of §2(i) of this Act, shall proceed on 27 June 2020.
(b) Thereafter, regular elections for state (or territorial) and municipal office shall proceed in March,June, September, and December. once every six months, with individual states determining the months their elections take place in.
iv. The filing deadline for all state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be thirty days before the election.

Section 3 (Amendment to the Universal Suffrage Act)
i. §4(ii) of the Universal Suffrage Act is amended to read as follows:

No sooner than thirty days before the election, and no later than fifteen days before, the ministry of elections will send to every non-apparent citizen an envelope prominently labeled: "CONTAINS ELECTION MATERIALS."

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

[OBD]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

Yeah, not really, unless we want to have one big special election in late June before resetting to the new system (which should be up to Lumine now with the new amendment).

[Lumine]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

Yeah, not really, unless we want to have one big special election in late June before resetting to the new system (which should be up to Lumine now with the new amendment).

Strictly speaking, if Fremont were to wish for a big special election in June followed by the rotation system after that I can simulate such a thing, though the scope would probably prove counterproductive in terms of players having to campaign in too many states.

[OBD]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

Yeah, not really, unless we want to have one big special election in late June before resetting to the new system (which should be up to Lumine now with the new amendment).

Strictly speaking, if Fremont were to wish for a big special election in June followed by the rotation system after that I can simulate such a thing, though the scope would probably prove counterproductive in terms of players having to campaign in too many states.

I mean, it would be a nice dose of activity for Fremont, and, as we don't know who serves in what position yet, it would probably be the fairest way to determine 'current' officeholders.

Truman, thoughts?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

Yeah, not really, unless we want to have one big special election in late June before resetting to the new system (which should be up to Lumine now with the new amendment).

Strictly speaking, if Fremont were to wish for a big special election in June followed by the rotation system after that I can simulate such a thing, though the scope would probably prove counterproductive in terms of players having to campaign in too many states.

I mean, it would be a nice dose of activity for Fremont, and, as we don't know who serves in what position yet, it would probably be the fairest way to determine 'current' officeholders.

Truman, thoughts?

Honestly, I'm not a fan of staggering the elections, period —but if we're going to, I don't think it makes sense to randomly throw everyone out of office only to have to reset again in a few months.

[OBD]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

Yeah, not really, unless we want to have one big special election in late June before resetting to the new system (which should be up to Lumine now with the new amendment).

Strictly speaking, if Fremont were to wish for a big special election in June followed by the rotation system after that I can simulate such a thing, though the scope would probably prove counterproductive in terms of players having to campaign in too many states.

I mean, it would be a nice dose of activity for Fremont, and, as we don't know who serves in what position yet, it would probably be the fairest way to determine 'current' officeholders.

Truman, thoughts?

Honestly, I'm not a fan of staggering the elections, period —but if we're going to, I don't think it makes sense to randomly throw everyone out of office only to have to reset again in a few months.

Wdym reset again? I don't think it would reset again after a few months...

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

Yeah, not really, unless we want to have one big special election in late June before resetting to the new system (which should be up to Lumine now with the new amendment).

Strictly speaking, if Fremont were to wish for a big special election in June followed by the rotation system after that I can simulate such a thing, though the scope would probably prove counterproductive in terms of players having to campaign in too many states.

I mean, it would be a nice dose of activity for Fremont, and, as we don't know who serves in what position yet, it would probably be the fairest way to determine 'current' officeholders.

Truman, thoughts?

Honestly, I'm not a fan of staggering the elections, period —but if we're going to, I don't think it makes sense to randomly throw everyone out of office only to have to reset again in a few months.

Wdym reset again? I don't think it would reset again after a few months...

Some of these seats would be up again in July, yes? So if we do a special election at the end of June, we're essentially creating a one-month term.

[OBD]

No real point in the 29 June date if states are setting their own calendars, is there?

Yeah, not really, unless we want to have one big special election in late June before resetting to the new system (which should be up to Lumine now with the new amendment).

Strictly speaking, if Fremont were to wish for a big special election in June followed by the rotation system after that I can simulate such a thing, though the scope would probably prove counterproductive in terms of players having to campaign in too many states.

I mean, it would be a nice dose of activity for Fremont, and, as we don't know who serves in what position yet, it would probably be the fairest way to determine 'current' officeholders.

Truman, thoughts?

Honestly, I'm not a fan of staggering the elections, period —but if we're going to, I don't think it makes sense to randomly throw everyone out of office only to have to reset again in a few months.

Wdym reset again? I don't think it would reset again after a few months...

Some of these seats would be up again in July, yes? So if we do a special election at the end of June, we're essentially creating a one-month term.

Well, yes, but there's also the benefit of creating a truly fair incumbent determination method, as as of yet we don't know who the incumbent Governors are. Though I suppose this can be done on the staggered system by tacitly implying that there are no incumbents.

[OBD]

AN ACT
to bring state and local elections in line with parliamentary terms

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Local Electoral Calendar Act."

Section 2 (Electoral calendar for state and local elections)
i. The terms of the state (or territorial) and municipal governments now sitting shall end on 29 June 2020, and the terms of their successors then begin.
ii. Hereafter, all officers of the states (or territories) and municipalities of Frémont shall serve terms of six months commencing on the first Monday following their election.
iii. All regular state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be on the ultimate Saturday of the month in which they are given to proceed.
(a) Special elections for the state (or territorial) and municipal governments to assume office on 29 June 2020, in accordance with the provisions of §2(i) of this Act, shall proceed on 27 June 2020.
(b) Thereafter, regular elections for state (or territorial) and municipal office shall proceed in March,June, September, and December. once every six months, with individual states determining the months their elections take place in.
iv. The filing deadline for all state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be thirty days before the election.

Section 3 (Amendment to the Universal Suffrage Act)
i. §4(ii) of the Universal Suffrage Act is amended to read as follows:

No sooner than thirty days before the election, and no later than fifteen days before, the ministry of elections will send to every non-apparent citizen an envelope prominently labeled: "CONTAINS ELECTION MATERIALS."

The following amendment has passed.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Proposing an amendment:

AN ACT
to bring state and local elections in line with parliamentary terms

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Local Electoral Calendar Act."

Section 2 (Electoral calendar for state and local elections)
The terms of the state (or territorial) and municipal governments now sitting shall end on 29 June 2020, and the terms of their successors then begin.
i. Hereafter, all officers of the states (or territories) and municipalities of Frémont shall serve terms of six months commencing on the first Monday following their election.
ii. All regular state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be on the ultimate Saturday of the month in which they are given by the laws of those states (or territories) to proceed.
(a) Special elections for the state (or territorial) and municipal governments to assume office on 29 June 2020, in accordance with the provisions of §2(i) of this Act, shall proceed on 27 June 2020.
(b) Thereafter, regular elections for state (or territorial) and municipal office shall proceed once every six months, with individual states determining the months their elections take place in.
iii. The filing deadline for all state (or territorial) and municipal elections in Frémont shall be thirty days before the election.

Section 3 (Amendment to the Universal Suffrage Act)
i. §4(ii) of the Universal Suffrage Act is amended to read as follows:

No sooner than thirty days before the election, and no later than fifteen days before, the ministry of elections will send to every non-apparent citizen an envelope prominently labeled: "CONTAINS ELECTION MATERIALS."

[OBD]

24 hours to object.

[OBD]

The amendment passes.

Now, shall we vote? Or are there outstanding concerns?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The amendment passes.

Now, shall we vote? Or are there outstanding concerns?

Okay by me.

[OBD]

Assuming that's a seconding. Vote opened.

48 hours, folks.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Aye.