New official NPC thread (August polls coming, campaigning open)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

what exactly are we supposed to do about the pensions thing, then? We haven't had a comptroller general for over a month now, so we can't ask them. This is a serious issue. This isn't about being partisan, or looking for a new line of attack, it's about actually having numbers straight, and if Fremont's numbers are similar to what you reported, then that's a really big issue that will just get worse with time.

Indeed it would be, if the published figures were accurate. But no-one can show me any evidence that they are. When I approached Peanut last week asking for clarification, he was unable to provide me with a source for the published figures. Apparently a "private citizen" messaged him claiming Frémont was not paying for these pensions, but gave no sources except to link to some old fantasyland bills. (At least that is what I am told.) So there is no actual evidence backing this up: just the private opinion of an anonymous informant. Needless to say, this is a very frustrating position for me to be in: how am I supposed to address a potential budget shortfall if I can't actually see the numbers?

Frémont derives its HHS budget directly from the 21 IRL constituent state and territorial budgets: we look at what each state spends and add the numbers. I have been over the figures twice in the last week, and I was not able to establish that there is a significant deviation between what the states spend IRL and what we appropriated in the FY2021 budget. When you account for the significant share of state HHS expenditures that are funded with federal money, it is actually more likely that we are overfunding HHS compared to IRL.

But even if the GM had some reason to believe that there was a budget shortfall in FT, the situation in the other regions would be much worse. The South's education budget, for example, is only enough to match the expenditures of Virginia and Texas. The whole point of the Dispatch story was that the states were having to pick up the slack for the regional government; but even if those figures are correct (and they probably aren't), this is nothing compared to the shortfall in the South or Lincoln. If we have a funding gap, they have a funding chasm. So I am calling BS on this story.

Can you give me a source on that, too?

Anyway, I know who said informant is, and I think he knows what he's doing.

Yes, I can.

For instance, the South spends roughly $80b less on education than Frémont despite having a significantly larger population. Texas and Virginia together spend $92.945b on public education every year, while the Southern budget allocates only $105.83b for the entire South.

If your friend is in fact acting in good faith and wants to help us fix our budget, I would love to talk with them. I know I have a reputation for ferocity, but I'm actually pretty approachable and always willing to hear from knowledgeable people. Going through the GM like this, it sort-of feels like they have a grudge against my region and are getting God to make alternative facts for them so they can score some cheap points in NPC elections. But I am happy to be wrong!

[Peanut]

Also, as I said, I was uncomfortable with the situation from the start as money is simply not the GM's role. I think that's what's most important here, and not whether the numbers were or weren't correct. I would appreciate not cluttering the thread, and I really do understand the difficult situation we are in, but I'm not comfortable taking responsibilities and adjudicating facts beyond the scope of my office. I also believe the person that PMed me knew what they were talking about and provided sufficient evidence, just as I believe Truman's points wrt the South and Lincoln are valid, but that's not really the issue at hand.

Anyways, I appreciate your patience regarding polling numbers, and deeply understand your concerns regarding the point in the cycle. Last week was crazy work and study-wise, and I'm just now settling down and being able to approach and fully read through your campaigns so far.

[Peanut]

I think finding a new Comptroller-General is really important. As I stated on my official thread, it's not really the GM's role to grade budgets regardless of whether there are issues: I will gladly simulate reactions and news stories that don't directly score or give hard estimates, even when they pertain to financial matters, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew with regards to the GM's statutory responsibilities. Considered making a separate thread, but yeah, that's basically my point: not the GM's job as it's, well, illegal and it both opens the door to bias in the way future GMs operate and is simply far too much for me to handle with NPC elections in the mix as well.

I'll be glad to help in whatever way I can in finding a new CG, and am looking forward to working with them once they're selected because I think coordination between numbers and stories would be fascinating for the game, but I'm very sorry to say I won't score budgets, give cost estimates, or provide hard sums regarding expenses and revenue. Everything that doesn't fall under those categories is fair game for a GM request, and I actually really appreciate writing stories about issues you deem important.

[Sestak]

Just stepping in to note that I have received zero applications for the Comptroller General position. The entire point of keeping it separate was so that people could be moved in and out of the position quickly so that it could remain active even when one holder of the office went inactive. This situation, of course, is a complete breakdown of that idea.

The position at this point probably does need some reform, but as far as I’m aware the discussion over this in congress reached a standstill because no one is willing to trust members of the opposing faction to be impartial. This is arguably a bigger problem with NPC elections, where this stuff actually has major implications, as opposed to the rest of the game where having the numbers guy be biased against you is an annoying inconvenience at worst.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Just stepping in to note that I have received zero applications for the Comptroller General position. The entire point of keeping it separate was so that people could be moved in and out of the position quickly so that it could remain active even when one holder of the office went inactive. This situation, of course, is a complete breakdown of that idea.

The position at this point probably does need some reform, but as far as I’m aware the discussion over this in congress reached a standstill because no one is willing to trust members of the opposing faction to be impartial. This is arguably a bigger problem with NPC elections, where this stuff actually has major implications, as opposed to the rest of the game where having the numbers guy be biased against you is an annoying inconvenience at worst.

If I were capable of doing more than basic math, I'd probably apply for the job myself. Alas...

Lumine is one of a few people who could be trusted with scoring bills if that is the issue, but I think he's done with this stuff for a while. Has Yankee expressed interest? Most people trust him too.

[Peanut]

I'm frankly glad I didn't have to grade quite so much up to now! I have liked events so far, short and sweet, though I hope to see stronger campaigning when polling (I know, I know - events are already graded and I'm taking them into account for the numbers, and remember we still have over 10 days to go in the cycle. I appreciate your patience, it's not fair for you to be waiting so long for numbers, but I'm really busy rn irl - should definitely be easier from tomorrow on, though, which will allow me to post more stories and take into account shiny new bills from Congress and events for the NPCs.

Overall, great job so far! While there hasn't been a lot of campaigning, I'm thankful for what you guys have posted and am glad to see consistency - I'd advise you to see other parties' campaigns to see who is your main rival in each state for now, while I get polls ready to post. Thank you, and again, so sorry for the delay!

[Peanut]

Atlasia Elects: April 2021
The state of play



The Virgin Islands, with their DA Governor and legislative plurality, not shown on the map. California stands for the Los Angeles Mayoralty.

Active events:
None so far.

With vaccination efforts at full pace, Governors trying to keep sometimes conflicting legislatures at bay, Lincoln just wholesale changing its Constitution, and maybe even scandals looming in one or two state governments, Atlasians prepare to go to the polls in this April season of the NPC elections. Who will win? Who will lose? All will be revealed - but first, the polls!


The state of the states:

North Dakota:

Governor: Kent Dorgan, with a supermajority.

Administration's popularity: 72% - 24%

Polling:

Labor Party (inc.)  -  56%
Federalist Party  -  15%
Democratic Alliance  -  8%
Liberal Party  -  8%
Juche Party  -  0%


Governor Dorgan, much like his neighbor directly South, enjoys incredibly high popularity and has enacted broad reforms with his unprecedented supermajority. However, Labor hasn't campaigned in the state so far, while other parties have all held events there - while probably not enough to make Governor Dorgan lose, it could put a dent in Labor's majority.

Idaho:

Governor: Joe Smith, with a trifecta

Administration's popularity: 48% - 48%

Polling:
Juche Party  -  78%
Labor Party (inc.)  -  45%
Democratic Alliance  -  20%
Federalist Party  -  17%
Liberal Party  -  9%

Yeah, I don't really know what's going on here either?

Iowa:

Governor: Michael Engle, with a legislative plurality in both chambers.

Administration's popularity: 52% - 44%

Polling:
Federalist Party  -  39%
Labor Party (inc.)  -  36%
Democratic Alliance  -  16%
Liberal Party  -  8%


In the last Fremont state still without Labor government, the Federalist Governor enjoys positive approval ratings. However, Labor's campaigning for the state has been aggressive to say the least, and demonstrates a level of ambition to control the whole region that might succeed depending on the Federalist response to the recent flurry of campaigning.

Los Angeles:

Mayor: Earvin Johnson.

Administration's popularity: 43% - 50%

Polling:

Labor Party (inc.)  -  35%
Democratic Alliance  -  22%
Federalist Party  -  19%
Liberal Party  -  5%
Juche Party  -  2%


The LA mayoralty is probably the weakest Labor-held jurisdiction in Fremont this cycle, as relatively low popularity numbers threaten Mayor Earving's reelection campaign. However, campaigning in general has been scarce, and it remains to be seen what effect (if any) future events have.



West Virginia:

Governor: Courtney Rhodes, with a legislative trifecta.

Administration's popularity: 59% - 32%

Polling:

Federalist Party (inc.) -  50%
Labor Party  -  24%
Democratic Alliance  -  15%
Liberal Party  -  5%
Juche Party  -  0%


Governor Courtney Rhodes's country roads government has proven popular in the Mountain State, as the government's reelection looks likely: simple organic popularity has caused Federalist numbers to improve on their September results in the state, while other parties have backslided somewhat.

Kansas:

Governor: James Benson, with a legislative plurality in both chambers.

Administration's popularity: 40% - 39%

Polling:

Democratic Alliance (inc.) -  32%
Federalist Party -  26%
Labor Party  -  14%
Liberal Party  -  10%
Juche Party  -  0%

One of the biggest question marks of the cycle is Kansas, where Governor Benson has had a very low-key role running his state, being an efficient but relatively unknown executive. The state, which voted for YT in the last presidential election by a relatively thin margin, elected Governor Benson in a close election against the Federalist candidate, and scarce campaigning here has given the incumbent a clear edge, but a lot remains to be seen regarding the result in Kansas.

Mississippi:

Governor: Some Fed, with a legislative trifecta.

Administration's popularity: 43% - 45%

Polling:

Federalist Party (inc.) -  40%
Democratic Alliance  -  20%
Labor Party  -  20%
Liberal Party  -  1%
Juche Party  -  0%

Not much has been going on in the Magnolia State, but heavy Federalist partisanship (as well as rumors of a drunken visit by the Vice President and Labor Chair, that, despite resulting in unprecedented support for the Labor Party among senior high schoolers and college students, asked more questions than it answered) seems to be the key to this state's results.

North Carolina:

Governor: Some Other Fed, with a legislative trifecta.

Administration's popularity: 59% - 34%

Polling:

Federalist Party (inc.) -  52%
Democratic Alliance  -  14%
Labor Party  -  12%
Liberal Party  -  1%
Juche Party  -  0%

While there has been next to no campaigning in the state, and most voters do not really know their government (indeed, in a recent poll over 90% of residents couldn't even name their Governor, and Federalist authorities have remained silent on the matter), they don't seem opposed to reelecting their administration (whoever and wherever that may be).


New York:

Governor: Patrick Denniston, with a legislative plurality in both chambers.

Administration's popularity: 61% - 30%

Polling:

Federalist Party (inc.) -  42%
Labor Party  -  21%
Liberal Party  -  19%
Democratic Alliance  -  18%
Juche Party  -  0%

Governor Denniston is very, very popular: the state has been a shining example of vaccine rollout and good administration, and strong campaigning in the state has left the Federalists in a very strong position. However, the state's closeness last round is preventing the Feds from running away with it: future campaigning will be decisive, but the Federalist victory here could be astounding - or the state could produce a stunning defeat for the Governor.

Massachusetts:

Governor: Conor Murphy, with a legislative plurality in both chambers

Administration's popularity: 55% - 40%

Polling:

Labor Party (inc.)  -  32%
Liberal Party  -  24%
Federalist Party  -  19%
Democratic Alliance  -  18%
Juche Party  -  1%

While the administration here is popular, and the state is very solidly Labor, it seems voters are not yet completely sold on reelecting the Labor government. However, the incumbent party are very clear favorites in the race.

Virgin Islands:

Governor: Chad D. Allen, with a legislative plurality in both chambers

Administration's popularity: 52% - 40%

Polling:

Democratic Alliance (inc.)  -  29%
Liberal Party  -  25%
Labor Party  -  20%
Federalist Party  -  15%
Juche Party  -  0%

The state's government is popular, but most campaigning has come from the Liberal Party (which also got a huge majority of the state's vote in the last presidential election).

[S019]

Mr. GM,

It appears that you have made a math error in the Idaho poll


----signed, a concerned citizen

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Okay, but if there is 170% turnout in Idaho it is martial law time.

[Dr. MB]

Love to see the beautiful Idaho numbers! Looks like many people like Juche so much they’re voting twice, three times, or four or more times!

[OBD]

Looks aight.

My only concern is that Michael Engle (Fed-IA) is miscolored but otherwise I see nothing wrong with these polls.

[Peanut]

Mr. GM,

It appears that you have made a math error in the Idaho poll


----signed, a concerned citizen

나는 그렇게 생각하지 않는다

[OBD]

F

[Peanut]

F

Fear not! Here are the polls.

[OBD]

F

Fear not! Here are the polls.
[/quote
G

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

I'm gonna ask for an extension of campaigning to next Friday (April 30). I've been busy as hell thanks to finals coming up and I'm sure a number of others have too, considering that most campaigning is being done by Scott and Poirot right now.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I personally lean against an extension. While there have been fewer events overall, we've seen all the parties campaign in most places this cycle. I'm personally getting worn out. Don't forget that Cao has done several events too, wordy as they normally are.

Also, if an extension were to be granted, wouldn't that take an act of all the regions? If so, then it's way too late for this to be considered.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Also, if an extension were to be granted, wouldn't that take an act of all the regions? If so, then it's way too late for this to be considered.

yeah I didn't think about that. Withdrawing the request.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

I personally lean against an extension. While there have been fewer events overall, we've seen all the parties campaign in most places this cycle. I'm personally getting worn out. Don't forget that Cao has done several events too, wordy as they normally are.

Also, if an extension were to be granted, wouldn't that take an act of all the regions? If so, then it's way too late for this to be considered.

Would depend on the exact wording of each region's law.

Might just take a statement by the GM for Lincoln since the wording we passed for the earlier postponement a couple cycles back was not prescriptive, it just said the GM could postpone anything by up to a month from its original date (the permission expires at the end of 2021).

Fremont and the South...honestly depends on whether their election law specifies a given week or just the month itself. If it's the latter - the GM can postpone. If it's the former- would require a new law to be passed. I'm not familiar with the language for these regions however.

[OBD]

Clarification requested, specifically regarding the campaign limit and time zones.

I have done 4 campaigns today, but if I post 4 more after 12AM EST I should be fine, right?

This seems pretty obvious but timezones are confusing me sorry

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Also, on Sunday, are we having the one big event rule again or no?

[OBD]

Hate to be that guy but I’m pretty sure Poirot just violated the campaign limit in MA.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Hate to be that guy but I’m pretty sure Poirot just violated the campaign limit in MA.

Is there actually a limit?

[OBD]

Hate to be that guy but I’m pretty sure Poirot just violated the campaign limit in MA.

Is there actually a limit?

4 daily per person, imposed by Lumine. Labor has been abiding by this strictly so it would be quite alarming if the GM office decides to disregard it without warning.

[Joseph Cao]

Hate to be that guy but I’m pretty sure Poirot just violated the campaign limit in MA.

Is there actually a limit?

4 daily per person, imposed by Lumine. Labor has been abiding by this strictly so it would be quite alarming if the GM office decides to disregard it without warning.

Poirot hadn’t broken the limit at the time you posted your initial complaint (though he has by now, of course):

RULES CHANGE FOR FEBRUARY

Brief Summary

A.- CAPS: We will experiment with the first attempt at party and personal caps to see its effects on the arms race, the system will be subject to changes depending on how well it works (or not). Current February caps are setat 80 events per party in total, and a personal limit of 5 per day.