LGC 1.2 - Amendment to the Lincoln Downballot Elections Act - Passed

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

Amendment to the Lincoln Downballot Elections Act

1. The Lincoln Downballot Elections Act shall be amended as follows

2. This shall take effect immediately after being signed by the Governor

Lincoln Downballot Elections Act

I. Elections

1. Gubernatorial elections and elections for state legislature shall occur every six months. The mayoral elections for New York City and Chicago shall also occur every six months. Gubernatorial elections will not occur at the exact same time in every state.

II. Composition

1. Each of these states shall have a bicameral legislature
2. House and Senate districts are not required to be nested unless stated otherwise, also each House and Senate seat must have equal population to other House and Senate seats
3. The number of legislators per state shall be as follows:
i.Wisconsin: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
ii. Illinois: 59 members of the State Senate and 118 members of the State House of Representatives
              a. 2 voting districts for the House must be nested into each Senate district
iii. Michigan: 38 members of the State Senate and 110 members of the State House of Representatives
iv. Indiana: 50 members of the State Senate and 100 members of the State House of Representatives
v. Ohio: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
            a. 3 voting districts for House must be nested into each Senate seat
vi. Pennsylvania: 50 members of the State Senate and 203 members of the State House of Representatives
vii. New Jersey: 40 members of the State Senate and 80 members of the General Assembly
            a. Each Senate district shall elect two representatives, in other words House and Senate districts have the exact same lines
viii. New York: 63 members of the State Senate and 150 members of the State House of Representatives
             a. nesting not required, however nesting districts is preferred, if possible
ix. Connecticut: 36 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
x. Rhode Island: 38 members of the State Senate and 75 members of the State House of Representatives
xi. Massachusetts: 40 members of the State Senate and 160 members of the State House of Representatives
xii. Vermont: 30 members of the State Senate and 150 members of the State House of Representatives
xiii. New Hampshire: 24 members of the State Senate and 400 members of the State House of Representatives
            a.  Districts in the New Hampshire House of Representatives shall vary, from electing one member to electing eleven members.
xix. Maine: 35 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
             a. three additional non-voting seats in the House of Representatives must be set aside for members of the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Houlton Band of Maliseets.
xx. Virgin Islands: 15 members of the upper house of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and 25 members of the lower house
xxi. All elections for State Senate shall be conducted by ranked choice voting. All elections for House of Representatives, except in New Jersey shall be conducted by ranked choice voting
xxii. Elections for the General Assembly in New Jersey shall occur based on a first-past-the-post voting system.
xxiii. 29 members districts of the Vermont House of Representatives shall elect 2 members per district and shall be considered multi-member districts.
4. All states shall have their “default” systems for electing the lower houses of their legislature as elections by instant runoff voting for single-member district constituencies; excepting New Jersey, whose default system shall be the election of two members in each upper house district by two separate instant runoff elections. Each state may additionally choose to adopt one of the following alternative systems:
i. Proportional list representation with no districts
ii. Mixed-Member Proportional system
iii. Elections to multi-member districts via Single Transferable Vote; each district electing 3 or more members.
States that choose to adopt such a system shall adjust their districts and nesting requirements accordingly. Such adoption may be simulated by the GM, including adoption by a state prior to the passage of this bill.
5. All upper houses of state legislatures must be elected by Instant Runoff Vote in single-member districts.
6. States shall have the option to switch to a parliamentary system, mirroring Lincoln’s own system; in such a system the Governor’s role would become more procedural and facilitators while the head of government would be selected by the governor and required to command confidence of a majority of the lower house. Adoption of such a system may be simulated by the GM, including adoption by a state prior to the passage of this bill.
7. 6. All gubertorial elections shall take place using States shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
6a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
6b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
6c. Approval voting
6d. Borda count
6e. Condorcet method
6f. Exhaustive ballot
6g. Score voting


8. 7. All mayoral elections shall take place using Cities shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
7a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
7b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
7c. Approval voting
7d. Borda count
7e. Condorcet method
7f. Exhaustive ballot
7g. Score voting


III. Redistricting


1. Redistricting shall consist of a commission of leaders from each party in the state legislature, as well as 5 citizens.
2. The commission must create a map that prioritizes one of these two goals: maximizing the competitiveness of districts or drawing districts proportional to partisanship
3. In areas where there is a high minority population, and it is possible to draw a seat where the voting age population of a minority coalition is greater than 50%, or where the voting age population of a specific minority group that seat must be drawn by the commission is high enough that it is possible to draw a seat where said group could elect its own candidate in both a primary and a general election, that seat must be drawn by the commission, even if said seat is not compact.
3a. Minority groups shall be defined as American Indian, Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans.
4. In areas where it is possible to draw a seat as described in Section 3, Clause 1, but with a minority coalition or individual minority group population of above 40% of the voting age population, it is recommended that the commission draw that seat
5. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 3 shall be known as Voting Rights Act seat (if it is a majority of a single minority) or a Minority Coalition seat (if they seat is formed by a majority of multiple minority groups)
6. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 4 shall be known as Opportunity Seats
7. Redistricting shall occur every year as well as when necessitated by an election system change.
8. All districts drawn by state legislatures in Lincoln must be precleared by the Lincoln Regional Justice.

IV. Implementation

1. This act shall take effect immediately.

Sponsor: Ishan
Court Sponsor: Dwarven Dragon
Occupying: Slot 2 of 14

Sponsor, please advocate for your bill.

[Continential]

So this amendment to the "Lincoln Downballot Elections Act" adds options other than STV for gubernatorial/mayoral elections for states to use and removes the option for states to switch to a parliamentary system because Lincoln has a presidential system. There are some minor changes to redistributing and how many members a district elects in general in the states of New Hampshire/Vermont.

[Continential]

Amendment to the Lincoln Downballot Elections Act

1. The Lincoln Downballot Elections Act shall be amended as follows

2. This shall take effect immediately after being signed by the Governor

Lincoln Downballot Elections Act

I. Elections

1. Gubernatorial elections and elections for state legislature shall occur every six months. The mayoral elections for New York City and Chicago shall also occur every six months. Gubernatorial elections will not occur at the exact same time in every state.

II. Composition

1. Each of these states shall have a bicameral legislature
2. House and Senate districts are not required to be nested unless stated otherwise, also each House and Senate seat must have equal population to other House and Senate seats
3. The number of legislators per state shall be as follows:
i.Wisconsin: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
ii. Illinois: 59 members of the State Senate and 118 members of the State House of Representatives
              a. 2 voting districts for the House must be nested into each Senate district
iii. Michigan: 38 members of the State Senate and 110 members of the State House of Representatives
iv. Indiana: 50 members of the State Senate and 100 members of the State House of Representatives
v. Ohio: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
            a. 3 voting districts for House must be nested into each Senate seat
vi. Pennsylvania: 50 members of the State Senate and 203 members of the State House of Representatives
vii. New Jersey: 40 members of the State Senate and 80 members of the General Assembly
            a. Each Senate district shall elect two representatives, in other words House and Senate districts have the exact same lines
viii. New York: 63 members of the State Senate and 150 members of the State House of Representatives
             a. nesting not required, however nesting districts is preferred, if possible
ix. Connecticut: 36 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
x. Rhode Island: 38 members of the State Senate and 75 members of the State House of Representatives
xi. Massachusetts: 40 members of the State Senate and 160 members of the State House of Representatives
xii. Vermont: 30 members of the State Senate and 150 members of the State House of Representatives
xiii. New Hampshire: 24 members of the State Senate and 400 members of the State House of Representatives
             a.  Districts in the New Hampshire House of Representatives shall vary, from electing one member to electing eleven members.
xix. Maine: 35 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
             a. three additional non-voting seats in the House of Representatives must be set aside for members of the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Houlton Band of Maliseets.
xx. Virgin Islands: 15 members of the upper house of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and 25 members of the lower house
xxi. All elections for State Senate shall be conducted by ranked choice voting. All elections for House of Representatives, except in New Jersey shall be conducted by ranked choice voting
xxii. Elections for the General Assembly in New Jersey shall occur based on a first-past-the-post voting system.
xxiii. 29 members districts of the Vermont House of Representatives shall elect 2 members per district and shall be considered multi-member districts.
4. All states shall have their “default” systems for electing the lower houses of their legislature as elections by instant runoff voting for single-member district constituencies; excepting New Jersey, whose default system shall be the election of two members in each upper house district by two separate instant runoff elections. Each state may additionally choose to adopt one of the following alternative systems:
i. Proportional list representation with no districts
ii. Mixed-Member Proportional system
iii. Elections to multi-member districts via Single Transferable Vote; each district electing 3 or more members.
States that choose to adopt such a system shall adjust their districts and nesting requirements accordingly. Such adoption may be simulated by the GM, including adoption by a state prior to the passage of this bill.
5. All upper houses of state legislatures must be elected by Instant Runoff Vote in single-member districts.
6. States shall have the option to switch to a parliamentary system, mirroring Lincoln’s own system; in such a system the Governor’s role would become more procedural and facilitators while the head of government would be selected by the governor and required to command confidence of a majority of the lower house. Adoption of such a system may be simulated by the GM, including adoption by a state prior to the passage of this bill.
7. 6. All gubertorial elections shall take place using States shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
6a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
6b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
6c. Approval voting
6d. Borda count
6e. Condorcet method
6f. Exhaustive ballot
6g. Score voting
6h. First-past-the-post voting


8. 7. All mayoral elections shall take place using Cities shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
7a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
7b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
7c. Approval voting
7d. Borda count
7e. Condorcet method
7f. Exhaustive ballot
7g. Score voting
7h. First-past-the-post voting


III. Redistricting


1. Redistricting shall consist of a commission of leaders from each party in the state legislature, as well as 5 citizens.
2. The commission must create a map that prioritizes one of these two goals: maximizing the competitiveness of districts or drawing districts proportional to partisanship
3. In areas where there is a high minority population, and it is possible to draw a seat where the voting age population of a minority coalition is greater than 50%, or where the voting age population of a specific minority group that seat must be drawn by the commission.
3a. Minority groups shall be defined as American Indian, Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans.
4. In areas where it is possible to draw a seat as described in Section 3, Clause 1, but with a minority coalition or individual minority group population of above 40% of the voting age population, it is recommended that the commission draw that seat
5. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 3 shall be known as Voting Rights Act seat (if it is a majority of a single minority) or a Minority Coalition seat (if they seat is formed by a majority of multiple minority groups)
6. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 4 shall be known as Opportunity Seats
7. Redistricting shall occur every year two years on this calendar (2021, 2023, 2025, 2027, etc.) as well as when necessitated by an election system change.

IV. Implementation

1. This act shall take effect immediately.

A mistake I found in the bill.

[S019]

ok so I wrote this original bill and Ishan's amendment brought another idea to mind for me, I'd reword section 3 to the words "performing seat" instead of 50%+, as in many cases, notably Hispanics you need closer to 60% VAP for a performing seat. The earmuffs in Chicago is my favorite example of this since you need to connect two separate communities to get a performing seat, and just two 50% seats are going to elect white Democrats in the primary.

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

Amendment to the Lincoln Downballot Elections Act

1. The Lincoln Downballot Elections Act shall be amended as follows

2. This shall take effect immediately after being signed by the Governor

Lincoln Downballot Elections Act

I. Elections

1. Gubernatorial elections and elections for state legislature shall occur every six months. The mayoral elections for New York City and Chicago shall also occur every six months. Gubernatorial elections will not occur at the exact same time in every state.

II. Composition

1. Each of these states shall have a bicameral legislature
2. House and Senate districts are not required to be nested unless stated otherwise, also each House and Senate seat must have equal population to other House and Senate seats
3. The number of legislators per state shall be as follows:
i.Wisconsin: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
ii. Illinois: 59 members of the State Senate and 118 members of the State House of Representatives
              a. 2 voting districts for the House must be nested into each Senate district
iii. Michigan: 38 members of the State Senate and 110 members of the State House of Representatives
iv. Indiana: 50 members of the State Senate and 100 members of the State House of Representatives
v. Ohio: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
            a. 3 voting districts for House must be nested into each Senate seat
vi. Pennsylvania: 50 members of the State Senate and 203 members of the State House of Representatives
vii. New Jersey: 40 members of the State Senate and 80 members of the General Assembly
            a. Each Senate district shall elect two representatives, in other words House and Senate districts have the exact same lines
viii. New York: 63 members of the State Senate and 150 members of the State House of Representatives
             a. nesting not required, however nesting districts is preferred, if possible
ix. Connecticut: 36 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
x. Rhode Island: 38 members of the State Senate and 75 members of the State House of Representatives
xi. Massachusetts: 40 members of the State Senate and 160 members of the State House of Representatives
xii. Vermont: 30 members of the State Senate and 150 members of the State House of Representatives
xiii. New Hampshire: 24 members of the State Senate and 400 members of the State House of Representatives
             a.  Districts in the New Hampshire House of Representatives shall vary, from electing one member to electing eleven members.
xix. Maine: 35 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
             a. three additional non-voting seats in the House of Representatives must be set aside for members of the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Houlton Band of Maliseets.
xx. Virgin Islands: 15 members of the upper house of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and 25 members of the lower house
xxi. All elections for State Senate shall be conducted by ranked choice voting. All elections for House of Representatives, except in New Jersey shall be conducted by ranked choice voting
xxii. Elections for the General Assembly in New Jersey shall occur based on a first-past-the-post voting system.
xxiii. 29 members districts of the Vermont House of Representatives shall elect 2 members per district and shall be considered multi-member districts.
4. All states shall have their “default” systems for electing the lower houses of their legislature as elections by instant runoff voting for single-member district constituencies; excepting New Jersey, whose default system shall be the election of two members in each upper house district by two separate instant runoff elections. Each state may additionally choose to adopt one of the following alternative systems:
i. Proportional list representation with no districts
ii. Mixed-Member Proportional system
iii. Elections to multi-member districts via Single Transferable Vote; each district electing 3 or more members.
States that choose to adopt such a system shall adjust their districts and nesting requirements accordingly. Such adoption may be simulated by the GM, including adoption by a state prior to the passage of this bill.
5. All upper houses of state legislatures must be elected by Instant Runoff Vote in single-member districts.
6. States shall have the option to switch to a parliamentary system, mirroring Lincoln’s own system; in such a system the Governor’s role would become more procedural and facilitators while the head of government would be selected by the governor and required to command confidence of a majority of the lower house. Adoption of such a system may be simulated by the GM, including adoption by a state prior to the passage of this bill.
7. 6. All gubertorial elections shall take place using States shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
6a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
6b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
6c. Approval voting
6d. Borda count
6e. Condorcet method
6f. Exhaustive ballot
6g. Score voting
6h. First-past-the-post voting


8. 7. All mayoral elections shall take place using Cities shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
7a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
7b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
7c. Approval voting
7d. Borda count
7e. Condorcet method
7f. Exhaustive ballot
7g. Score voting
7h. First-past-the-post voting


III. Redistricting


1. Redistricting shall consist of a commission of leaders from each party in the state legislature, as well as 5 citizens.
2. The commission must create a map that prioritizes one of these two goals: maximizing the competitiveness of districts or drawing districts proportional to partisanship
3. In areas where there is a high minority population, and it is possible to draw a seat where the voting age population of a minority coalition is greater than 50%, or where the voting age population of a specific minority group that seat must be drawn by the commission.
3a. Minority groups shall be defined as American Indian, Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans.
4. In areas where it is possible to draw a seat as described in Section 3, Clause 1, but with a minority coalition or individual minority group population of above 40% of the voting age population, it is recommended that the commission draw that seat
5. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 3 shall be known as Voting Rights Act seat (if it is a majority of a single minority) or a Minority Coalition seat (if they seat is formed by a majority of multiple minority groups)
6. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 4 shall be known as Opportunity Seats
7. Redistricting shall occur every year two years on this calendar (2021, 2023, 2025, 2027, etc.) as well as when necessitated by an election system change.

IV. Implementation

1. This act shall take effect immediately.

A mistake I found in the bill.

Sponsoring this, 24 hours to object to the amendment.

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

amendment adopted

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

Another Amendment, 24 hours to object:

6. States shall have the option to switch to a parliamentary system, mirroring Lincoln’s own system; in such a system the Governor’s role would become more procedural and facilitators while the head of government would be selected by the governor and required to command confidence of a majority of the lower house. Adoption of such a system may be simulated by the GM, including adoption by a state prior to the passage of this bill.
7. 6. All gubertorial elections shall take place using States shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
6a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
6b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
6c. Approval voting
6d. Borda count
6e. Condorcet method
6f. Exhaustive ballot
6g. Score voting
6h. First-past-the-post voting


8. 7. All mayoral elections shall take place using Cities shall shall have the option to select the voting systems shown in the subsections below an instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting system..
7a. Instant-runoff voting/Ranked-choice voting
7b. Two-round system/Runoff voting
7c. Approval voting
7d. Borda count
7e. Condorcet method
7f. Exhaustive ballot
7g. Score voting
7h. First-past-the-post voting

FPTP has long been considered untenable in Atlasia and that should not change.

[Continential]

I'd encourage members to object, as I believe that FPTP should be an option if there are a wide variety of options. 

[S019]

I'd encourage members to object, as I believe that FPTP should be an option if there are a wide variety of options. 

One round FPTP in multi party systems is quite awful, as we've seen in the UK and also it made NPC campaigning very annoying. Two round FPTP (like in France), could work but only for gubernatorial elections.

[S019]

Also here's my amendment clarifying minority seats

Amendment to the Lincoln Downballot Elections Act


III. Redistricting


1. Redistricting shall consist of a commission of leaders from each party in the state legislature, as well as 5 citizens.
2. The commission must create a map that prioritizes one of these two goals: maximizing the competitiveness of districts or drawing districts proportional to partisanship
3. In areas where there is a high minority population, and it is possible to draw a seat where the voting age population of a minority coalition is greater than 50%, or where the voting age population of a specific minority group that seat must be drawn by the commission is high enough that it is possible to draw a seat where said group could elect its own candidate in both a primary and a general election, that seat must be drawn by the commission, even if said seat is not compact.
3a. Minority groups shall be defined as American Indian, Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans.
4. In areas where it is possible to draw a seat as described in Section 3, Clause 1, but with a minority coalition or individual minority group population of above 40% of the voting age population, it is recommended that the commission draw that seat
5. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 3 shall be known as Voting Rights Act seat (if it is a majority of a single minority) or a Minority Coalition seat (if they seat is formed by a majority of multiple minority groups)
6. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 4 shall be known as Opportunity Seats
7. Redistricting shall occur every year as well as when necessitated by an election system change.
8. All districts drawn by state legislatures in Lincoln must be precleared by the Lincoln Regional Justice.

This amendment fixes the provisions so the seats actually perform, and also adds a provision of preclearance so that states aren't cheating on the minority seats.

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

Sure, I'll sponsor that and call 24 hours to object

[Leinad]

Unless I misunderstand this bill, I like it. FPTP sucks IRL, but I almost wonder if being forced to more tightly manage your coalition makes it more fun, and perhaps more challenging for major parties.

Also "two round FPTP" is not FPTP, and it looks like it's listed there already. Although sometimes that is a fun system, it might be boring in most places with Atlasia's party system. But in some states going for #2 might be competitive and it could lead to some weird tactical voting, so that might be fun? But I digress...

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

No, FPTP caters to major parties. Mostly because it results in nearly everyone refusing to vote for anyone outside of the two major parties. What you seem to be imagining is a system where  minor parties remain relevant even though the major parties almost always win, but in reality this doesn't really happen (The UK is the exception not the rule).

--------

The intent of the amendment is only to eliminate one round FPTP from the choices. Two round FPTP has fewer drawbacks and thus remains allowed.

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

The pending amendments have been adopted.

Moving for a final vote

[S019]

No, FPTP caters to major parties. Mostly because it results in nearly everyone refusing to vote for anyone outside of the two major parties. What you seem to be imagining is a system where  minor parties remain relevant even though the major parties almost always win, but in reality this doesn't really happen (The UK is the exception not the rule).

I mean I'd note in the UK, a party hasn't won with a majority in over 70 years (1935), in fact in 2019, the Remain bloc (Lab/LD/SNP) got 47.6% and the Leave bloc (Tory/BXP) got 45.64%, despite this, due to inefficient distribution of the Remain vote, the Leave bloc won a massive majority, and Brexit happened. So, even in the UK you don't really get minor parties remaining relevant (the SNP won most of their seats with majorities, and the Lib Dems haven't been relevant since the unpopularity of the 2010 coalition led to them crashing in 2015), but had the UK had proper PR, we very well could have had PM Corbyn arranging a second referendum, and maybe Remain would even win. Meanwhile, in our universe, Labour is still struggling on how to handle Brexit and seems kind of directionless, honestly. TL;DR FPTP is way worse with multi party systems than with two party ones (but it sucks with both)

[Leinad]

Yeah I've seen that video, and have held the position that FPTP is bad for longer than a lot of the other positions that I have held. You don't need to tell me that those things are true with regards to real elections.

But my entire point is this is a forum game, so it may work different. Say Party A has 45%, Party B has 40%, and party C--which is in the middle of the two and their supporters split 50/50 between the big ones in 2nd pref--FPTP might add an extra element in, say, NPC elections. Instead of Party A just easily winning on the second round, B and C have a chance to work together and catch A slipping. Not sure if I'm conveying this properly, or if I'm even correct, but I guess the main point is that RL =/= Atlasia.

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

The question is on passage of the bill as amended.

Aye

[AGA]

Aye

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Aye

[JoeInator]

Aye

[Nyssus]

Aye

[Leinad]

Aye

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

On a vote of 6-0, with one not voting, the bill is passed.

[KaiserDave]

Done