Lincoln Constitution
As of March 27, 2023
Preamble
We, the people of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Wisconsin, and Vermont, acting in accordance with the great precept that all men and women are created equal, and for the purpose of preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Northern Region.
Bill of Rights
All persons born or naturalized in the Republic of Atlasia and being residents of one of the states of this region, are citizens of Lincoln, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the same. No citizen shall be denied equal protection under the law.
- 1. The General Court shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, nor of the press, nor the right to assemble and petition for the redress of grievances.
- 2. The General Court shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor obstructing the freedom of worship. No government organization shall sponsor religion in any way.
- 3. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, shall exist within this region, or in any territories under its jurisdiction.
- 4. A well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of citizens to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
- 5. In all suits of criminal law, the accused shall have right to a free and fair trial by an impartial jury of their peers.
- 6. No person accused of any crime under the laws of this region shall be subjected to warrantless search or seizure of their homes, persons, records, or possessions; nor excessive bail; nor cruel or unusual punishment; nor compelled to bear witness against herself; nor denied right to legal counsel.
- 7. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, save when in times of war or rebellion the public safety may require it.
- 8. The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed as to deny those natural and inherent rights herein unlisted.
Article I. The Legislative Power
1. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in a General Court.
2. The General Court shall consist of a number of deputies chosen at-large every second month by the eligible voters of Lincoln according to a method of proportional representation prescribed by law. When the number of candidates is five or fewer, that number shall be chosen; when it is greater than five but less than nine, five deputies shall be chosen; when it is nine or greater, seven shall be chosen. Write-in candidates shall not be considered in determining the number to be chosen, except as specified in the write-in amendment.
3. No person shall be a deputy of the General Court who is not a citizen of this region, and no person shall remain a deputy who is found by a vote of three-fourths of their peers to be guilty of gross negligence, high crimes, or misdemeanors.
4. The General Court shall elect its speaker and other officers and shall have sole authority to determine its own methods of proceedings.
5. Every bill passed by the General Court shall, before it becomes law, be submitted to the judgment of the governor. If they approve of it, they should sign it and it will become law; but if they disapprove they may veto it, and it shall be returned to the General Court. If, after considering the objections of the governor, the General Court should by a two-thirds vote agree to pass the same bill, it shall become law regardless of the governor's objections. If the governor shall not act to sign or veto a bill, it shall become law seven (7) days after its adoption by the General Court. The Governor shall have the authority to submit revisions to passed legislation, if they deem fit, and return it to the legislature for reconsideration. If the redrafted bill is rejected by the General Court, and the original bill passed the General Court by a two-thirds margin, the original bill shall be sent to referendum. If the redrafted bill is rejected by the General Court, and the original bill passed by less than two-thirds, the Governor shall be compelled to sign or veto the original bill.
6. Whenever a vacancy should occur in the composition of the General Court, the governor shall appoint a replacement. Should the vacancy have occurred fewer than 336 hours before the next general election, the deputy thus nominated shall serve the remainder of the existing term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new deputy may be elected. If required, A special election for the General Court shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy; 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.
7. The General Court may, by a four-fifths vote, impeach and remove the governor for gross negligence or criminal acts; but the governor shall not be convicted without the concurrence of four-fifths of all sitting deputies, and the penalty for his conviction shall not exceed removal from office and disbarment from holding any office under this region for eighteen months.
8. In the event of a tied vote of the General Court, the governor shall have the power to break the tie.
9. Where the text above or below references a two-thirds margin, it shall be construed to refer to the support of two-thirds of all sitting deputies.
Article II. The Executive Power
1. The powers and duties of the executive shall be vested in the governor of Lincoln.
2. The governor shall be elected every fourth month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be governor who is not a citizen of Lincoln, and no elected governor shall be a deputy of the General Court.
3. The governor shall have the power to carry out all acts in association with the enforcement of the laws passed under this constitution; to command the militia in times of war; to appoint the heads of such departments which may be established by law; to issue pardons and reprieves for crimes committed under the laws of this region, which shall be permanent upon their issuance, though they shall have no power to pardon themselves; to appoint, in accordance with Article V of the constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, the associate justice of the circuit court of this region; and to approve, or veto, all acts passed by the General Court.
4. Should the governor vacate their office either by their death, removal, forfeiture, or resignation, then the speaker of the General Court, or if there be no speaker the deputy with the longest continuous service, shall act as governor until a successor may be elected. The acting governor need not vacate their seat in the General Court, but they shall have no vote in its proceedings so long as they continue to exercise the powers of the governor. If there is neither a speaker nor any deputies of the General Court, then the powers and duties of the governor shall devolve upon the associate justice of the circuit court, or if there be none such officer as the president of Atlasia may appoint from among the citizens of Lincoln, until a successor may be elected. A special election for Governor shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy; 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; but if this would make such election concurrent with or later than the next regular election, the special shall be cancelled and the acting official will serve the rest of the term.
Article III. Senators
1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof.
2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for governor and General Court shall be denied the right to vote for Senator.
3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the governor shall appoint an interim senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy; 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;but if this would make such election concurrent with or later than the next regular election, the special shall be cancelled and the interim official will serve the rest of the term.
4. Senators who are elected in a regularly scheduled election shall take office on the first day of the next session of Congress. Senators elected in a special election shall take office immediately upon election.
Article IV. Elections
1. The right to vote in all elections and referendums called according to the provisions of this Constitution shall be exclusive to those persons being eligible to vote in elections for President of the Republic of Atlasia who have been registered to vote in one of the states of this Region for a period of at least 72 hours prior to the commencement of the election. The General Court shall have the right to pass further residency requirements through legislation.
2. Voters shall be permitted to edit their ballots until 20 minutes after posting them in the voting booth. No voter shall edit their ballot after the official end of the voting period.
3. All elections and referendums of this region shall be administered by the governor, or a person of their choosing. Whenever the governor and their designee if applicable should be unable to perform this duty, the speaker of the General Court, or in their absence the most senior deputy, shall administer the election.
4. Elections for governor shall be held in the months of April, August, and December. Elections for General Court shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
- a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document or the top matter accompanying it, a special election for the remainder of the current gubernatorial term shall be held in June 2021 concurrent with General Court Elections, after which elections shall follow the schedule dictated above.
1. Candidates for governor, General Court, and federal Senate must declare their candidacy in the appropriate thread by 2:00:00 PM, Eastern Time, on the Thursday preceding the election in order to appear on the ballot.
2. Except in the month of December, elections for governor, General Court, 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. Special Elections are scheduled by the Governor at any date that they deem fit. In all cases, voting shall begin at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Time, on the appointed day and continue for 72 hours hence.
3. Following the expiration of the voting period, the election administrator shall have 24 hours to produce a tally of the votes cast and to announce the persons elected.
4. All elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law.
5. The terms of the Governor and General Court shall begin at 12:00:00 Eastern Time on the first Wednesday following their election. Prior to assuming office, the governor and deputies shall swear the following oath or equivalent: “I, [A.B.], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [state office name] and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitutions of Lincoln and the Republic of Atlasia.” Any person elected to office under this constitution who shall fail to swear or affirm the aforesaid within 72 hours of the constitutional commencement of their term, shall forfeit their office.
6. All referendums on proposed amendments to this constitution and to the constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body; but if the passage shall occur on a Thursday, the referendum shall begin on the second Friday following passage. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid.
7. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum.
8. If a Special Election for any office is scheduled to occur 168 hours or fewer before a Regular Election for any office, it shall be:
- Held Concurrently with said regular election if for a different office than the regular election - Cancelled if said regular election is for the same office, with the acting official serving the rest of the term.
Article V. The Senate
1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof.
2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for governor and Council shall be denied the right to vote for Senator.
3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this Region in the Senate, the governor shall appoint an Acting Senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy.
4. Senators who are elected in a regularly scheduled election shall take office on the first day of the next session of Congress. Senators elected in a special election shall take office immediately upon election.
Article VI. Amendments
1. The General Court shall have the power to propose amendments to this constitution by a two-thirds vote.
2. Lincoln shall ratify amendments to the constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum.
Article VII. General Court Automatic Recalls Due to Inactivity
1. Notwithstanding any other part of this constitution, if a Deputy of the General Court misses 4 consecutive final votes, they shall immediately forfeit their office. ---a. This shall be interpreted to include veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes for Speaker, along with final votes on legislation and constitutional amendments. ---b. However, this shall not be interpreted to include bill amendments, tabling motions, points of order, motions for a final vote, or other procedural matters not covered by a. --c. However, this shall not be interpreted to include any votes taken while the deputy was on a publicly announced leave of absence, provided such leave was announced in the Atlas Fantasy Elections, Atlas Fantasy Government, and/or Regional Governments (Sub-)board(s), and such leave has not yet exceeded 504 hours.
2. Notwithstanding any other part of this constitution, if a Deputy of the General Court misses 8 final votes in any session, regardless of whether such votes are consecutive, they shall immediately forfeit their office. The definition of final vote shall be the same as established in 1.
3. Any vacancy created by 1. or 2. shall be filled via a gubernatorial appointment, which shall be from the same political party as the incumbent who forfeited their office. If the incumbent was an independent, or their party has ceased to exist, or their party is not a major party for census purposes, the governor shall not be restricted by party in making an appointment. No special election shall be required.
4. If the governor cannot make an appointment within 168 hours, the seat shall go to a special election, which shall begin on the first Friday after the expiration of the 168 hours, or if such time expires on a Wednesday or Thursday, on the second Friday after the expiration of the 168 hours. If such special election would be concurrent with or later than the next general election, it shall be cancelled and the seat will be vacant for the rest of the term.
Article VIII. Write-In Amendment
1. A candidate officially accepting write-in votes for a position on Lincoln General Court will increase the amount of seats elected in the same way a declared candidate would, up to a total of two additional seats.
2. Two shall be the number of write-in candidates that may be elected. In the event more than two write-in candidates run, the seats will be awarded to the top two vote-getters of these. Any write-in votes after these two will be exhausted or redistributed to officially declared candidates.
Article IX. Referendum Amendment
1. Certain legislation may be subject to the full authority of the eligible voting populace through regionally sanctioned referendums.
2. Referendums are to be sanctioned under any of the following methods:
a.) Citizens of Lincoln may submit legislation under the Lincoln Legislative Introduction Thread with the expressed intent that it be reviewed as a potential referendum. It shall be presented to the General Court for their approval (a direct deputy sponsor is not required). Only one citizen-proposed referendum may be considered at a time by the Lincoln General Court. A two-thirds majority shall be required to authorize the referendum.
b.) Upon the veto of a bill by the Governor, the General Court shall have the right to request that the legislation be forwarded to the Lincoln populace in lieu of a veto override. A two-thirds majority shall be required to authorize the referendum. Once a referendum is authorized, a veto override on the particular legislation is no longer possible.
c.) The Governor, in lieu of a declaration in favor or in opposition, or a redraft, may instead defer any passed legislation to the Lincoln people's judgment at personal discretion.
3. Any referendum authorized under this article shall be held concurrently with the next regularly held election, which may be a special election.
4. Referendums are to be considered as passed should they receive a majority of votes in favor. Abstentions shall not affect the results. Implementation is to occur immediately following certification unless otherwise noted in the text.
