Bill: Rejected In-Game Elections Omnibus Act

[Real42]

A
BILL
To

Enable in-game voting and amend the Electoral Act, the Legislative Standards Act, and the Constitution

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:​

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'In Game Elections Omnibus Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately once signed and once DemocracyElections has been certified by Staff and the State Secretary.
(3) This Act has been authored by Sen. xEndeavour.
(4) This Act has been proposed by Rep. TheReal42Person
(5) This Act has been co-sponsored by Sen. xEndeavour.

2 - Reasons
(1) Enables in-game voting.
(2) Addition of activity requirements.
(3) Formatting changes to make it easier to read and interpret this act.
(4) Enables Town representation in the Senate.
(5) Enables voter registration.
(6) Maintains Senate electoral system, just makes the name accurately reflect the system used.

3 - Constitutional Changes

8. Elections for the House of Representatives​

(1) Elections for the House of Representatives shall be conducted through a system of preferential single transferrable voting as outlined in the Electoral Act.​

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8. Elections for the Senate​

(1) Elections for the Senate shall be conducted through a system of single non-transferrable vote as outlined in the Electoral Act.​

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4 - Electoral Act Changes

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5- Electoral Terms and Limitations​

(1) The Supreme Court of Redmont is to act as the Court of Disputed Returns.​

(2) A citizen can only sit in one chamber; Where a citizen is elected to both chambers, it will be that they assume their seat in the Senate and forfeit their Seat in the House of Representatives.​

(3) Candidates are to make their official political party affiliations known or if none, opt to run as an independent. Failure to identify a party affiliation will result in the candidate being declared an independent.​

(4) Each candidate is to be listed separately on the ballot. If able, with their party in parentheses by their name.​

(5) The entirety of Congress enters 'caretaker mode' during an election period (between the 1st-10th day of an electoral month).​

(6) False party affiliations will be excluded at the request of the relevant party leader.​

(7) All citizens eligible to vote shall be granted one vote.​

(8) Political parties cannot sponsor a higher number of candidates than seats that are up to vote.​

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6 - House of Representatives Elections​

(1) Voting System. Elections for the House of Representatives shall be conducted through a system of single transferrable voting as outlined in this Act.​

(3) Activity Requirements. In order to run for and maintain their seat in the House of Representatives, citizens need to meet these requirements:​

• Has 6 hours active monthly playtime
• Has accrued 24 hours playtime prior to declaring their intent to contest the election on the forums.
• Is an active participant in the community, in-game, on discord, and on the forums.

(3) House of Representatives Duration. 2 Month Term​

(4) House of Representatives Election Months. January, March, May, July, September, and November​

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7 - Senate Elections​

(1) Voting System. Elections for the Senate shall be conducted through a system of single non-transferrable vote as outlined in this act.​

(2) Classes. The Senate shall be divided into two classes, Class A and Class B.​

(a) When the entire Senate is up for election, the highest polling 50% of Senators shall be assigned to Class A while the remaining Senators shall be assigned to Class B.​

(4) Activity Requirements. In order to run for and maintain their seat in the Senate, citizens need to meet these requirements:​

• Has 6 hours active monthly playtime
• Has accrued 72 hours playtime prior to declaring their intent to contest the election on the forums
• Is an active participant in the community, in-game, on discord, and on the forums.

(5) Senate Duration. 4 Month Term​

(6) Senate Election Months:​

(7) Class A. January, May, September​

(8) Class B. March, July, November​

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8 - Proportional System​

(a) Once voting has concluded, all votes cast to candidates of the same party are pooled. Independents shall stand on their own and for all electoral purposes are considered a 'party'.​

(b) The number of votes the party or independent as a whole received shall be divided by the total number of votes cast to determine the “Party Share”.​

(c) The total number of seats being contested shall be multiplied by the Party Share to determine the party’s seats.​

(d) All parties and independents shall be awarded a number of seats equal to the whole number determined in the previous step.​

(e) Should any seats remain unallocated, the party with the next highest decimal seats shall be granted a seat until all seats are allocated.​

(f) The order in which the seats will be distributed to candidates will be determined by their popularity in the election, with seats being awarded to the most popular candidate of the party first, then going down from most popular to least popular to fill all of a party’s seats. If a party wins more seats than it has candidates, its extra seats shall be reapportioned in accordance with point e.​

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9 - Block System​

(a) Once voting has concluded, seats shall be awarded to the candidate with the highest share of the vote through to the lowest share of the vote until all vacant seats are filled.​

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8 - Single Transferrable Vote (STV) System​

(1) Voting Process. Voters rank candidates in order of preference.​

(2) Vote Threshold for Election.​

(a) In order to be elected, a candidate must reach a specific vote threshold, calculated by: dividing the total valid votes by the sum of the number of seats to be filled plus one, and then adding one to the result ​

(disregarding any remainder or fraction): ​

​

(total number of formal votes / (number of candidates to be elected + 1)) + 1 ​

(b) If a candidate surpasses this threshold with first-choice votes, they are elected.​

(3) Surplus Votes. If a candidate receives more votes than needed to meet the threshold, the surplus votes are transferred to the next preference on the voters' ballots.​

(4) Elimination of Low-Scoring Candidates​

(a) If a candidate has fewer votes than the threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.​

(b) The votes of the eliminated candidate are then transferred to the next preference on the voters' ballots.​

(5) Repeat Process. Steps 3 and 4 are repeated until all seats are filled.​

(6) Quota Adjustment. As seats are filled, the threshold is adjusted to reflect the changing number of seats and the remaining candidates.​

(7) Winner Determination. The process continues until all seats are filled. The candidate with the most votes after the final round of counting is declared the winner of the final seat.​

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9 - Single Non-Transferrable Vote (SNTV) System​

(1) Voting Process. Voters cast a single vote for a candidate of their choice in a multi-member constituency.​

(2) Winner Determination. Candidates with the highest individual vote counts, up to the number of available seats, are declared the winners.​

13 - Special Elections​

(1) Congress may motion to hold a special election for a Congressional vacancy.​

(2) After the motion has been approved by simple majority, it then must receive Presidential Assent.​

(3) Should the President decline to grant assent for the special election motion, this may not be overruled.​

(4) If assent was granted, the election shall take place 3 days thereafter, the public shall immediately be notified to allow candidates to campaign and officially submit their intent to run.​

(5) A special election shall consist of a 48 nomination period, a 24 hour campaigning period, and a 24 hour voting period.​

(6) Whichever candidate reached a plurality shall fill the vacancy.​

(7) In the event of a tie, Congress shall choose between the highest voted candidates that tied.​

(8) Caretaker mode shall not be instated as a result of a special election.​

(9) The results of a special election will become the most recent election from where another 14 day period will commence.​

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10 - Special Elections​

(1) Congressional Proposal. Congress may propose a special election to fill a Congressional vacancy/vacancies.​

(2) Approval. Approval requires a simple majority in both chambers. ​

(3) Election Schedule. An election will be scheduled for 3 days thereafter. Immediate public notification will allow candidates to campaign and formally submit their intent to run.​

(4) Election Timeline. The special election will follow a timeline: a 48-hour nomination period, a 24-hour campaigning period, and a 24-hour voting period.​

(5) Plurality Winner. The candidate securing a plurality will fill the vacancy.​

(6) Tie Resolution. In the case of a tie, Congress will decide among the highest-voted candidates that tied.​

(7) No Caretaker Mode. The enactment of caretaker mode will not result from a special election.​

(8) Results and Subsequent Election Period. The results of a special election will become the most recent election, initiating another 14-day period.​

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11 - Vacant Seats​

(1) Where a seat in a chamber becomes vacant, the relevant presiding officer is obligated to do the following:​

(a) Nominate the next winning candidate according to the electoral system used in the election. For the nominee to assume office, they must attain a majority approval in both chambers.​

(i) Any candidate nominated to the Congress of Redmont must meet all requirements to run for their position at the time of their nomination.​

(b) Congress must vote on a nomination within four days of the seat becoming vacant. A special election will be automatically triggered when there are no suitable candidates in the most recent election, four days have elapsed, and the vacancy has not been filled, or a special election has been successfully motioned.​

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12 - Removal of Members of Congress​

(1) If a Representative is no longer fit for office, they can be removed from Congress early by the relevant presiding officer with the consent of four fifths of their chamber (Excluding the individual in question).​

(2) If a Senator is no longer fit for office, they can be removed from Congress early by the relevant presiding officer with the consent of all members of their chamber (Excluding the individual in question).​

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13 - Electoral Fraud​

Any player caught rigging/meddling with an election through, but not limited to: the use of alternate accounts, bribery, and or threats.​

Per Offence: Courts may order up to $25,000 in fines (per alt account if applicable) + issue a temporary or permeant barring from holding public office.​

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14 - Electoral Fraud Process​

Where electoral results are flagged for fraudulent behavior, the Government will be responsible for contesting the votes in Court.​

a. During this period, the former Government will remain in Caretaker Government.​

b. Individual votes may be struck by the Court​

c. Non-fraudulent votes are to be counted and will continue to contribute to Party totals.​

(not conducive with secret ballot, more realistic)​

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19 - Activity Requirement Process​

(1) Electoral Officers will be charged with the task of ensuring each voter meets the requirements as laid out in this bill.​

(2) If a voter does not meet activity requirements as outlined in this act, the vote will be removed and the counting will proceed.​

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15 - Electoral Officers​

(1) Electoral Officers are charged with ensuring that elections are carried out in accordance with the wording and spirit of this act.​

(2) Electoral Officers are charged with ensuring that elected offices with activity requirements are met and maintained.​

(3) Electoral Officers are charged with serving as the stewards of free and fair elections.​

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16 - Referendum​

(1) For all intents and purposes of this act, a Referendum is regarded as an election. ​

(2) The right to vote in elections and referendums, provided the player has:​

a. Has been online within 1 month as the votes are counted.​

b. Has accrued 12 or more hours of playtime in the last 30 days.​

(3) Referendums take place over a period of 48 hours.​

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17 - Polling Places​

(1) Selection. Polling places are selected by the DOS. ​

(a) Consideration must be taken to ensure accessibility, convenience, and efficiency for voters (major landmarks, access to /spawns and public transportation).​

(b) Polling places must be on public land or in public buildings.​

(c) There must be at least one polling place in all recognised cities and towns.​

(2) Restrictions. In order to ensure a neutral and focused voting environment, campaign-related advertising (Includes, but is not limited to, physical campaign propaganda and person-to-person campaigning) is prohibited within:​

(a) 25 blocks of a ballot box (a block registered as a poll); and​

(b) inside a building containing a polling place. ​

(c) Failure to comply:​

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Interfering with a Polling Place​

Obstructing or Interrupting the conduct of a polling place.​

Per Offence: $1000 Fine + 10 minutes jail​

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Harassment of a Polling Place​

Failure to comply with polling place restrictions as defined in the Electoral Act.\​

Per Offence: $10,000 fine​

Three or more offences: Up to $50,000 fine + up to 20 minutes jail + 1 month removal from public office​

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18 - Redundancy​

(1) The Secretary of State has the exclusive power to declare an electoral emergency.​

(2) An electoral emergency is called when an in-game election cannot be conducted reliably in-game. ​

(3) Under an electoral emergency, all elections will conducted according to the law the preceded this act until declared otherwise by the Secretary of State.​

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19 - Registration​

(1) In order to protect the integrity of the electoral system, the Department of State will maintain voter registration.​

(a) Voter registration exists to verify the validity of voters, not to limit potential voters from voting. All legitimate citizens are entitled to registration.​

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5 - Amendments to the Legislative Standards Act

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18 - Activity Requirements​

(1) The Electoral Act sets out activity requirements for serving members of Congress.​

(2) A member of Congress may petition their respective chamber to waive their activity requirements (by simple majority) for up to a month on compassionate grounds or in extenuating circumstances.​

(2) It is otherwise expected that a member of Congress maintain the minimum level of activity required for election during their tenure or resign to allow other citizens to fulfil the role.​

(3) If it is discovered that a member is below activity requirements, the Department of State must serve the member with a five day warning to return to the required activity requirements.​

(a) Involuntary resignation will take place five days from being issued the warning if the member remains under activity requirements.​

6 - Constitutional Rights Changes
(1) The following is amended:
III. The right to vote a Government official out of his or her office.
(you already have the right to vote, this right is redundant)

Changes to

III. The right to Secret Ballot in elections and referendums
(all voting is anonymous; no one can tell who you voted for - even the DOS)

7 - Electoral Act Definitions

(1) Special Election
(a) An election conducted outside the regular election cycle and is typically called to fill a specific political office that has become vacant due to unexpected events.

(2) General Election
(a) An election that is regularly scheduled.