Act of Council Oakridge Majorities Act

[Franciscus]

A
BILL
To
Amend the Oakridge Constitution as it Pertains to Majorities​

The citizens of Oakridge, through their elected Representatives in the Town-Council and the force of law ordained to that Town-Council by the people through the constitution of Oakridge, do hereby enact the following provisions into the constitution and by-laws:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Oakridge Majorities Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: Head of Residence Multiman155
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by: Head of Commerce inceee

2 - Reasons
(1) The Oakridge Constitution states that "All elected positions shall be elected by a majority of votes, that being 50%+1 or more";
(2) This is the only definition of "majority" or "supermajority" present in the Oakridge Constitution;
(3) The Oakridge Constitution contains reference to a "supermajority", but does not actually define it;
(4) The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont defines a "majority" as "[a] vote of greater than 50%";
(5) The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont defines a "supermajority" as being a "[a] vote of greater than or equal to 2/3";
(6) The June 2025 Oakridge Council Elections resulted in 3 runoffs in two races, the lattermost of which would have been avoided without changing the end result had the Commonwealth Constitution's threshold for a "majority" been present in the Oakridge Constitution;
(7) Clear and reasonable definitions of "majority" and "supermajority" would improve the Oakridge Constitution.

3 - Amendments to Constitution
(1) The first sentence of Article IV, Section IV is amended by striking text as follows:

"All elected positions shall be elected by a majority of votes, that being 50%+1 or more."

(2) The Oakridge Constitution is amended to insert the following text after Article V:

ARTICLE VI. KEY DEFINITIONS
Section I - A "majority" shall be defined as "greater than 50% of valid votes cast" for purposes of elections and public referendums.
Section II - A "majority" shall be defined as "greater than 50% of Council Members eligible to vote on the matter, excluding those who have affirmatively abstained" for purposes of votes by the Oakridge Council.
Section III - A "supermajority", for purposes of elections and public referendums, shall be defined as "a vote of greater than or equal to 2/3 of valid votes cast".
Section IV - A "supermajority", for purposes of votes by the Oakridge Council, shall be defined as "a vote of greater than or equal to 2/3 of Council Members eligible to vote on the matter, excluding those who have affirmatively abstained".