I was recently looking through some of our regional laws and came across this one, The World Assembly Act. I read it, and instantly wanted to add on a clause or two about approval voting. It doesn't seem that the Delegates of the five feeder regions approve WA resolutions all that often. Though, in the case that the Delegate of the South Pacific has done so, I've added some criteria to what the Delegate can approve or not. I invite you to read my bill and discuss below. Feedback and comments are welcome!
Quote:
World Assembly Act
An act to define the World Assembly procedures of the Coalition of the South Pacific
… 2. Approval voting
(1) The Delegate may give an approval vote on proposed World Assembly resolutions freely or based on the instruction of the Office of World Assembly Legislation. (2) The South Pacific Special Forces are prohibited from engaging in approval raiding, except as prescribed in the Charter. (3) The Delegate cannot give an approval vote on a proposed World Assembly resolution that has been held at an illegal capacity. However, if a resolution has been marked both legal and illegal, the Delegate may supply an approval vote on the proposed World Assembly resolution. (4) The Director of the Office of World Assembly Legislation is to confirm a request from an Office staff member for the Delegate to supply an approval vote. No sole staff member can order the Delegate to approve a legal resolution. For a staff member to request the Delegate to approve a resolution, the request must be approved by the Director of the Office of World Assembly Legislation and comply with the written laws of the South Pacific. …
(5) At the start of each Local Council election, a six-day gameside poll shall be conducted that shall ask whether to retain the Local Council as an institution.
a. Only Native World Assembly members may participate in the poll.
b. Members of the South Pacific Special Forces who are on deployment at the conclusion of the regional poll are eligible to cast a ballot. The Minister of Defense shall provide a list of deployed personnel to the Election Commissioner. Members on the list can cast their ballot through a public post on the Regional Message Board which tags the Election Commissioner.
(6) If a majority vote against retaining the Local Council, this Article and all other mentions of the Local Council in regional law shall be struck out and rendered null.
2022 GREAT COUNCIL OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[GCPR.2203] AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER AND THE ELECTIONS ACT (APPROVAL VOTING)
This is the voting thread for proposal [GCPR.2203] Amendment to the Charter and the Elections Act (Approval Voting), which was submitted, debated and motioned on this thread in accordance with the provisions of the Great Council Convening Resolution of 2022.
This proposal requires a majority of three fifths of valid votes cast, excluding abstentions, to advance to the reconciliation and omnibus stage.
HOW TO VOTE
Participants may vote by submitting a reply to this thread that clearly conveys their intent to support, oppose, or abstain from the proposal.
Votes will be considered valid only if they meet the following conditions:
They were cast by a participant, defined as a resident whose name is listed in the Official Dashboard.
They convey an intent to either support, oppose, or abstain from the proposal, but not several at once.
They use the following approved terms to convey intent:
(1) The Delegate will be the head of state of the Coalition. They will be responsible for helping maintain the security of the region, promoting growth and activity, and serving as an advisor to the regionalforum-side government. Barring reasonable circumstances, the Delegate will hold the in-game Delegate seat. No person may be Delegate if they have participated, in whole or in part and at any time, in any coup d'etat of the Coalition or any of its allies, excluding normal raiding, defending, or liberation efforts as part of an organized military.
...
Elections
(4) Delegate elections will be held every six months.
(5) The date, time, and manner of electing the Delegate will be set by the Assembly in a law, but must include the participation of the gameside community.
ELECTIONS ACT
2. Electoral Basics
(8) Under Majority Voting, the sole winner is determined as follows;
a. As their ballot, a voter indicates the candidate their vote shall go towards.
b. If a candidate has received an absolute majority of votes, they are the winner; otherwise, the two candidates who have received the most votes advance to a runoff, held under the same rules as this round of voting. Should this runoff result in a tie, then the tie shall be broken according to the general tie-breaking procedure.
3. Office of the Delegate
(1) On the first of every January and July, the Assembly will convene to elect the Delegate.
(1) The Delegate will be elected in a two-round process constituting a single election, with the Assembly voting on a slate of nominees on the forums, and candidates advancing from that process being voted on by regional poll on-site.
(2) On the first of every January and July, the Assembly will convene for the first round of Delegate elections.
a. Any eligible legislator wishing to run for Delegate may declare their candidacy, and the Assembly will debate the merits of their platform. Any player who has been banned from World Assembly membership will be considered ineligible and any candidate who is later discovered to be banned from World Assembly membership will be immediately disqualified. Legislators wishing to run for Delegate must hold a number of endorsements equal to at least 80% of the existing general endorsement cap at the commencement of the election period.
b. The campaign and debate period will last one week, after which the Assembly will vote for 3 days.
c. The sole winner, as decided using Approval Voting, will be declared the Delegate-elect by the Election Commissioner.This round of voting for Delegate will use Approval Voting to determine two winners of positions as candidates in the second round. If candidates tie for being a winner, all of those tied candidates shall be considered winners.
(3) After the winners of the first round have been determined, the second round will commence with them as candidates.
a. The Election Commissioner will create a week-long regional poll through which voters may cast their ballots. The poll must provide instructions for them on how to do so, and may only allow Native World Assembly members to participate.
b. A Dispatch containing the campaigns of all candidates will be created to aid voters in their choice.
c. Members of the South Pacific Special Forces who are on deployment at the conclusion of the regional poll are eligible to cast a ballot. The Minister of Defense shall provide a list of deployed personnel to the Election Commissioner. Members on the list can cast their ballot through a public post on the Regional Message Board which tags the Election Commissioner.
d. The winner of this round, as decided using Majority Voting, will be declared the Delegate-elect.
2022 GREAT COUNCIL OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[GCPR.2202] AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER AND THE ELECTIONS ACT (INSTANT-RUNOFF VOTING)
This is the voting thread for proposal [GCPR.2202] Amendment to the Charter and the Elections Act (Instant-Runoff Voting), which was submitted, debated and motioned on this thread in accordance with the provisions of the Great Council Convening Resolution of 2022.
This proposal requires a majority of three fifths of valid votes cast, excluding abstentions, to advance to the reconciliation and omnibus stage.
HOW TO VOTE
Participants may vote by submitting a reply to this thread that clearly conveys their intent to support, oppose, or abstain from the proposal.
Votes will be considered valid only if they meet the following conditions:
They were cast by a participant, defined as a resident whose name is listed in the Official Dashboard.
They convey an intent to either support, oppose, or abstain from the proposal, but not several at once.
They use the following approved terms to convey intent:
(1) The Delegate will be the head of state of the Coalition. They will be responsible for helping maintain the security of the region, promoting growth and activity, and serving as an advisor to the regionalforum-side government. Barring reasonable circumstances, the Delegate will hold the in-game Delegate seat. No person may be Delegate if they have participated, in whole or in part and at any time, in any coup d'etat of the Coalition or any of its allies, excluding normal raiding, defending, or liberation efforts as part of an organized military.
...
Elections
(4) Delegate elections will be held every six months.
(5) The date, time, and manner of electing the Delegate will be set by the Assembly in a law, but must include the participation of the gameside community.
ELECTIONS ACT
2. Electoral Basics
(8) Under Majority Voting, the sole winner is determined as follows;
a. As their ballot, a voter indicates the candidate their vote shall go towards.
b. If a candidate has received an absolute majority of votes, they are the winner; otherwise, the two candidates who have received the most votes advance to a runoff, held under the same rules as this round of voting. Should this runoff result in a tie, then the tie shall be broken according to the general tie-breaking procedure.
3. Office of the Delegate
(1) On the first of every January and July, the Assembly will convene to elect the Delegate.
(1) The Delegate will be elected in a two-round process constituting a single election, with the Assembly voting on a slate of nominees on the forums, and candidates advancing from that process being voted on by regional poll on-site.
(2) On the first of every January and July, the Assembly will convene for the first round of Delegate elections.
a. Any eligible legislator wishing to run for Delegate may declare their candidacy, and the Assembly will debate the merits of their platform. Any player who has been banned from World Assembly membership will be considered ineligible and any candidate who is later discovered to be banned from World Assembly membership will be immediately disqualified. Legislators wishing to run for Delegate must hold a number of endorsements equal to at least 80% of the existing general endorsement cap at the commencement of the election period.
b. The campaign and debate period will last one week, after which the Assembly will vote for 3 days.
c. The winner will be decided usingThis round of voting for Delegate will useInstant-RunoffApproval Voting and will be declared the Delegate-elect by the Election Commissionerto determine two winners of positions as candidates in the second round. If candidates tie for being a winner, all of those tied candidates shall be considered winners.
(3) After the winners of the first round have been determined, the second round will commence with them as candidates.
a. The Election Commissioner will create a week-long regional poll through which voters may cast their ballots. The poll must provide instructions for them on how to do so, and may only allow Native World Assembly members to participate.
b. A Dispatch containing the campaigns of all candidates will be created to aid voters in their choice.
c. Members of the South Pacific Special Forces who are on deployment at the conclusion of the regional poll are eligible to cast a ballot. The Minister of Defense shall provide a list of deployed personnel to the Election Commissioner. Members on the list can cast their ballot through a public post on the Regional Message Board which tags the Election Commissioner.
d. The winner of this round, as decided using Majority Voting, will be declared the Delegate-elect.
User name: The Lile Ulie Islands (ID:2628) Nation: Lile Ulie Islands WA Nation: Unknown Main Nation: Lile Ulie Islands Significant aliases: LUI
Lile Ulie
Lile
The Islands Other regions: Port Elizabeth
The States of Democratic Progress
That Region That Has No Big Banks Bans: The West Pacific (we're working on getting that undone Discord account: thelileulieislands#2206
Applying for: Ministry of Defense What are you interested in?: Tidal Force Prior Experience: I'm generally a pacifist, but my old region which I was Delegate of, Port Elizabeth, has a small, two-person defender army and the acts of defending have always amazed me. Availability during update: I'm on Eastern Daylight Time (NYC time), so, in the summer I'll generally be available at noon, however, sometimes I'll be available at midnight, but not always. In the winter, school will have me occupied.
Preferred contact method: Via telegram to my main nation
User name: Dan Wolfe (ID:2756) Nation: BBC news reporter WA Nation: Unknown Main Nation: Unknown Significant aliases: Soviet Yorkshire
The black sheep Brewery league Other regions: founder-federation of Yorkshire Bans: Unknown Discord account: Unknown
Applying for: Ministry of Culture What are you interested in?: the interview project thing Prior Experience: interview with tepertopia Availability during update: Unknown
Preferred contact method: Via telegram to my main nation
As I pored through the Assembly archives, I found one of my old proposals that had been gathering dust, realizing that I never brought it to a vote. It was a good reform – essentially a prohibition on indefinite leaves of absence. And so, I have decided to bring it back from the dead for an eventual vote.
Legislator Committee Act An act to establish a commission to manage legislators
...
3. Legislator Checks
...
(3) A legislator fails the voting requirement if they are absent for more than half of all votes finished in the previous calendar month, if a minimum of two votes occurred. Legislators who have an approved leave of absence from the Chair shall not be considered absent for votes in the given time frame.
(4) Legislators may request a leave of absence for a definite period of time subject to discretionary approval from the Chair or their deputies. During such time, legislators on a leave of absence are exempt from the voting requirement.
it is time for another purge of the map. With the transition to Discourse, the map management team has decided on revising the rules for claiming a plot on our official map. Those were announced first by @Qwert over on the TSPRP-Discord server on 8 August 2022.
According to the new rules, any person owning a plot must not only have a nation on NationStates in TSP, but must also have the intent to roleplay. Furthermore the chosen nation name must sound reasonable/realistic!
Other major changes to our rules include cool-down periods to claim a second and third plot, the plan to regularly conduct "purges" to clean the map of inactive nations (Unlike this one here, purges will not be advertised broadly in the future anymore!!!) and a more precise definition of "permanent nations":
Quote:6. Permanent nations
a) In order to preserve the common regional canon history when a claim meets the removal criteria, they may be protected from removal as “permanent nation(s)” under the following conditions:
the nation they belong to has played a crucial role in the IC history of several nations that belong to active roleplayers, and/or
has had a leading role in the establishment and/or roleplay of a canon international organisation or equivalent
b) It is under the map management’s volition to grant nations permanence. Players can nominate other players’ nations for permanence.
“Nation with major significance” - all plots the player has claimed remain on the regional map. The status is granted to all nations with major significance to the canon’s history, e.g. main participants of the GW or groups of nations that developed a solid common history for a region on the map (e.g. X-Med, X-Frastinia)
“Nation with referencial significance” - the nation with referencial significance will be removed from the regional map, but they can still be considered to exist and canon in another part of the world on the extra-TSP lands (e.g. nowadays inactive WF founding states, IUFA/PSC participants), because they are continuously referenced in RP in that capacity. The status can be granted retroactively.
Permanent nations and their status will be shown on the forum and/or TSPedia.
There are several nations currently protected by a status of permanence similar to what is defined here as "nation with major significance", however we still ask every player to fill out the form below completely and truthfully.
The map management team/roleplay moderation team will decide, whether some of the currently permanent nations may be demoted to being a nation with referencial significance or whether a new nation gets granted some level of permanence. You may nominate nations too, that you think would deserve permanence under our new rules. Please provide an explanation, why you think the nations should be protected from erasure from our canon.
There is currently still no ETA for the start of the new forum, however as things currently stand, the change shall allegedly not happen until after the first week of September, thus we'll give you time until 4 September 2022, 24:00 h CEST (~2 weeks) to post, whether you want to stay on the map (and be active in our roleplay community in the near- to mid-term future). Please be aware, that we define "roleplay" for our map solely as roleplay in the Pacifica canon, so if you have the intent to roleplay, but over on the RMB or only in the Aurora canon, we cannot grant you a plot on the map.
Code:
[b]Link(s) to your NationStates nation(s):[/b] [LINK]
[b]Name(s) of your nation(s): [INSERT NAME(S)][/b]
[ ] The name(s) of my nation(s) sound(s) realistic.
[ ] The name(s) of my nation(s) could be unrealistic. I provide following reason, why the nation is named like this: [INSERT REASONING]
If the map management team does not think, the name sounds realistic or cannot follow the provided reasoning:
[ ] I provide following more realistic alternative names to choose from: [INSERT ALT NAMES]
[ ] I accept the map management team freely choosing a name for my nation for me.
[ ] I do not want to stay on the map any further.
The map management team will inform you of its decisions.
[b]Intent to Roleplay[/b]
[ ] I have the intent to participate in roleplay in the Pacifica canon within this year still (= within the next four months).
[ ] I have the intent to participate in roleplay in the Pacifica canon, but cannot do so [CHOOSE: within this year still | until [INSERT DATE]], because [INSERT REASONING]
[i]Note:[/i] Participation in the Pacifica canon can consist of writing articles on TSPedia, roleplaying on the forum or being active in canon-related discussions on the TSP-RP Discord server. In other words: Generally by bringing activity and some form of merit to the canon.
If you checked the latter box, we might still grant you a plot on the map, if we have seen you being significantly active in the past and have reasonable confidence for you coming back to TSP RP in the mid-term future. We inform you, if your reasoning is not sufficient to grant you a continous plot on the visible map.
[b]Nominations for permanent nations[/b]
[ ] I nominate the following nations/roleplayers to be granted a status of permanence on the map: [INSERT NATION(S) AND REASON FOR NOMINATION(S)]
Thank you for filling out the form. I'm looking forward to continue playing with you in the future!
"It's all Greek to me" - Treaty signing, theme changes and more in Lazarus! Lazarus regional update
August 2022
Current Leadership
Hegemon (Delegate): Treadwellia
Herald (Vice Delegate): New Rogernomics
First Citizen (PM): Ellenburg
Epistates of the Ekklesia (Assembly Speaker): Debussy
First Citizen's Cabinet
- Strategos (Minister) of the Hoplitai (Regional Guards):
- Proedroi (Minister) of Internal Management: Ryccia, Frankender
- Proedroi (Minister) of Foreign Affairs: Suvmia, New Rogernomics
Epilektoi (Councillors of Lazarene Security): McChimp, Debussy and Leonism
Areios Pagos (Court of Lazarus): Chanku, Wang Yao, and Wymondham
Theme changes in Lazarus By New Rogernomics
Lazarus has recently decided to adopt a new theme that is Greek styled, which means we have to break out the baklava and Ouzo to celebrate, though to some naturally that were not fans of our last theme, they might be celebrating more than most. Most of our offices of government have been renamed, the leader of our government is now the First Citizen. As for our Delegate, it is now the Hegemon. Whereas as Vice Delegate my title is now Herald, which kind of fits for me this month as I've been going places especially with my appointment as Deputy Minister, sorry Proedroi of Foreign Affairs. As you can tell, we are still getting used to this all, and it's all Greek to me at times. Our Assembly is now called the Ekklesia, with the rest of the themed titles referred to above. Lazarus might also be considering a new flag, but that's hush hush for now...news about that perhaps in the next update.
Treaty signings this month By New Rogernomics
Balder and Lazarus are near the passage of the Treaty of Alfheim, an agreement between our two sinker regions advance the mutual interests and security of our sovereign regions. This treaty if passed marks the improvement of relations between Balder and Lazarus, and of a strong and lasting friendship between our two regions likely well into the future. This treaty has been passed in Lazarus, and awaits final approval in Balder, though if approved we can hope for promising future contacts and cultural exchanges between our two regions.
Activity improvements in Lazarus By New Rogernomics
Lazarus for a while has been given the appearance of a sleepy sinker, both rightly and wrongly, as Lazarus has had a lot of twists in turns in rebuilding its identity post-civil war. So far the improvements have been mostly on our discord server, which features a new bot with a lot more features to compliment the ever loyal Penelope bot for which we have August to thank. It has a lot easier to understand flow and now features emotions, Pokemon, and music channels. Whereas on our forum efforts are underway to get it ready for a festival event sometime in the near future, with play-by-post RPs, Werewolf and other such things in store. Hopefully by the next regional update there will be more to share about this, and a festival announcement!
General Updates By New Rogernomics
- The East Pacific and Lazarus are in the process of negotiating a treaty and putting it to their regions for debate.
- Chanku and Wang Yao have been appointed to the Areios Pagos (Court), congratulations, especially to the first timer on the court Wang Yao!
- Re-opening embassies with The Pacific is under consideration in the Ekklesia (Assembly).
- The Treaty of the Sun with Osiris has been repealed by the Ekklesia (Assembly).
This regional update was brought to you with all the best wishes of the region of Lazarus. Thank you for reading!
Posted by: SammyNL - 08-19-2022, 06:57 PM
- No Replies
Hello, friends from TSP!! Ambassador from TEP speaking. Delegate Aivintis is now halfway through their term, and has brought with them a new Executive branch report. Check it out to see all TEP's been up to in the last month!
Quote:Executive Branch Report
15.07.2022 - 15.08.2022
Office of the Delegate
The Confederated East Pacific
Executive Orders enacted in this month of the term have been in short supply, as the Delegate takes a step back to deal with the bigger picture in line with his macromanagement policy. On 11 August, he announced what actions would be considered an Executive Order and mandated that he maintain a structural summary of the Executive branch for transparency purposes.
The Delegate has drafted, with the approval of his Roleplay Representatives a Resolution Recognizing Roleplay Autonomy, which is being discussed with the affected communities before being proposed to the Magisterium. The Delegate is considering more ways to use Resolutions to keep the Executive responsible.
On 31 July, the Cabinet began to discuss a way to reverse the Dynamic RA Policy. The Delegate noted his promise to do so should the policy fail to work as intended, and cited difficulty to understand the system and lack of proper adaptation. The reversal, specifics of which are still being discussed, will not be complete but will bring back Ministries, and simply assign multiple project channels to each Ministry.
On 23 July, the Podcasts team featured on EBC Radio to talk with our Europeian allies about TEP’s government. On 13 August, the Polls project released a poll to increase engagement. The same day, the Recruitment project released a regional telegram advertising the Executive government.
On 7 July, Percy Jackson and the Carnival of Celebrations was announced to the people, a festival which was in planning from the first day of the term. In a few days, it will come to an end, but we achieved over a hundred members. The following day, a separate interregional event was announced, Survivor-based RP based in Europeia, which is set to last three weeks.
Minister Darthrux resigned from his post on 9 August. Nociav resigned from all Executive positions on 13 August. The government wishes these people well in their futures, and thanks them for their time in TEP. Arrangements have been made in conjunction with the Dynamic RA Reversal to assign a new Minister to EPNS.
Votes were held on 12 World Assembly resolutions by the WA Discussion project. In chronological order, the Delegate voted AGAINST Repeal "Museums of Musical Heritage", AGAINST Repeal “Freedom of the Press”, AGAINST Historical Founderless Region Preservation Act, AGAINST Removal of Space Debris, AGAINST Sexual Predator Registry Act, AGAINST Condemn Northern Borland, AGAINST Condemn Elysium Station II, AGAINST The Commision on Sentient and Sapient Rights, FOR Commend The Voice of ARB, FOR Protections During Territorial Transitions, FOR Liberate Realm of the Whispering Winds, and AGAINST Rights for Crime Victims Act.
On 28 July, before his resignation, Nociav coded a feature into Emjay that automatically posts new resolution proposals in the world assembly channel of the discord, and notifies Hussars and the Delegate when voting begins on a resolution, effectively automating the process of World Assembly discussion and voting. A short period of disconnect means two votes were held on some proposals, and Delegate voting may reflect one of the polls but not the other, based on the time the Delegate issued his vote. This may mean the records in this report are not entirely accurate.
Our Chief Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been busy, negotiating a treaty with one of our oldest embassy allies (and fellow GCR), Lazarus. The treaty, titled the Elysian Compact, has been drafted and is currently going through the Magisterium for final touches. On 19 July, embassies were opened with The Black Hawks and Sky Haven, long-time consulates and valued allies of The East.
Our military has been going strong, with major operations such as a delegate bump organized with Legio Pacifica and a joint tag run with The Black Hawks. Flying Chariot Eunopiar has declared success in recruitment, as well, and the command has been discussing possible changes to the rank structure to simplify it, with attendance milestones to motivate soldiers.
Confirming interest in keeping your plot
![[Image: SvboE2P.png]](https://i.imgur.com/SvboE2P.png)
