The Southern Journal: The November 2021 Minister of Defense Special Election

Floptop Legislator Joined:       Jun 2021 Posts:       50 Threads:       7 Rep:       18 Credits: 11,880¢ #1 12-21-2021, 04:30 PM The Southern Journal The Official News Outlet of the South Pacific The November 2021 Minister of Defense Special Election By Purple Hyacinth   On November 24, Election Commissioner (EC) Kringalia announced the start of the special election for the Minister of Defence (MoD) following the resignation of the previous Minister of Defence. The Minister of Defence’s primary role is to lead the South Pacific Special Forces, the military of the South Pacific.Two candidates ran, Moon (Emodea) and Domais (Balea). Their platforms were in stark contrast. Moon was active in the South Pacific Special Forces (SPSF), well-known and respected among military gameplayers, and had a robust campaign. On the other hand, Domais had just applied to be part of the SPSF the day the election proceedings began, and provided a campaign that simply consisted of “Yes” and a legally required Conflict of Interest Disclosure. It was no surprise that Moon ran away with the vote to become elected as Minister. However, that was not the end of the discussion around the election. EC Kringalia’s decision to restrict votes to only those that exactly matched the candidates’ names led to a vote being thrown out. Debate immediately sprung up in the Assembly over how to fix the situation, or if it even needed fixing in the first place. First, legal solutions were explored, but then Kringalia used the forum’s forms feature to change voting into selecting options rather than typing out names. It’s likely we’ll see the forms feature used in upcoming votes, such as in the ongoing special election for the Minister of Engagement. Resignation of the previous Minister of Defense, Witchcraft and Sorcery The election was triggered by the previous MoD, Witchcraft and Sorcery, resigned. They cited mental health and other IRL factors as contributing to their decision, saying that they were unable to fulfill their duties as a result. This was their third consecutive term in Cabinet, evidence of their success as a Cabinet Minister. Moon's campaign Moon was largely the favorite coming into the race. They are a very active updater and also an Officer in the SPSF. They have also been in Cabinet before, serving as the Minister of Media in the term beginning in June, but declined to run for Cabinet in October due to real life obligations. Their campaign focuses on a few different things they plan to do in their term. They mention the need to prepare for Frontier/Stronghold changes at the start of their campaign. They then go on to list their four specific goals: 1) building a sustainable civilian outreach program for liberations that draws from nations active on gameside; 2) expanding the Tidal Force, the piler branch of the SPSF; 3) encourage the development of an open and friendly culture; and 4) hosting wargames with allies to engage SPSF members and strengthen ties with allies. There wasn’t really any opposition to the goals of the campaign or to Moon as a Minister, with the only serious questions being a few from Prime Minister HumanSanity. Domais' campaign Domais declared their intent to run without any nominations or seconds, so clearly they weren’t favored going in. This was solidified when they posted their single-word joke campaign. It did not appear to be well-received, as multiple legislators commented on how the campaign wasn’t funny. However, they did take care to ensure that they legally made it onto the ballot, so the election was technically contested. Voting and results Among all ballots, public and private, Moon received 97% of the first-choice vote to Domais’ 3%, an expected result. The only public first-choice vote for Domais was from themself, and based on the percentage of votes for them, likely was the only first-choice vote for Domais. The overwhelming preference for Moon meant that the overall result of the elections was never contested. However, the way certain votes were counted was contested. Kringalia’s policy of allowing only ballots that exactly matched the name of the candidate meant that one vote that had “Domain” instead of “Domais” did not have their vote counted for Domais. Granted, “Domain” was the voter’s third choice, so it did not affect the outcome in any way. However, it sparked debate on what should or shouldn’t be done about typos on ballots (more details below). Furthermore, Domais challenged a vote, which had been edited and therefore could not be counted per Article 2 Section 3 of the Elections Act. Debate about typos on ballots As stated before, the typo on one ballot led to debate. The first legislative proposal was made by Domais, suggesting a change that would legally require the EC to create a thread for voters to fix typos if they made one. This was argued as necessary due to the fact that editing ballots was not allowed. However, arguments in opposition mentioned that it wasn't difficult to copy and paste names to avoid errors. Later, Purple Hyacinth introduced a proposal to once again allow edits on bills. There was heavy opposition to this, with many believing in the original reason for passing the bill, which was to make it difficult to influence the vote by privately manipulating voters. There were also a couple of joke proposals posted in response to the serious legislative proposals. Sandaoguo proposed to end elections, and Belschaft introduced the Oligarchy Act, which would put voting power in the hands of older players and those who have previously served in office. Eventually, the debate was largely ended when Kringalia found an alternate solution that didn't require any sort of legal change. They created a form for voting that would allow players to select their options from a drop-down list, so that typos would never happen. They tested this feature in a Mock Prime Minister election and this future change was received well. This method of voting worked for both public and private ballots, with each method of voting using a different form. While Moon could certainly serve an excellent term and bring the SPSF to new heights, perhaps the most enduring legacy of the election is the introduction of forms for voting rather than having individuals type out their ballot. Often times, the best solution to a problem isn't rushing to change a law, but to explore other options. Ex Minister of Media Reply   • Reply

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