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North Prarie · 09-07-2020, 12:26 AM

Per discussion in the Leg Lounge, I'm proposing this amendment so that Chair and Cabinet elections can commence at the same time,

The Elections Act Wrote:
Elections Act

An act establishing elections for office

___

4. Offices of the Cabinet

(1) On the first of every February, June and October, the Assembly will convene to elect the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
a. For the first 6 days of the election period, legislators may declare their candidacy for only one position.
b. After 3 days, a campaign period of one week will start, where candidates may campaign and the Assembly will debate the merits of their platforms.
c. After the week-long campaign period, a voting period of 3 days will start. Legislators will cast their ballots for each position. Legislators may choose to abstain from voting on any or all positions.

(2) The candidate for each position with the most votes will be declared the Minister-elect by the Election Commission.

(3) The terms for the incoming Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers will begin the week after elections, during which any and all election-related disputes must be settled. The outgoing Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers will maintain their offices until then.

5. Office of the Chair

(1) Eight days before the end of a Chair's term, the Assembly will convene to elect the Chair of the Assembly. On the first of every February, June and October, the Assembly will convene to elect the Chair of the Assembly.

a. Any legislator wishing to run for Chair may declare their candidacy, and the Assembly will debate the merits of their platform.
b. The campaign and debate period will last 5 days, after which the Assembly will vote for 3 days.

(2) The voting for the Chair will be conducted using Approval Voting.
a. Voters may vote for as many candidates as they approve of, or vote for none by voting to Re-Open Nominations.
b. The candidate with the highest percentage of approval will be elected.
c. If the winning candidate received less than 50% approval, the option to Re-Open Nominations will be "elected".

(3) The term for the incoming Chair will begin immediately following the conclusion of the election.

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(This post was last modified: 09-07-2020, 12:28 AM by North Prarie.)

**Jay Coop** · 09-07-2020, 12:32 AM

I support the idea, but I would also recommend changing the campaign and voting periods of the Chair election to coincide with the Cabinet's.

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(This post was last modified: 09-07-2020, 12:40 AM by Jay Coop.)

Purple Hyacinth · 09-07-2020, 02:46 AM

I suggest you add one of these as well (sorry if formatting is wonky, I'm on mobile):

1.

Quote:6. Vacancies of Office

(1) A special election will be held for vacancies arising within the Cabinet or for Chair, if more than half of the term remains. If less than half of the term remains, or the position is vacant due to nobody running in its election, the Cabinet may appoint a replacement until the next regularly scheduled election.

2.

Quote:6. Vacancies of Office

...

(3) If the office of the Chair becomes vacant, the most senior deputy will become Chair for the remainder of the term.

3.

Quote:6. Vacancies of Office

...

(3) If the office of the Chair becomes vacant and more than half the term remains, then a special election will be held. If less than half the term remains, the most senior deputy will become Chair for the remainder of the term.

4.

Quote:6. Vacancies of Office

...

(3) If the office of the Chair becomes vacant and more than half the term remains, then a special election will be held. If less than half the term remains, the Cabinet may appoint a replacement to finish the term.

If you choose 2 or 3, another scenario would be if the Chair does not have a deputy, in which case, I'm not totally sure what should happen. Should there be a Cabinet appointee, a special election, or something else entirely that I can't think of?

Also currently, deputies have sort of acted as Chair while no Chair has been elected. Should that be coded into law, perhaps as part of a package?

I have been things

~~Whole India~~ · 09-07-2020, 03:58 AM

(09-07-2020, 12:26 AM)North Prarie Wrote: Per discussion in the Leg Lounge, I'm proposing this amendment so that Chair and Cabinet elections can commence at the same time,

The Elections Act Wrote:
Elections Act

An act establishing elections for office

___

4. Offices of the Cabinet

(1) On the first of every February, June and October, the Assembly will convene to elect the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
a. For the first 6 days of the election period, legislators may declare their candidacy for only one position.
b. After 3 days, a campaign period of one week will start, where candidates may campaign and the Assembly will debate the merits of their platforms.
c. After the week-long campaign period, a voting period of 3 days will start. Legislators will cast their ballots for each position. Legislators may choose to abstain from voting on any or all positions.

(2) The candidate for each position with the most votes will be declared the Minister-elect by the Election Commission.

(3) The terms for the incoming Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers will begin the week after elections, during which any and all election-related disputes must be settled. The outgoing Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers will maintain their offices until then.

5. Office of the Chair

(1) Eight days before the end of a Chair's term, the Assembly will convene to elect the Chair of the Assembly. On the first of every February, June and October, the Assembly will convene to elect the Chair of the Assembly.

a. Any legislator wishing to run for Chair may declare their candidacy, and the Assembly will debate the merits of their platform.
b. The campaign and debate period will last 5 days, after which the Assembly will vote for 3 days.

(2) The voting for the Chair will be conducted using Approval Voting.
a. Voters may vote for as many candidates as they approve of, or vote for none by voting to Re-Open Nominations.
b. The candidate with the highest percentage of approval will be elected.
c. If the winning candidate received less than 50% approval, the option to Re-Open Nominations will be "elected".

(3) The term for the incoming Chair will begin immediately following the conclusion of the election.

I would suggest making chair election in January, May and September to reduce pressure on EC

**Griffindor** · 09-07-2020, 10:17 AM

I am generally against this. I think that the Chair is a separate entity. The Cabinet is the executive branch and the Chair is the legislative. Having them elected on the same ballot gives the impression that the Chair is supposed to be a member of the Cabinet (which it isn't but used to be).

Having its own election process and dates gives more weight to the Chair and makes the legislature feel more independent from the executive.

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-Legislator 2/24/20-
-High Court Justice 6/7/20-
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-Past Roles/Positions
-Legislator 7/3/16-4/10/18
-Secretary of State 4/3/20-2/24/21
-Chair of the APC 9/24/16-5/31/17
-Vice-Chair of the APC 6/1/17-4/10/18
-Local Council Member 7/1/17-11/17/17
-Citizen 5/2012-12/2014 and 2/26/16-7/3/2016

***sandaoguo*** · 09-07-2020, 10:43 AM

I'm also against this, for reasons others discussed on Discord. Namely, having so many positions elected as the same time makes it more difficult to fill those positions with good people. Also, I think it's important to keep the Chair term 4 months no matter when the Chair is elected, which wouldn't be possible if we have static election dates. Chair just isn't a good position to fill on a interim basis.

**Belschaft** · 09-07-2020, 10:56 AM

What we used to do was stagger elections, so the Chair was elected half way in between Cabinet elections.

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Swifty · 09-07-2020, 03:16 PM

Yea, personally, I think that this is somewhat unnecessary.

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