The Free And Fair Elections Amendment

[Detjen (OP)]

Author: George Payne
Seconded: Jayne Casey
Date: June 2063 (June 10, 2011)

Observing that presidential elections have happened only once in our history

Observing that the charter has little to say on the topic of elections

Observing that having greater than two candidates creates a situation where votes may be split between two candidates with similar policies

Observing that in a populace as small as ours an exact tie is possible

Observing that no date has been set for an election

Observing that elections require a populace that is informed about the views of a President prior to his election

Observing that restricting candidates to only two terms in their lifetime restricts talent from being incorporated into government

I propose that if there are greater than two candidates for the position of President, and in the election no candidate receives greater than 50% of the vote, then a runoff is started with the two candidates with the greatest amount of votes, and the winner will be the President.

that if two candidates in the runoff or if in the election there are just two candidates, then the Ministers, except for any candidates, will convene and decide upon a President by majority vote.

that election years be the year prior to the President taking power

that candidates will declare their intention to run for office by June 1 of the election year

that elections be held on August 1 on every election year and last for 24 hours

that runoffs be held on September 1 on every election year and last for 24 hours if necessary

that candidates declare their intention to run by Tuesday of the week before the elections

that elections will be held on Tuesday of the election turn and end in 24 hours

that runoffs will be held on Wednesday of the election turn and end in 24 hours if necessary

that a President may hold office for as many terms as the President is elected, but only two terms consecutively

[Detjen (OP)]

so this passed, leaving me a question, should I write it seperate as an amendment, or shoudl we consider the charter unratified, and perhaps just go over the charter section by section, editing and voting till its all done?

[ardem]

I think have the charter ratified these will just be rewrites, there is less work in that case.

[areyoua]

Well, if we are going to rewrite the entire charter, we might as well just throw these in as rewrites, but if we were to keep the charter as is, then this should just be labeled as an amendment and added to the book of laws. In my opinion the Charter was ratified three years ago when the Federation was formed from the ashes of the other world governments. Also, we don't need a rewrite or a ratification of the whole thing because anything that we dislike could simply be changed with an amendment.

[Detjen (OP)]

[ooc]right my line of reasoning too.  you figure it would be ratified back when the nation was founded, even if it might have been a bit of a rush job,  and everything new could just be amendments[/ooc]