Bill: Pending P.B.00-024 | Alexandrian Electoral Act

[Real42]

A
Bill
To
Establish Election Procedures​

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘Alexandrian Electoral Act’.
(2) This Act shall be numbered as P.B.00-024.
(3) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(4) This Act has been authored by Deputy Prime Minister TheReal42Person.
(5) This Act has been co-sponsored by Prime Minister casualgreyknight.

2 - Reasons
(1) The Kingdom of Alexandria currently has no election law.
(2) Its system of elections is outlined in the Constitution, but not expanded upon.
(3) Elections should be a matter of stable law, not Ministry policy.
(4) Note: This act is based on Redmont’s Electoral Act.
(5) Note: This act references bills that have not yet become law. If one of these bills does not become law, this act must be amended to exclude that reference.

3 - Election Integrity
(1) In order to ensure the integrity of our elections, a special position called the Electoral Adjudicator shall be established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

(2) The Electoral Adjudicator shall be appointed by the Minister of Internal Affairs with consent of a supermajority of the Parliament, and shall only serve for the time of a general election.
(a) The previous Electoral Adjudicator shall automatically be re-appointed for any Special Elections during the next Parliamentary term.

(3) The Electoral Adjudicator shall have full authority and oversight over election data, setup, management, and employees.

4 - Electoral Terms and Limitations
(1) Parties are to submit their official candidate list during the submission period..
(a) Parties may make amends until the submission period is over.
(b) The list must denote a candidate as the 'party leader' (this does not need to be the same as the leader of the political party, just a parliamentary party leader).
(i) This player will become the party’s Prime Minister candidate.

(2) Parties are to submit their party manifesto on or before the fifth day of the election.
(a) A party manifesto must consist of the party’s policies, agenda, and links to the party’s candidate list, party charter/constitution/by-laws, party discord, and party registration page.

(3) Independent candidates are to declare their candidacy before the submission period is over.

(4) Each party is to be listed separately on the ballot.
(a) For the purposes of an election, all independent candidates shall be considered one party.

(5) Political parties cannot sponsor a higher number of candidates than seats that are up to vote.

(6) Unless otherwise provided, General Elections shall operate on an eight-day schedule, with the following periods:
(a) Submission Period. A five-day-long period beginning an election where parties submit their candidate lists and party manifestos and independent candidates can declare.
(b) Voting Period. Three-day-long period where all citizens may cast their votes.
(c) Announcement Period. Election results are released at the earliest opportunity after the voting period has closed.

(7) The requirements for candidates shall be as follows:
(a) 1 hour of total active playtime;
(b) 30 minutes of active playtime in the past 30 days;
(c) Active in-game, on discord, and on forums;
(d) No convictions that bar the candidate from serving in Parliament.

(8) Activity requirements shall be taken at the end of the submission period.

5 - Closed List-Mixed Proportional Representation
(1) Voting Process. Voters cast a vote for a single political party, called a ‘party vote’, and cast a vote for a candidate of their choice, called a ‘candidate vote’.

(2) Seat Allocation. The seats shall be allocated amongst the parties to match the percentage of party votes each party received, rounded to the nearest integer.
(a) For example, if there are 12 seats up for election and Party A received 30% of the party votes, Party A would receive 3.6 seats, rounded up to 4.

(3) Candidate Election. Each individual candidate, grouped by party, shall be ordered by the number of candidate votes they received.
(a) For example, within Party A, which received 4 seats, only the top 4 voted candidates will receive the seats in Parliament.

(4) Tie-Breaker. In the event that multiple candidates within a party tie for the last remaining seat that the party won, a runoff shall be held between the candidates.
(a) The candidate who wins a plurality shall win the seat for that party.

(5) Excess Seats. In the event of, due to rounding, that an extra seat or seats is/are remaining, the extra seat shall be allocated to the party which won the largest percentage of party votes.

(6) Winner Determination. This process is repeated for all parties until all seats are filled.

6 - Parliamentary Special Elections
(1) In the event of a vacancy in Parliament, in line with the Legislative Branch Act, if Parliament cannot agree on a replacement within 72 hours, a Special Election shall be held.
(a) If a General Election is scheduled within two weeks of the vacancy opening, a Special Election will not be called.

(2) Election Timeline. A Special Election shall consist of a 48-hour declaration period, followed by a 24-hour campaign period, followed by a 24-hour voting period.

(3) Election Process. Special Elections will follow a winner-takes-all system, where the candidate who receives a plurality of votes wins the seat.
(a) If multiple seats are vacant, the top candidates shall fill the seats until there are no remaining vacancies.

(4) Tie Resolution. In the event of a tie between two or more candidates, a 24-hour runoff shall be conducted in which the candidate(s) who receive the plurality of the votes shall fill the vacant seat(s).

(5) Sitting Members of Parliament may not run in a Special Election.

9 - Removal of a Member of Parliament
(1) A Member of Parliament may be removed through the processes outlined in the Legislative Branch Act and/or the Civic Engagement Act.

10 - Section 8 of the Alexandrian Criminal Code shall be amended as follows:
‘(d) Electoral Fraud
(i) Definition: Any player caught rigging/meddling with an election through, but not limited to: the use of alternate accounts, bribery, and or threats.
(ii) Minimum Punishment: £20,000 + 30 Minutes in Jail
(iii) Maximum Punishment: £50,000 + 60 Minutes in Jail + 4 Months Banned from Government Positions’

11 - Election Fraud Process
(1) Where electoral results are flagged for fraudulent behavior, the Government will be responsible for contesting the votes in Court.
(a) The previous government shall remain in power temporarily while the dispute is resolved.

12 - Electoral Officers
(1) The following positions shall be considered Electoral Officers:
(a) Electoral Registrar;
(b) Electoral Director;
(c) Electoral Adjudicator.

(2) Electoral Officers are charged with ensuring that elections are carried out in accordance with the wording and spirit of this act.

(3) Electoral Officers are charged with ensuring that elected offices with activity requirements are met and maintained.

(4) Electoral Officers are charged with serving as the stewards of free and fair elections.

13 - Referendums and Recall Elections
(1) Referendums and Recall Elections shall be outlined in the Civic Engagement Act.

14 - Polling Places
(1) Polling places are selected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
(a) Consideration must be taken to ensure accessibility, convenience, and efficiency for voters (major landmarks, access to /spawns and public transportation).
(b) Polling places must be on public land or in public buildings.
(c) There must be at least one polling place in the Ministry of Internal Affairs building.

15 - Electoral Emergency
(1) The Minister of Internal Affairs has the exclusive power to declare an electoral emergency.

(2) An electoral emergency is called when an in-game election cannot be conducted reliably in-game.

(3) Under an electoral emergency, all elections will be conducted on the forums until declared otherwise by the Minister of Internal Affairs.

16 - Voter Eligibility
(1) All citizens are eligible to vote.

(2) Residents and tourists may not vote in elections.

(3) The Kingdom of Alexandria may not put additional voting requirements into place.