Wittenberg

Given I am still technically the Grand Specific Undersecretary, I am the only one left in a provincial executive role, which gives me the best authority to open this convocation.

Members, besides myself, are:
-Sir Alexandreu Davinescu
-Jordan Placie
-Cresti d.I. Nouacastra-L.

Since each Convocation is required to elect a GGS, I recommend we get going.

I nominate Sir Alexandreu Davinescu.

Seeing no other nominations, I open the voting to elect Sir Alexandreu Davinescu as Grand General Secretary.

I vote in favor.

I vote in favor.

The vote in the 17th Convocation ended earlier today, but given this one has already started I'm not sure that carries any weight.

Let's just move forward with this one. I will dissolve the last convocation officially as the new GGS for that body.

This vote ended a few days ago. Alexandreu Davinescu is elected GGS of MM.

One of your first acts should be to certify to the Secretary of State how you break the tie in the Senate election.

Righto.  I thank the Assembly for its confidence and accept the position.

S:reu Secretary of State @Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM , currently there is a tie in the race between two candidates.  I have been duly elected under provincial law as the figurehead of the Eighteenth Convocation of Maritiimi-Maxhestic.  Our law specifies that in cases of a tie vote, it is my duty to break the tie.  Accordingly, I hereby certify to you that the new senator for Maritiimi-Maxhestic is @Ian Plätschisch .  Please record the results of the vote and notify us accordingly.  Thank you for your diligence in this duty, for which the province is grateful.

Please also make me moderator of this board, as the local provincial head of government.


If tagging is insufficient, I will also send him an email, but my recollection is that Txec usually notices tags immediately.

In times past, it was my practice as GGS to begin each new convocation by suggesting that we request the SoS run our election in the forthcoming election, just in case.  Is that still viable?  Right now I don't think we even have an M3, since Cresti resigned.

Quote from: Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on August 24, 2020, 12:54:57 PM
In times past, it was my practice as GGS to begin each new convocation by suggesting that we request the SoS run our election in the forthcoming election, just in case.  Is that still viable?  Right now I don't think we even have an M3, since Cresti resigned.

Currently I don't think that would be allowed under MM law. I'm planning to introduce a big reform package soon though.

Quote from: Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on August 24, 2020, 12:53:11 PM
Righto.  I thank the Assembly for its confidence and accept the position.

S:reu Secretary of State @Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM , currently there is a tie in the race between two candidates.  I have been duly elected under provincial law as the figurehead of the Eighteenth Convocation of Maritiimi-Maxhestic.  Our law specifies that in cases of a tie vote, it is my duty to break the tie.  Accordingly, I hereby certify to you that the new senator for Maritiimi-Maxhestic is @Ian Plätschisch .  Please record the results of the vote and notify us accordingly.  Thank you for your diligence in this duty, for which the province is grateful.

Please also make me moderator of this board, as the local provincial head of government.


If tagging is insufficient, I will also send him an email, but my recollection is that Txec usually notices tags immediately.

@Ian Plätschisch is hereby duly acknowledged as the new Senator for Maritiimi-Maxhestic. I have also updated moderation of the provincial forum as requested.

(http://heraldry.talossa.com/LesserStateSeal.gif)
Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă,
Secretary of State

Thank you very much!

Okay, Senator Ian. Go vote or legislate or whatever.

CBLA.C.2, which currently reads:

QuoteC.2. Senate elections for Maritiimi-Maxhestic shall be held simultaneously to national elections.

C.2.1. During the week preceding the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall call for those wishing to run for Senate to make public both their candidacy and a 50-word statement.

C.2.2. At the start of the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall open the voting, and voters shall rank the candidates in preference order. The rules of Instant Runoff Voting shall be used to determine the winner.

C.2.3. Ties at any iteration shall be broken by the Grand General Secretary.

Is amended to read:

QuoteC.2. Senate elections for Maritiimi-Maxhestic shall be held simultaneously to national elections.

C.2.1. No later than one week before the beginning of the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall certify to the Provincial Assembly that he or she is capable of conducting the election per the provisions below. If this certification does not occur, then it will be automatically held that the province is not in a state of electoral readiness, and the Chancery is requested to conduct the election. In this case, the Grand General Secretary shall notify the Chancery to this effect, and C.2.2 and C.2.3 are ignored.

C.2.2. During the week preceding the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall call for those wishing to run for Senate to make public both their candidacy and a 50-word statement. Neither the Grand General Secretary nor the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall run for Senate.

C.2.3. At the start of the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall open the voting, which shall be via private ballot. Voters shall rank the candidates in preference order. The rules of Instant Runoff Voting shall be used to determine the winner.

C.2.4. Ties at any iteration shall be broken by the Grand General Secretary.

CBLA.D.4, which currently reads:

QuoteD.4. Any member of the Assembly of Maritiimi-Maxhestic may put a bill up to a vote of the Assembly by publicly providing the text of the bill accompanied by a notice that voting on the bill has begun.

D.4.1. Voting on a bill lasts for two weeks after the notice is given or until all Assemblypersons have voted, whichever comes first.

D.4.2. Assemblypersons may change their vote on a bill until the voting period expires.

shall be amended to read:

QuoteD.4. Any member of the Assembly of Maritiimi-Maxhestic may put a bill up to a vote of the Assembly by publicly providing the text of the bill accompanied by a notice that voting on the bill has begun.

D.4.1. Voting on a bill lasts for two weeks after the notice is given or until the outcome of the vote becomes mathematically certain assuming all votes are final, whichever comes first. Assemblypersons may change their vote on a bill until the vote closes. This procedure shall also be used to elect provincial officials.

D.4.2. The current Convocation of the Assembly dissolves immediately upon the closing of the Assembly Call for the subsequent Convocation, at which point that Convocation is seated. When a Convocation is dissolved, any votes in progress are voided.

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on August 25, 2020, 02:47:26 PM

ASSEMBLY VOTING REFORM ACT

CBLA.D.4, which currently reads:

QuoteD.4. Any member of the Assembly of Maritiimi-Maxhestic may put a bill up to a vote of the Assembly by publicly providing the text of the bill accompanied by a notice that voting on the bill has begun.

D.4.1. Voting on a bill lasts for two weeks after the notice is given or until all Assemblypersons have voted, whichever comes first.

D.4.2. Assemblypersons may change their vote on a bill until the voting period expires.

shall be amended to read:

QuoteD.4. Any member of the Assembly of Maritiimi-Maxhestic may put a bill up to a vote of the Assembly by publicly providing the text of the bill accompanied by a notice that voting on the bill has begun.

D.4.1. Voting on a bill lasts for two weeks after the notice is given or until the outcome of the vote becomes mathematically certain, whichever comes first. Assemblypersons may not change their vote on a bill. This procedure shall also be used to elect provincial officials.

D.4.2. The current Convocation of the Assembly dissolves immediately upon the closing of the Assembly Call for the subsequent Convocation, at which point that Convocation is seated. When a Convocation is dissolved, any votes in progress are voided.

I'd suggest that Assemblypersons should be able to change their vote until the vote is concluded.  It doesn't seem like it would lead to any harm and it might lead to some good if a solid argument sways someone to a better conclusion.

The reason I made that change is because, if people could change their vote, we could never be certain what the outcome would be until the very end. I would like to be able to close votes sooner when the outcome is fully determined (given no one changes their vote, and vote changing is quite rare) but there are still a few Assemblypersons who have not voted and are unlikely to.

I suppose we could still allow vote changing so long as the vote ends if there comes a point at which the outcome is fully determined given no one changes again.

If the vote automatically closes whenever the outcome is mathematically certain, and if people can change their vote up until the vote closes, then that would seem like it would accomplish everything you want, right?  Unless I misunderstand something.  In the current Assembly, then, I could vote one way and then change my mind later -- right up until the point when you voted, at which time the vote would close automatically.

I've made the change.

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on August 25, 2020, 02:36:23 PM

SENATE ELECTIONS REFORM ACT

CBLA.C.2, which currently reads:

QuoteC.2. Senate elections for Maritiimi-Maxhestic shall be held simultaneously to national elections.

C.2.1. During the week preceding the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall call for those wishing to run for Senate to make public both their candidacy and a 50-word statement.

C.2.2. At the start of the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall open the voting, and voters shall rank the candidates in preference order. The rules of Instant Runoff Voting shall be used to determine the winner.

C.2.3. Ties at any iteration shall be broken by the Grand General Secretary.

Is amended to read:

QuoteC.2. Senate elections for Maritiimi-Maxhestic shall be held simultaneously to national elections.

C.2.1. No later than one week before the beginning of the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall certify to the Provincial Assembly that he or she is capable of conducting the election per the provisions below. If this certification does not occur, the Grand General Secretary shall, or shall be deemed to, request that the Chancery conduct the election, and the provisions below (expect C.2.4) are ignored.

C.2.2. During the week preceding the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall call for those wishing to run for Senate to make public both their candidacy and a 50-word statement. Neither the Grand General Secretary nor the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall run for Senate.

C.2.3. At the start of the election, the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo shall open the voting, which shall be via private ballot. Voters shall rank the candidates in preference order. The rules of Instant Runoff Voting shall be used to determine the winner.

C.2.4. Ties at any iteration shall be broken by the Grand General Secretary.

Suggestions: C.2.1. could be more explicit.  Maybe "If this certification does not occur, then it will be automatically held that the province is not in a state of electoral readiness, and the Chancery is requested to conduct the election, ignoring the provisions of C.2.2 and C.2.3 in the process."  Just trying to think of some obvious automatic mechanism -- really, the difficulty is that it's not entirely polite to try to require the Chancery to do stuff according to the ins and outs of our local laws without notifying them, but we're trying to plan for a scenario where there's no one to do the notifying.  We should maybe check with Txec?

For C.2.3, what about the recent scenario when Cresti just never opened the voting until way late?

If I may butt in for a moment. Speaking as Secretary of State, it is really important that I am notified in plenty of time if the Chancery has to conduct an election. The database is not currently set up for ranked choice either which means I'd have to do a manual tally. In and of itself that's nor a deal breaker but if I'm needed to run an election, it helps to have local laws explained so I don't have to figure out on my own (as I recently had to do.)

Thanks...butting out now.

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on August 25, 2020, 08:14:42 PM
The database is not currently set up for ranked choice either which means I'd have to do a manual tally.

Yes it is; all Chancery-conducted Senate elections for the past few terms have used IRV.

I've modified the Senate Election Reform Act again, but it never discussed the Assembly Call to begin with. Here is another act to ensure that the Assembly Call is always issued on time:


CBLA.C.1.1, which currently reads:

QuoteC.1.1. The Assembly Call is publicly issued by the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo during every national election. The Call shall be issued no earlier than ten days before, and no later than, the national Balloting Day, and is closed at the same time as the national elections on the Election Deadline.

Is amended to read:

QuoteC.1.1. The Assembly Call is publicly issued by the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo during every national election. The Call shall be issued no earlier than ten days before, and no later than, the national Balloting Day, and is closed at the same time as the national elections on the Election Deadline. If the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo does not issue the Assembly Call by the national Balloting Day, any citizen of Maritiimi-Maxhestic may issue it.

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on August 25, 2020, 08:28:24 PM

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on August 25, 2020, 08:14:42 PM
The database is not currently set up for ranked choice either which means I'd have to do a manual tally.

Yes it is; all Chancery-conducted Senate elections for the past few terms have used IRV.

Yeah... Txec, you're actually required to use IRV for every election, without any choice in the matter, I think.  Org.V.8 at work. But anyway, what would work for you when it comes to our situation here?

I knew that haha. What helps is making sure there is someone who can be sure to notify me in advance if I need to include MM in the ballot. From my reading of your proposal it may be automatic but I'm not clear on who is supposed to notify me..

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on August 25, 2020, 08:42:06 PM
I've modified the Senate Election Reform Act again, but it never discussed the Assembly Call to begin with. Here is another act to ensure that the Assembly Call is always issued on time:

ASSEMBLY CALL READINESS ACT

CBLA.C.1.1, which currently reads:

QuoteC.1.1. The Assembly Call is publicly issued by the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo during every national election. The Call shall be issued no earlier than ten days before, and no later than, the national Balloting Day, and is closed at the same time as the national elections on the Election Deadline.

Is amended to read:

QuoteC.1.1. The Assembly Call is publicly issued by the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo during every national election. The Call shall be issued no earlier than ten days before, and no later than, the national Balloting Day, and is closed at the same time as the national elections on the Election Deadline. If the Maximally Magnificent Majordomo does not issue the Assembly Call by the national Balloting Day, any citizen of Maritiimi-Maxhestic may open it.

Txec <—— new guy still figuring things out lol.

We're trying to figure out some way to automatically request the Chancery conduct the election in the case of no one in the province being active enough to run it, but obviously if no one is active enough to run it then no one is active enough to request the Chancery run it... so yeah.

Personally, I'd prefer the Chancery always run the election.

Quote from: Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on August 25, 2020, 09:39:03 PM
Personally, I'd prefer the Chancery always run the election.

That makes things easier for sure.

Quote from: Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on August 25, 2020, 09:39:03 PM
We're trying to figure out some way to automatically request the Chancery conduct the election in the case of no one in the province being active enough to run it, but obviously if no one is active enough to run it then no one is active enough to request the Chancery run it... so yeah.

Modified the Act again to instruct the GGS to notify the Chancery.

I would like to make it possible to allow any citizen to join this Assembly, even if they weren't around for the brief period at the start of the term to claim a seat. Before I write the legislation, any philosophical objections?

So, essentially have the assembly call stay open the entire term and seat people as soon as they respond?

Yes. I know this would be a departure from current practice and would have negatively impacted your own candidacy most recently, but it has some historical precedent and I think it would help our province.

Quote from: Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on September 16, 2020, 05:03:40 PM
Yes. I know this would be a departure from current practice and would have negatively impacted your own candidacy most recently, but it has some historical precedent and I think it would help our province.

I'd be fine with it.

I am hereby putting the following bills up for a vote:

-The Senate Elections Reform Act
-The Assembly Voting Reform Act
-The Assembly Call Readiness Act

I vote PER on all.

The voting period being long over, all three bills pass by a vote of 1-0.