Azul, the Chancery is pleased to release to the public a preview-mode version of the ballot for the upcoming General Elections. You can find it at https://database.talossa.com/elections/august-2026-elections/preview.

If you log in to the Database beforehand (should you have credentials), you will receive a voting confirmation email which in itself is a preview of what everyone will receive when casting a vote in the actual election. This is a new feature that was still missing from the new Database.

Other changes with respect to the previous election include:

• Redesigned party options, incl. to offer a better experience on mobile
• A confirmation modal to recap your choices and make sure voters's choices are recorded properly (including warning when parts have been left blank or when there are duplicate ranked votes)
• Various visual tweaks (e.g. better use of colours to visually separate parts of the ballot) and usability improvements (e.g. when selecting a write-in citizen from the dropdown, the "write-in" option will automatically be marked)

The design of the ballot, of the confirmation email and of the receipt page may receive further tweaks before voting begins.

Please use this thread for bug reporting and feedback.

In my mind, the options here are three:

• Continue displaying the full text of the amendment up for ratification on the ballot;
• Displaying nothing in particular except for a link to the full text of the amendment;
• Displaying a concise description or list of changes, in addition to a further link to the full text of the amendment.

My preferred option is, of course, option 3. It strikes the balance between ballot length and requiring voters to do extra work, and if paired with the existing provisions enabling preexisting parties to submit statements, should be the best option to properly yet concisely inform those voters who don't really do much research beyond reading what's presented to them on the ballot. For these reasons, unless there's any strong objections, this is what the Chancery will implement in this and in future elections.

As such, I have already gone on to writing those concise explanations, trying to be as objective as possible, and I'm now submitting them for public review and feedback. I gladly welcome any and all, especially those from registered parties and the authors of the amendments, and plan to accommodate them as much as practical. The provisional descriptions are as follows:

RZ07	Vote to ratify 62RZ07, "Executive Power Reform Act and Amendment", providing for Prime Dictates (decrees with the force of law issued by the Seneschal and countersigned by the King) to expire after three months, unless the Ziu votes to affirm them before expiration, or unless they are ephemeral or are issued to provide for emergency spending.
RZ14	Vote to ratify 62RZ14, "Broosking Swing Mitigation Amendment (Reconsideration)", providing for the maximum number of seats that can be assigned to new citizens between general elections to be lowered from 7.5% to 4.5% of the seats apportioned between parties, rounded down to a whole number of seats. With the current 200 seat Cosă, this results in a maximum of 9 extra seats, rather than 15, to be available to new citizens. With the 20 seat Cosă that resulted from passage of 62RZ11, the "Pseudo-Real Cosă Act", and that will enter into effect (unless repealed) from the first general election after February 2027, this would result in no seats being available to new citizens, rather than 1.
RZ15	Vote to ratify 62RZ15, "Cunstavál Reform Amendment", repealing three provisions regarding Cunstaváis (the King's representatives in each province): Repeals the ability of Cunstaváis to serve as "military governors" in provinces without a constitution; Repeals a provision prohibiting the King or a Cunstavál to proclaim any provincial constitution, and provinces to pass any constitutional amendments, which conflict with provisions in the Organic Law or any other national law; Repeals a provision prohibiting the King or a Cunstavál to proclaim any provincial constitution that hasn't been approved in a referendum by a majority of all citizens, or failing that, by two-thirds of votes cast. The second provision was considered redundant with the existing Article IX Section 5, and the repeal of the third provision leaves provincial constitutions to self-regulate how they would be amended.
RZ26	Vote to ratify 62RZ26, "Democracy Act and Amendment", providing for the following: The lowering of the number of seats in the Cosă from 200 to 20, already established in statutory law by 62RZ11 - the "Pseudo-Real Cosă Act", is enshrined in the Organic Law. The change would only take effect from the first general election after February 2027, one year after the passage of 62RZ11. The seats won by each party, as well as any vacant seats occurring between elections, are (re)assigned to candidates automatically following the order they appear on the ballot, instead of the party leader freely apportioning seats won by the party between candidates. Seats that cannot be (re)assigned, typically due to each valid candidate already holding the maximum number of seats, would be (re)assigned by the King under His best judgement, or left vacant. The share of the Cosă's seats that can be held by a single member is raised from 2 seats to 3 in the future 20-seat Cosă, and from 20 seats to 31 in the current 200-seat Cosă (still valid for this election). The calculation assumes that the number of votes cast for valid political parties is the same as in the previous election (94); the formula means the individual limit is raised with fewer votes, and lowered with more votes. Any person placed on a party's list of candidates to the Cosă will have to confirm their willingness to stand for election, rather than this willingness being implicit, as is currently the case. A provision to allow the assignment of a limited number of extra seats in the Cosă to new citizens between general elections is repealed, if and only if the concurring amendment that provides for these seats to be reduced in number (C2 - Referendum on 62RZ14) fails. A provision to impeach and a remove a member of the Cosă by a two-third majority and approval by the King, which already exists, is clarified. Political parties's internal processes for nominating candidates for the Cosă will have to allow and reflect the democratic input of its members, with the latter being able to file suit if this is not the case.
RZ27	Vote to ratify 62RZ27, the "We Have a New-ish King Amendment", providing for the name of former King John to be replaced by that of King Txec in Organic Law Article II Section 3, where the name of the reigning King is mentioned.

Each of the descriptions is further followed by a link to the amendment (example).

Azul all, I am seeking public feedback regarding the text to put on the ballot for referenda.

In previous elections since at least 2014 (when the old Database with secret, electronic voting was introduced), the ballot has included the full text for every amendment submitted to the electorate. However, there's no Organic or statutory mandate for doing so, and I have a few objections to raise against continuing this practice.

• Amendments can get very long and verbose, especially where they contain long sections with the full extant text to be amended, rather than employing bolded text for additions and strikethrough for deletions (a technique that was already in use in 1998, soon after the Organic Law was adopted, and which I personally favour for the bills I write);
• Another way amendments get longer is when lots of connected provisions have to be amended to reflect the main change, even if those secondary provisions are entirely derivative and don't really add much to the substance of the amendment by themselves (e.g. the Democracy Act and Amendment's ironclad lists are described in Article IV, but then lots of other provisions, e.g. those determining what happens when a MC strikes out or is expelled, have to be adjusted to account for that change);
• Equally, there may be many amendments on the ballot; this election has 5, a number only matched by the 50th, 51st and 55th Cosă elections, and only surpassed by the (frankly ridiculous) 12 in the 48th Cosă election.

In addition, I am not aware of any nations requiring ballots to contain the full text of a constitutional amendment. I don't think anyone suggesting such a move would be taken very seriously; voters would hardly have time to read the amendment inside the voting booth, and states would hardly manage to squeeze the text into a probably oversized ballot. The expectation is usually that voters will do their own research beforehand, or that parties will campaign for one or the other outcome, which will also serve to inform voters.

We don't really have those macronational problems in the strictest sense, because almost everyone votes electronically, and even snail mail votes are cast from the comfort of one's house. I would still strongly argue that the time and size issues apply to us, though. The average voter is not going to read the full text of the amendment, but they may take the time to read an abridged description; a long and time consuming ballot is, to me, just a source of attrition. Talossan democracy is not well served by a ballot that takes so long to scroll through to lead to undervoting or blind Üc votes; not to mention provinces, which are unlucky enough to find themselves stuck to the bottom of the ballot, potentially underneath a wall of text for multiple referenda.

Group 7

Haifisch - 4
Stairway to Heaven - 3

Deceptacon - 2
Message in a Bottle - 1


Group 8

A Forest - 4

Mondscheinsonate - 3

Uprising - 2
Roxanne - 1
HM: Der Kommissar
HM: Private Idaho
HM: More Than a Feeling

GROUP 7
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game - 4
Foo Fighters - Everlong - 3
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven - 2
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence - 1

GROUP 8
Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd Movement - 4
The Beatles - Taxman - 3
B-52's - Private Idaho - 2
The Cure - A Forest - 1

We, the members of the Union of Free Reformists, the Party of Talossan Democracy, in order to not only safeguard Talossa's fragile democracy, but strengthen it, hereby formally adopt the Democracy Agenda. This package of reforms will bolster the democratic nature of Talossan government, granting actions taken by the state even greater legitimacy. It is intended to show the Talossan people, in plain terms, our intentions in both this Cosă session and in future sessions, particularly those in which they see fit to grant us a Cosă majority.

• Cosă Size: With the passage of 62RZ09, the Democracy Agenda has already succeeded in right-sizing the Cosă to 20 seats. The URL's aim here going forward will be to defend this change, and prevent future Cosă sessions from undoing it.
• Electoral Method Reform: In the interest of lessening the power of party bosses, increasing the power of the voters, and improving the ability to hold individual MCs accountable, the URL supports transition to a form of personalized proportional representation -- any method that combines proportional representation for parties with voter control over which candidates actually receive Cosă seats. We support further debate on the specific method to be adopted.
• Party List Reform #1: The URL supports legislation to prioritize party lists, ensuring that "off-list" candidates can only receive seats if no "on-list" candidates are eligible, in order to improve transparency and allow voters to better judge the intentions of the parties on the ballot.
• Party List Reform #2: The URL supports legislation requiring candidates to confirm with the Chancery their consent to appearing on a party list, in an effort to further lessen the power of party bosses.
• Upper House Reform: Taking into account Talossa's unitary nature and the requirements of responsible government, the URL supports the transition of the Senäts' role to that of a "house of review" in the vein of the British House of Lords, the Canadian Senate, or the Japanese House of Councillors. This reform will retain Senators' ability to critique and improve legislation on behalf of their province's citizens, including a veto on Organic amendments, but will allow the Cosă to insist on its decision on standard legislation if there is sufficient democratic support.
• Public Ballot Reform: The secret ballot is one of the cornerstones of free and fair elections. We support the continued right of Talossans to publicly declare their electoral choices, but believe the polling process on Wittenberg should be reformed so that public ballots are only published after polls close.
• Parliamentary Reform: The URL supports codifying and strengthening the powers of the Tuischac'h and Mençei to allow them to better maintain order and enforce parliamentary procedure within their respective chambers.
• Royal Veto Reform: The URL supports reforming the power of the Crown to veto legislation. This would involve a "suspensory" veto, in which the Crown's veto still serves as an opportunity for the Ziu to reconsider legislation, but can be overriden by a simple majority of both houses. In parallel to this, we support reworking advisory opinions to allow the King to consult with the CpI on a bill's organic Compliance.
• Reform Org.XII.4: This organic provision makes some parts of the OrgLaw almost impossible to amend, anchoring the country in ways that are not justifiable in a democratic nation. The OrgLaw already has a rigorous amendment process for normal amendments; there is no good reason to have such onerous additional requirements.

The Progressive Alliance have named three priorities for government in the 63rd Cosa: embassies; maps; and shifting focus from Wittenberg to Discord (? not sure I've got this right).

I can't personally say any of these grab me and I actually might not support the last one. But they're certainly projects worth exploring.

But, if you like these ideas, don't re-elect the Progs to lead the next government.

As our own Seneschal candidate, @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be , has ably demonstrated, the Progs dropped the ball on at least 70% of their programme in the last Cosa. This is not, I feel, due to any fault in that party - except the fact that Baron Alexandreu Davinescu does most of the work for them, and he has his limits.

Baron Davinescu is a good Talossan, but he is not five good Talossans.

Under a Union of Free Reformists government, Baron Davinescu will be free to pursue passion projects like this - to the extent that they don't contradict the agenda of a Union government. Creating maps and embassies seems to come under the remit of the Directorate of STUFF; if the current incumbent of that office becomes Seneschal, maybe the Baron could take over?

A vote for a Union Government is not only for a Team Government, but a team government which doesn't play partisan games. For a team approach - but also for the Democracy Agenda and for a targeted immigration policy - vote URL.

GROUP 7
4 - The Police - Message in a Bottle
3 - Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
2 - Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
1 - Foo Fighters - Everlong

GROUP 8
4 - The Beatles - Taxman
3 - Boston - More Than a Feeling
2 - The Cure - A Forest
1 - Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement

We will vote on groups two at a time (although you can vote on only one of the groups if you want). Each voting period will last three days (72 hours). Votes cast after that will not be accepted, with the exception that we will always keep going until we have at least three votes per group.

Give your top four songs 4, 3, 2, and 1 points, respectively. You must give points to exactly four songs.

GROUP 7
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up to Boston
Foo Fighters - Everlong
Le Tigre - Deceptacon
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
Rammstein - Haifisch
Renato Zero - Triangolo
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
The Police - Message in a Bottle


GROUP 8
B-52's - Private Idaho
Boston - More Than a Feeling
Falco - Der Kommissar
Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement
Marty Robbins - Big Iron
Muse - Uprising
The Beatles - Taxman
The Cure - A Forest
The Police - Roxanne
Toto - Hold the Line


Tiebreakers:
- Number of voters giving 4 points
- Number of voters giving 3 points
- Number of voters giving 2 points
- Last year's result (1 > 2 > ... > 20 > Round 4 > Round 3 > Round 2 > other)
- PPV in Round 1 (if applicable)
- Rank in Round 1 (if applicable)
- Year first nominated (special edition > earlier > later)
- Random chance

7 voters this time

GROUP 5
1. Sympathy for the Devil - 11 _{(2 voters giving 4 points)}
2. The Chain - 11 _{(0 voters giving 4 points)}
3. Africa - 10 _{(9th last year)}
4. Voyage, Voyage - 10 _{(R3 last year)}
5. Layla - 7
6. Knights of Cydonia - 6 _{(2015 nomination)}
7. Dreamsickle - 6 _{(new nomination)}
8. A Quiet Life - 5
9. Lyin' Eyes - 4
10. My Body is a Cage - 0


GROUP 6
1. You Can't Always Get What You Want - 19
2. Blue Monday - 10
3. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - 9
4. Legal Tender - 7 _{(1 voter giving 3 points)}
5. Crazy Train - 7 _{(0 voters giving 3 points)}
6. België (Is er leven op Pluto ...) - 6
7. Breakfast in America - 5 _{(1 voter giving 3 points)}
8. Acida - 5 _{(0 voters giving 3 points)}
9. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - 2
10. I Left My Heart in San Francisco - 0