The Electoral Commission Reform Act

[Lüc da Schir]

WHEREAS, We've had multiple issues regarding the electoral commission during the last few elections, and

WHEREAS, The delay in certifying the last election caused significant confusion and delayed the start of this Cosa by a month, and

[...]


THEREFORE, El Lexhatx Section B.13 which currently reads:

13. The Election Commission and Secretary of State shall fulfill the duty of certifying election results, as specified in Org.VII.6, according to these guidelines. (47RZ6)

13.1. The SoS will send them a reminder of their duties at the start of the election. They should notify the SoS that they are willing and able to verify ballots, while the election is still going on. If they fail to respond to a further reminder, the Secretary of State should notify the nation. (47RZ6)

13.2. After the election is concluded, within one week the members of the Commission should go through the ballots and mark them as valid or invalid, by whatever procedure is established by the Chancery. Each ballot need only be validated by three members of the Commission unless there is a discrepancy, and after they have finished, they should notify the Secretary of State that they are done. This process should be completed within one week after the end of the election. (47RZ6)

13.3. If there is any discrepancy, the Commission shall confer in private, and discuss the matter until they reach a consensus. It is suggested that a vote should be taken with regards to each disputed ballot, and majority opinion among the Commission should then govern the Commission's decision with respect to that ballot. The Commission should notify the Secretary of State when they have finished this process, so that he can declare the elections certified. (47RZ6)

Shall be stricken entirely and amended to read:

13. The Electoral Commission and the Secretary of State shall fulfill the duty of certifying results of elections conducted by the Chancery according to the following guidelines.

13.1 The election period as defined by this section shall begin on Balloting Day, and shall end on the Certification Deadline.

13.2. The Electoral Commission shall be comprised of one Uppermost Cort justice to be appointed by the Cort, one Senator whose term will not expire at the conclusion of the Cosa term to be appointed by the Mençei, and one member to be appointed by the King upon recommendation of the Seneschal, pursuant to the following subsections. The Secretary of State shall be a permanent ex officio member of the Commission, and shall not be entitled to a vote nor affect quorum.

13.2.1. The Secretary of State shall communicate to the Cort, the Mençei, the Seneschal, and the King of their responsibilities of recommending or appointing members no later than two months prior to Balloting Day.

13.2.2. No person shall be eligible to serve on the Commission who is an officer of any registered or unregistered political party, or who plans to or is a candidate for election to the Senäts in the upcoming election.

13.2.3. The appointments shall be communicated to the Secretary of State, who shall confirm with the appointees their willingness and availability to serve on the Commission.

13.2.4. All members of the Commission shall be appointed at least one month prior to Balloting Day. If the Cort, the Mençei, or the King shall fail to submit their appointment(s) by the deadline, the Secretary of State shall be empowered to appoint the member or members.

13.2.5. Should a vacancy arise on the Commission prior to or during the election period due to death, disability, resignation, or disqualification, such vacancies shall be filled by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall endeavor to select and appoint any member recommended by the individual or body which appointed the departing member, but at no time shall delay an appointment for this purpose for more than 24 hours.

13.3. The Secretary of State shall be authorized to prepare rules for the upcoming election governing the procedure by which s/he will comply with the relevant election laws, and submit such rules to the Commission at least one month prior to Balloting Day for review and certification. The Secretary of State shall also make such rules publicly available, and until such a time as the rules are certified, conspicuously note that the rules are subject to certification by the Commission.

13.3.1. Should the Secretary of State fail to submit rules to the Commission, the rules governing the previous election shall be reviewed and certified.

13.3.2. The Commission shall review the proposed rules for compliance and amend them as necessary prior to certification.

13.3.3. The Commission shall certify rules for the election no later than two weeks prior to Balloting Day. Should the Commission fail to certify any rules by this deadline, then the rules shall govern the election absent the certification, except where such rules are in conflict with election law.

13.4. The Secretary of State shall accept votes submitted publicly or privately pursuant to the rules governing the election. Votes submitted privately shall only be available to the Electoral Commission.

13.5. Immediately following the Election Deadline, the Secretary of State shall post unofficial elections results on Wittenberg and notify the members of the Commission that the unofficial results have been posted.

13.6. The Commission shall review and certify the unofficial results within 14 days following the Election Deadline, pursuant to the following subsections.

13.6.1. The Commission, sua sponte or upon notification by a third party, shall review any ballots or results in which a potential irregularity has been spotted. The Ministry of Justice shall, in consultation with the Secretary of State, make available to the public forms which such notification can be made to the Commission.

13.6.2. Notwithstanding the above, the Secretary of State shall be empowered to correct any irregularity in the tabulation of results found prior to the Commission taking jurisdiction over the matter.

13.6.3. If the Commission, upon a majority vote, confirms the existence of an irregularity which affects the outcome of an election item, it shall correct the problem prior to certification as provided in the following subsections.

13.6.3.1. If the Commission finds that a vote (or votes) has (or have) not been properly counted, it shall direct the Secretary of State to correct the results as necessary.

13.6.3.2. If the Commission finds that a vote was cast by an ineligible voter, it shall direct the Secretary of State to invalidate such a vote and correct the results as necessary, and notify the Ministry of Justice of any potential civil or criminal violation.

13.6.3.3. If the Commission should find multiple irregularities which significantly alter the results of an election, it may recommend to the King that the incoming Cosa be dissolved and a new election be called. In such a case, the Commission shall continue to serve as constituted.

13.6.4. If the Commission should find any other irregularity not otherwise specified, it may take any action appropriate within its power proportionate to the circumstances.

13.6.5. Should the Commission fail to certify the unofficial results prior to the Certification Deadline, the results are considered to be official, unless the Commission should lodge a petition with the Uppermost Cort seeking additional time to review a potential irregularity. Such petitions shall be submitted to the Uppermost Cort on forms prescribed by the Ministry of Justice following a 2/3rds vote of the Commission.

13.6.6. The Uppermost Cort shall immediately review any petition laid before it by the Commission, shall grant such petition upon finding there is sufficient evidence to warrant the request, and shall limit the delay in certification only to such races or ballot items which the outcome would be affected if the potential irregularity were found to be true. If the petition is not granted within 21 days following the Election Deadline, the results shall be considered certified and the petition denied as moot.

13.7. Following certification of all election results, the Commission shall be dissolved, unless otherwise provided for in this section.

13.8. For elections called early due to failure of a Vote of Confidence, the provisions outlined in the following subsections shall apply.

13.8.1. The Cort, the Mençei, the Seneschal, and the King shall all be immediately notified by the Secretary of State of their responsibility of recommending or appointing members to the Commission. Members shall be appointed at least five days prior to Balloting Day. If the Cort, the Mençei, or the King shall fail to submit their appointment(s) by the deadline, the Secretary of State shall be empowered to appoint the member or members.

13.8.2. The rules governing the previous election shall govern the election, except where such rules conflict with election law.

13.9. The procedures set forth within this section shall not apply to referenda elections called by a Seneschal pursuant to OrgLaw Article XX, unless otherwise directed by the Ziu prior to an election being called.

13.10. The Secretary of State shall keep all records of any discussions and votes taken by the Commission for a period of two years.

13.10. For the purposes of serving a complaint, summons, or subpoena against the Electoral Commission as a body, the Secretary of State shall be considered the agent responsible for accepting service.

FURTHERMORE, this Act shall only take affect upon passage of the The Electoral Commission Reform Amendment into law.

Noi urent q’estadra så:
Lüc da Schir (Senator - Benito)
Munditenens Tresplet (Senator - Maricopa)
Mximo Carbonel (MC - REP)

[Lüc da Schir]

Sir C. M. Siervicül and Colonel Mximo Carbonèl, can you confirm your respective co-sponsorships?

[Dame Litz Cjantscheir, UrN]

In my opinion, I would remove the SoS as a member of the Electoral Commission (EC), since he is already empowered to certify results outside of the EC as per Sec. 13 of your amendment (and Sec 4 of your other), regardless if he's a member of the EC or not.

I believe the EC should be a completely independent set of eyes from those that ran/administered the election and would recommend that it consist of one member from each branch (e.g. 1 member from the Judiciary, 1 from the Legislative (Cosa or Senate) and 1 from the Executive (Could be appointed by the King or the PM or the King on the recommendation of the PM etc...) for balance.

Lastly,

FURTHERMORE, this Act shall only take affect when the provisions of the Act do not conflict with Organic Law.

This is a very ambiguous statement as to whom decides when the provisions of the Act do not conflict with the OrgLaw? Is that person empowered to make a judgment on the Organicitiy of a law? I would recommend that it should read as:

FURTHERMORE, this Act shall only take affect upon the passing of the The Electoral Commission Reform Amendment into law

or something along those lines.


My 2 bence,

Litz

[Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H.]

Feb 17, 2017 15:39:06 GMT -6 Dame Litz Cjantscheir, UrN said:

In my opinion, I would remove the SoS as a member of the Electoral Commission (EC), since he is already empowered to certify results outside of the EC as per Sec. 13 of your amendment (and Sec 4 of your other), regardless if he's a member of the EC or not.

I believe the EC should be a completely independent set of eyes from those that ran/administered the election and would recommend that it consist of one member from each branch (e.g. 1 member from the Judiciary, 1 from the Legislative (Cosa or Senate) and 1 from the Executive (Could be appointed by the King or the PM or the King on the recommendation of the PM etc...) for balance.

Lastly,

FURTHERMORE, this Act shall only take affect when the provisions of the Act do not conflict with Organic Law.

This is a very ambiguous statement as to whom decides when the provisions of the Act do not conflict with the OrgLaw? Is that person empowered to make a judgment on the Organicitiy of a law? I would recommend that it should read as:

FURTHERMORE, this Act shall only take affect upon the passing of the The Electoral Commission Reform Amendment into law

or something along those lines.


My 2 bence,

Litz

Perhaps the SoS could only be an adviser to the EC and not be fully part of it?

[Munditenens Tresplet]

Feb 18, 2017 15:00:41 GMT -6 Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H. said:

Feb 17, 2017 15:39:06 GMT -6 Dame Litz Cjantscheir, UrN said:

In my opinion, I would remove the SoS as a member of the Electoral Commission (EC), since he is already empowered to certify results outside of the EC as per Sec. 13 of your amendment (and Sec 4 of your other), regardless if he's a member of the EC or not.

I believe the EC should be a completely independent set of eyes from those that ran/administered the election and would recommend that it consist of one member from each branch (e.g. 1 member from the Judiciary, 1 from the Legislative (Cosa or Senate) and 1 from the Executive (Could be appointed by the King or the PM or the King on the recommendation of the PM etc...) for balance.

Lastly,

This is a very ambiguous statement as to whom decides when the provisions of the Act do not conflict with the OrgLaw? Is that person empowered to make a judgment on the Organicitiy of a law? I would recommend that it should read as:

or something along those lines.


My 2 bence,

Litz

Perhaps the SoS could only be an adviser to the EC and not be fully part of it?

We're looking at some changes right now to make the SoS a non-voting member of the EC, and have the other member likely appointed by the King on the advice of the PM.

[Colonel Mximo Carbonèl]

I will co-sponsor the bill and I agree to any modifications following this discussion.

I think Liz and SoS comments should be concider giving great adding value to this bill.


Mximo

[Dame Litz Cjantscheir, UrN]

Feb 18, 2017 17:09:05 GMT -6 Munditenens Tresplet said:

Feb 18, 2017 15:00:41 GMT -6 Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H. said:

Perhaps the SoS could only be an adviser to the EC and not be fully part of it?

We're looking at some changes right now to make the SoS a non-voting member of the EC, and have the other member likely appointed by the King on the advice of the PM.

Section 13 of the proposed amendment reads:

13. The Electoral Commission and the Secretary of State shall fulfill the duty of certifying results of elections conducted by the Chancery according to the following guidelines.

Given the EC and the SoS are given the power to certify the election, there is no reason for the SoS to be a member of the EC, given he's involved in the certification process regardless if he holds a seat around the table or not. The SoS can of course work with the EC but I don't see the point in having him on the EC and simultaneously granting him powers to certify the election without being on the EC.

I also don't agree with the PM appointing the 3 other members of the EC. This leaves the system open to abuse where a PM can appoint members of his/her own party to have a controlling majority on the ECs work. If the PMs party loses the election by 1,2 or 3 votes, the EC has the power to void those votes and swing the election back to the PM's party. This is a extreme example, but it is a possibility under such a proposal. Again I would push for one from each branch so that there's at least some balance.

[Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H.]

Feb 20, 2017 10:31:20 GMT -6 Dame Litz Cjantscheir, UrN said:

Given the EC and the SoS are given the power to certify the election, there is no reason for the SoS to be a member of the EC, given he's involved in the certification process regardless if he holds a seat around the table or not. The SoS can of course work with the EC but I don't see the point in having him on the EC and simultaneously granting him powers to certify the election without being on the EC.

I am in full agreement except for ONE tiny detail. The "certification" done by the SoS and the certification done by the EC should have two different names. Perhaps the SoS Validates the election results, and the EC certifies them?

We could have that the SoS has 48 hours to validate the election results, but give a little more time for the EC?

I also don't agree with the PM appointing the 3 other members of the EC.

No, no, no and no. The PM should NOT name the 3 other members of the EC. NOT AT ALL. Not the SoS either! Because the job of the EC is to certifies his work. I certainly know which members of the EC are easy to work with, and which ones are ruthless and crazy serious (for example, a certain female judge from the Great Britain...).

This leaves the system open to abuse where a PM can appoint members of his/her own party to have a controlling majority on the ECs work. If the PMs party loses the election by 1,2 or 3 votes, the EC has the power to void those votes and swing the election back to the PM's party. This is a extreme example, but it is a possibility under such a proposal. Again I would push for one from each branch so that there's at least some balance.

Absolutely!

Now, I have an idea... it's crazy, but it's how OUR electoral system works in Canada.

We would still have a 3 member EC.

The leader of the party who held the highest number of seats in the previous election could pick one.
The leader of the party who held the second highest of seats in the previous election could pick one.
The leader of the party who held the third highest of seats in the previous election could pick one.

If a party fails to nominate a member of the EC in time, then, the leader of the party who held the fourth highest of seats in the previous election could pick one, and so on.

[Munditenens Tresplet]

The reason the proposed amendment reads that way is to allow for the unfortunate but not unlikely possibility that the EC does not even show up. We can't let the EC delay things again, which is the point of these reforms. If the amendment simply read "The Electoral Commission shall certify" without mentioning the SoS, it would be inOragnic to move forward without the EC's certification, which puts us right back where we started. Thus the reason for including the "SoS and EC" language.

Having the SoS on the EC as a non-voting member allows the SoS to work with the EC in discussions without him being one of the three voting members, so I don't understand the further concern here. (The bill language hasn't been updated yet to reflect this.)

Finally, the SoS filling vacancies is really the only way it'll work. The SoS doesn't appoint members initially, but if we're a week into the election and someone resigns, the seat would in all likelihood continue to remain empty if we were to allow the appointing entity to make the vacancy appointment.

Giving the SoS this power won't lead to any corruption either. First, the EC is dissolved at the end of every election period anyway. But more importantly, should the EC fail to certify within the time limits set by these bills, the results as reported by the SoS are de facto certified anyway--if the EC had two members resign during an election and couldn't operate, either the SoS could make appointments so that it could, or the two seats would just remain vacant (assuming the Cort, the Mencei, or the King/PM fail to act) and the election would be certified with 14 days after the Election Deadline anyway.

[Dame Litz Cjantscheir, UrN]

I think my point may have been missed.

13. The Electoral Commission and the Secretary of State shall fulfill the duty of certifying results of elections conducted by the Chancery according to the following guidelines.

From my reading this means the SoS and the EC jointly certify the election, one can't do it without the other.

13.2. The Electoral Commission shall be a three member Commission, comprised of the Secretary of State, one Uppermost Cort justice to be selected by the Cort, and one Senator whose term will not expire at the conclusion of the Cosa term to be selected by the Mençei pursuant to the following subsections.

Now if the SoS has power to certify the election under 13 above, why does he need to be a member of the EC under 13.2? If 13 read the EC without mentioning the SoS, I would understand why the SoS needs to be a member of the EC, but since it reads SoS and the EC, then why does the SoS need a seat on the EC?

I have no problem with the SoS appointing members etc..., just the 3rd EC seat can go to a different appointee since the SoS can certify the election without the need to have a seat on the EC and another set of independent eyes won't do the election any harm.

[Munditenens Tresplet]

Feb 21, 2017 17:54:39 GMT -6 Dame Litz Cjantscheir, UrN said:

I think my point may have been missed.

13. The Electoral Commission and the Secretary of State shall fulfill the duty of certifying results of elections conducted by the Chancery according to the following guidelines.

From my reading this means the SoS and the EC jointly certify the election, one can't do it without the other.

13.2. The Electoral Commission shall be a three member Commission, comprised of the Secretary of State, one Uppermost Cort justice to be selected by the Cort, and one Senator whose term will not expire at the conclusion of the Cosa term to be selected by the Mençei pursuant to the following subsections.

Now if the SoS has power to certify the election under 13 above, why does he need to be a member of the EC under 13.2? If 13 read the EC without mentioning the SoS, I would understand why the SoS needs to be a member of the EC, but since it reads SoS and the EC, then why does the SoS need a seat on the EC?

I have no problem with the SoS appointing members etc..., just the 3rd EC seat can go to a different appointee since the SoS can certify the election without the need to have a seat on the EC and another set of independent eyes won't do the election any harm.

I think my reply might have been missed as well haha.

I've long since agreed with your point about the 3rd EC seat, and we are changing the bill to let the King on advice from the PM appoint the 3rd seat. The SoS will no longer be a voting member of the EC, but rather, a non-voting ex-officio member.

The SoS has to tabulate results with the EC certifying them. However, the point of this bill is to allow for the possibility of the EC dropping the ball. Including both here recognizes that both have a role to play...If the EC does drop the ball, the language here and in the amendment makes clear that results posted by the SoS are de facto certified if the EC doesn't vote on certification within 14 days. If the law read "The Electoral Commission shall", then we couldn't set any deadlines because there would be no bypassing the certification process. (On the other hand, if the law read "The SoS shall", then there would be no point in having an EC. )

[Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H.]

Did you guys see my idea to have the SoS certify the election, and the EC to validate the certification? (or the opposite)

[Munditenens Tresplet]

Feb 22, 2017 4:28:11 GMT -6 Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H. said:

Did you guys see my idea to have the SoS certify the election, and the EC to validate the certification? (or the opposite)

That's more or less what the bill does, even though it isn't in those specific terms. The EC's role is to oversee the election results as tabulated by the SoS, and review specific problems. If they don't expressly certify the election results within 14 days, then the results as posted by the SoS are automatically certified anyway. The EC wouldn't go through each ballot individually anymore, unless it thinks there is a potential problem and chooses to do so.

[Ian Plätschisch]

13.6.3.3. If the Commission should find multiple irregularities which significantly alter the results of an election, it may recommend to the King that the incoming Cosa be dissolved and a new election be called. In such a case, the Commission shall continue to serve as constituted.

Excuse my ignorance, but it this Organic? I thought the King could only dissolve the Cosa on the advice of the Seneschal.

[Munditenens Tresplet]

Feb 22, 2017 9:06:48 GMT -6 Ian Plätschisch said:

13.6.3.3. If the Commission should find multiple irregularities which significantly alter the results of an election, it may recommend to the King that the incoming Cosa be dissolved and a new election be called. In such a case, the Commission shall continue to serve as constituted.

Excuse my ignorance, but it this Organic? I thought the King could only dissolve the Cosa on the advice of the Seneschal.

Org.XIII.4 says the King may issue Writs of Dissolution. It goes onto say that the Seneschal may appeal for such a Writ, and if accompanied by enough support from the Cosa, the King shall grant it. It does not say that the King must have a recommendation from the Seneschal before issuing a Writ, which I and the language suggest he could technically do at any time for any reason. Furthermore, the language in this Act merely says that the Electoral Commission may recommend to the King--the King is free to hear or ignore any recommendation from anyone as he chooses. The Electoral Commission doesn't have the power to mandate that the King actually dissolve it.

And if I'm wrong in this reading, the King also has the power to dissolve incoming Cosas when a Seneschal cannot be found which would have the support of Cosa majority. If this subsection were to ever be invoked, there would have to be major and substantial problems for the Electoral Commission to make a recommendation in the first place. But if there were and they did, it is arguable it would be impossible for the King to determine who would have the support of a Cosa majority (since it would be impossible to determine how many seats each party won), and thus the King may have the authority under Org.XI.2.