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Post by kri on Dec 13, 2004 11:32:17 GMT -6
Azul!
The following memo has gone out to all Senators and MCs:
REMINDER TO ALL SENATORS AND COSÂ MEMBERS: The term of office for the current government shall expire on 21 December 2004/XXV and a Writ of Election shall be issued by the King, the general election to be held from 15 January to 14 February 2005/XXVI. Pending approval of appropriate legislation, elections will be held in two provinces for Senator and in all provinces for election of provincial assemblies. All political parties are kindly requested to prepare their 50-word statements as quickly as possible and to have them ready for the Secretary of State by the end of December, along with other formal statements of registration, so that ballots can be printed for the upcoming elections.
It is our intent in the Office of Secretary of State to prepare paper ballots, in accordance with the law, and post graphical copies of them on the internet so any Talossan individual or party leader can download them and mail them in. Votes by e-mail and telephone will, of course, also be valid, but we're hoping to make a real push with paper ballots this time.
I have asked all party leaders to prepare their 50-word statements, website URLs, and whatever else they wish to prepare, by the END OF DECEMBER so that ballots can be printed out well in advance of the 15 January 2005 balloting date.
Under RT law, each party needs to submit the name of a leader or contact person (who will be legally responsible for distributing the party's seats after the election), and a statement of party aims and beliefs, not exceeding 50 words (the "50-word statement").
Additionally, this election will see the first trial application of the proposed national Senate and provincial election system. Accordingly, each party has the OPTION to endorse a Senator in the two provinces where Senate races will occur. The incumbent Senators in this election are Amy Durnford in Vuode, and Wes Erni in Mussolini. Parties may endorse them, or endorse any citizens to be challengers. Or, parties may remain silent on the issue.
Similarly, parties in this election are automatically enrolled to contest the seven new provincial assemblies that are beling elected nationwide. Votes for national parties will automatically be counted as votes for provincial parties (i.e. if you're in Ataturk and you vote ZPT, your vote for the ZPT will automatically apply to both the Cosâ and to your Ataturk provincial assembly) unless you say otherwise.
Therefore, any Talossans who wish to run provincial parties that are distinct from the national parties (such as the old Vuode "RV/VIP" party) should inform the Secretary of State.
A nationwide list of addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information is being drafted and will be available before the election. All parties are entitled to receive this.
I am still not sure if I will charge a fee to parties for participation in the election. If all goes as planned, the website will be put up for free, and parties and individuals will be responsible for politicking and distributing ballots, so the cost will come straight from the parties rather than from the Office of Secretary of State. So there should be no reason to charge a fee.
For now, there is no provision to run graphical adverts in the ballot materials, just the 50-word statements. As we get more familiar with running ballots in future elections, hopefully this will change.
Thanks, and let's get those registrations in!
R. Ben Madison Deputy Secretary of State
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Post by kri on Dec 20, 2004 9:51:49 GMT -6
REMINDER TO ALL PARTIES:
The General Election will begin on 15 January 2005 and end on 14 February 2005. All parties are reminded to have their 50-word statements in to the Secretary of State's office (meaning me by the close of business on 31 December 2004, so that I can print up ballots and make them available to the various parties.In this election, we follow new legal guidelines and make the distribution of ballots primarily YOUR responsibility, although as Deputy SoS I will be helping out all parties in any way I can. Please contact me if you need any help in this regard, and let's have a free, clean election where all the votes are counted and all viewpoints are represented! [glow=red,2,300]R. Ben Madison[/glow] Deputy Secretary of State (always wanted to know what that "glow" tag looked like...)
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Post by Baron Fritz von Buchholtz on Dec 20, 2004 18:01:25 GMT -6
This is the official announcement for the formation of the Conservative Loyalist Party (CLP). This party supports the Monarchy with limits set by contitutional law. It is dedicated to the expansion of Talossa, establishing Talossa in various game stores in other cities, states and countries, and an expansion of Talossa Fest to include competitive game tournaments, etc. The CLP wants to re-establish the treasuery, tighten up immigration policies, and supports a Talossan Flag in front of every citizens residence. We are not looking for those "nattering nabobs of negativism" but positive individuals who want to make Talossa fun again. This party will be an effective and strong addition to the kingdom. Join us in bringing Talossa into its next 25 years.
If you are a former member interested in getting involved again please contact me. If you are a current member and are interested in this party contact me. Give us your vote and help make Talossa grow. And if you have game ideas for Talossa Fest please speak up or visit me at Napoleons in Shorewood.
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Post by kri on Dec 20, 2004 21:40:32 GMT -6
Azul, everybody! Fritz, thanks for throwing your hat into the ring, I hope you find the election process fun! ALL REGISTERED PARTIES: On or about 1 January 2005, you will be receiving an official list of voters. I strongly encourage you to canvass them yourselves. Don't "concede" any voter to any party -- the only way our democracy works is if you yourselves, the party leaders, make your best case to ALL the voters. Now, on to provincial assignments. As you know, new Talossans are assigned to Talossa's provinces based on the geographical areas in which they live. Since the last election, three citizens have joined or are in the process of joining Talossa: Al Cheléir, Fritz von Buchholtz, and Jason Buchholtz. (The latter notified me today that he is officially applying, and expects to have his materials completed by 1 January.) All three are scheduled under Talossan laws to be assigned to different provinces: Maricopa, Atatürk, and Vuode respectively. Cheléir’s normal geographical assignment to Maricopa works out fine, raising Maricopa’s census population to 6 people. Fritz’s assignment to Atatürk cannot be made under Talossan law, because Atatürk Province, with 9 citizens, already exceeds 20% of the Talossan population, so Fritz is assigned to the next province on the list, Cézembre. This brings Cézembre’s population to 5. Jason would normally be assigned to Vuode, but Vuode’s population, like Atatürk’s, exceeds 20% of the total, so he is passed on to the next scheduled province, Maritiimi-Maxhestic, raising MM’s total population to 4. As a result of these additions, and taking into account all other population changes since the election of the last Cosâ, the following tentative seat totals are announced for the seven provinces in the next Cosâ:<br> Cézembre: 27 seats Florencia: 16 seats Atatürk: 49 seats Vuode: 43 seats Maritiimi-Maxhestic: 22 seats Maricopa: 32 seats Mussolini: 11 seats This part is unofficial:Before every election, I try to read the tea leaves and divine what the outcome of the election might be. Based on hunches and other sophisticated scientific analyses, here is my highly tentative (and never accurate February 2005 election prediction: The Conservative Loyalist Party will win votes in four provinces, and receive 39 seats. The MN will win votes in five provinces, winning 115 seats. The ZPT will win votes in three provinces, for a total of 24 seats. And the One Talossa Party will win 22 seats based on a showing in two provinces. Don't like those numbers? It's your responsibility as a party leader to rally more people to your cause. This is democracy, guys -- make it work! R. Ben Madison Deputy SoS
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Post by kri on Jan 2, 2005 21:39:17 GMT -6
Azul!
A couple weeks ago I posted the following Cosâ seat totals for Talossa's seven provinces based on a breakdown of population by province:
Cézembre: 27 seats Florencia: 16 seats Atatürk: 49 seats Vuode: 43 seats Maritiimi-Maxhestic: 22 seats Maricopa: 32 seats Mussolini: 11 seats
It turns out that one citizen was forgotten: Ken Velméir's Dandelion daughter. So Florencia will be getting a few more seats and other provinces correspondingly fewer. I hope to have the next provincial totals worked out in the next couple of days.
Justice Velméir and I had a long conversation on the phone tonight and despite his heavy work schedule, is enthusiastically awaiting his ballot and this time he will vote. (He intentionally abstained in the last election, attempting to be "neutral" as a sign of good-will to all the contending parties, in an effort to bring the PC to its senses.)
Thanks,
Ben
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Post by seahobbit on Jan 3, 2005 0:23:40 GMT -6
Is it possible for the parties to have an official up-to-date list of all citizens. This would greatly help during the campaign.
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Post by kri on Jan 3, 2005 9:16:07 GMT -6
>Is it possible for the parties to have an official up-to-date list of all citizens. This would greatly help during the campaign. Azul! Such a list is in preparation and should be done in two or three days assuming I get the addresses of some citizens whose addresses I've managed to lose (including yours!) Also, my sister has moved, and has possibly moved into the Atatürk Province zone, though I have to confirm this with her. Since that province is closed, she would drop to the next province on the list (which is, I think, Cézembre). How would you feel about having citizens assigned a permanent, lifetime provincial assignment rather than moving people around like this? (Citizens physically living within RT borders, of course, would be exempt.) Ben
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Post by seahobbit on Jan 3, 2005 14:28:51 GMT -6
Also, my sister has moved, and has possibly moved into the Atatürk Province zone, though I have to confirm this with her. Since that province is closed, she would drop to the next province on the list (which is, I think, Cézembre). In 31RZ28 - The People To Provinces Fix-It Once and for All Act we have: 4. Talossan citizens physically living within the boundaries of the Kingdom of Talossa shall be assigned to whichever province they are actually living in.and also: 10a. [...] In the event that the province exceeds one-fifth of the total population, that province is closed to further cybercit assignments until such time as it no longer exceeds one-fifth of the total population of the Kingdom of Talossa.Perhaps, I understand this wrong, but I thought that resident of the RT were assigned to their province of residence regardless. The key sentence in the act being that the province is close to cybercit asignments. I would actually be in favour of that, I would even prefer that citizen outside RT be assigned to the smallest province in population instead of the geographical boundaries currently being used. At the very least those boundaries need to be reviewed so that don't always endup with huge provinces (Atatürk, Vuode) and helpless small one (Cézembre). I would even accept to be reassign if it need too. If elected the ZPT will solve this provincial assignment problem once and for all. We will seek citizen's input and draft legislation that will be fair and reasonable while keeping with the need of the Kingdom. Regardless of the situation, Talossan living within the RT, must be assigned to the province they live in.
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Post by kri on Jan 4, 2005 9:34:12 GMT -6
>Perhaps, I understand this wrong, but I thought that resident of the RT were assigned to their province of residence regardless. The key sentence in the act being that the province is close to cybercit asignments.
As I read it, the law makes no distinction between "Cybercits" (the category of "Cybercit" does not exist, officially) and Talossans living outside of Talossa. They're the same thing, legally. So my sister moving from Vuode Province to (I think) Glendale, Wisconsin, would assign her to Atatürk.
> > Quote:How would you feel about having citizens assigned a permanent, lifetime provincial assignment rather than moving people around like this? (Citizens physically living within RT borders, of course, would be exempt.)
> I would actually be in favour of that, I would even prefer that citizen outside RT be assigned to the smallest province in population instead of the geographical boundaries currently being used. At the very least those boundaries need to be reviewed so that don't always endup with huge provinces (Atatürk, Vuode) and helpless small one (Cézembre). I would even accept to be reassign if it need too.
The rotation system that we devised two years ago was designed to avoid huge provinces and "ghetto provinces". The only difference between the status quo and your proposal is that people are assigned to the next "open" province on a fixed list rather than automatically to the smallest province. Personally, I prefer the status quo because the object of the system shouldn't be to make ALL provinces the SAME size.
> If elected the ZPT will solve this provincial assignment problem once and for all. We will seek citizen's input and draft legislation that will be fair and reasonable while keeping with the need of the Kingdom. Regardless of the situation, Talossan living within the RT, must be assigned to the province they live in.
We may get competing provincial assignment bills!
BTW, the current assignments are part of a comprehensive law passed in 2003. The text of that law is in my database and is accessible. As this debate continues, I'll post the entire law (maybe as early as tomorrow).
Ben
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Post by seahobbit on Jan 7, 2005 16:38:06 GMT -6
As I read it, the law makes no distinction between "Cybercits" (the category of "Cybercit" does not exist, officially) and Talossans living outside of Talossa. They're the same thing, legally. So my sister moving from Vuode Province to (I think) Glendale, Wisconsin, would assign her to Atatürk. Absolutely, she belongs to Atatürk. The difference lies that even if the province is more than 20% of the total population, Jennifer belongs in Atatürk. according to para 10a (read above) the province is only close to Cybercits assignments. I fully understand you views on this, and I actually somewhat agree, but... First, regardless of the method I don't think we'll ever get provinces to be all the same. There is too many factors affecting the number of citizen per province such as quitters to have provinces with the same numbers. Second, the status quo is not working, you have huge provinces like Vuode and Atatürk, and tiny ones like Cézembre, this can't continue. Third, the current formulas is too complex for everyone to clearly understand. The fact that you and I are currently debating and discussing it (you brought up the subject) is proof enough that the status quo is not ideal. The ZPT will make part of its electoral campaign a comprehensive immigration and provincial assignment proposal. I have it, and it is also available at web.archive.org/web/20040223183605/talossa.net/bills.php?cosa=31&bill=28
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Xhorxh Asmour
Talossan since 02-21-2003
Wot? Me, worry?
Posts: 1,754
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Post by Xhorxh Asmour on Jan 7, 2005 22:16:52 GMT -6
I can't understand Talossan immigration laws either. They're all a mess. They should be urgently changed.
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Post by markymark on Jan 8, 2005 7:32:48 GMT -6
The provincial assignment legislation may be complex and in need of revision; however the legislation concerning immigration is really quite simple- although there is still room for improvement. It should be noted that the whole immigration procedure was overhauled recently, which has made the process much easier for all parties involved and more efficient.
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Post by kri on Jan 8, 2005 9:52:13 GMT -6
Marc, You are right, the term "cybercit" does appear there. The question is, what is a "cybercit" under this law? Someone who moves out of Talossan territory (like my sister) is not, by definition, a "resident" of Talossan territory. So does that make her a Cybercit? The text is ambiguous. What our intention was, was to have actual residents of Talossa (people living on the East Side of Milwaukee) assigned to the province they physically live in, while all people living outside Talossa are assigned based on the geographical assignment model. Though, using the term "Cybercit" to describe such people (technically, I am a "Cybercit" under this law, I think) is very confusing. As acting SoS, I'm going to assign Jennifer to Vuode (as bumped down from Atatürk) in this election, but you are of course free to challenge the assignment. Hey, we may actually have a Cort case with no anger or bitterness! Ben P.S. Marc, as a Cort justice you would have to step down and appoint a replacement if you yourself were to bring the case. Or, if you can find someone who agrees to bring the case for you, you can stay on the Cort.
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Post by seahobbit on Jan 9, 2005 8:27:10 GMT -6
No, Ben, I think it is my mistake here.
I thought that Jennifer was still living within the Talossan territory (Talossa proper) but now in Ataturk province. If that would be the case then she'd belong to Ataturk.
However, if she now resides outside Talossa and should be assigned to Ataturk, that province is closed and then you are right to assign her to Vuode.
I think it was just a misunderstanding on where she lives now.
I still think we need to review that provincial assignment formula. We need something simplier, yet fair.
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Post by kri on Jan 10, 2005 10:40:19 GMT -6
So we're all agreed then. Personally, I think the current law could be 'cleaned up' but the general principles behind it are ones I support. I still like the idea of geographical assignments; people in a certain province should have "something in common" in the real world, and geography (Europeans in Cézembre; Canadians in Atatürk; and so on) is a better criterion than most to accentuate regional identity within Talossa. The 20% rule is also a good idea, though its application in practice may be complicated. A small alternative would be, in case a citizen is assigned to a "closed" province, to let them choose which underpopulated province they are assigned to rather than have it just a question of "the next province on the list." Or, as has been suggested, assign him to the most seriously underpopulated province. Where I would call for definite reform would be that I think citizens "outside" Talossan territory proper should be assigned a permanent, lifetime provincial assignment. As Acting SoS I have discovered it is hard to run an election when you're never quite sure what province a particular individual might belong to. Citizens outside Talossan boundaries who physically move into Talossa should, of course, be assigned to the province they live in. What do you think? BTW, to my knowledge, there are exactly THREE Talossans living within the borders of the nation: Tom Buffone, Jean Williams, and Harry Madison. Ben
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