Table of Contents

Union Voting Laws

[ Union Laws, Union ]

These are the summarised Union Voting Laws.

This was amended in 276 (through the Voting Rights for Corew Worlds vote).

Basic Vote

  1. The Core Worlds can propose basic votes.
  2. Definition
    A basic vote must adhere to the following:
    • A basic vote has at least 2 options.
    • A basic vote has at most 8 options.
    • A basic vote has a closing date; a basic vote is open until 23:59:59 on the day of the deadline date.
    • A basic vote is opened for at least 7 days, which includes the day of the opening
  3. Procedure
    The basic vote procedure is as follows:
  4. Opening
    The chancellor opens the vote, and clearly communicates the vote to all Union members (OOC: Votes are marked with <vote>). The chancellor is allowed to delegate the opening of a vote to any member of cabinet. Clear communication includes at least the following information:
    • The vote options,
    • A list of all Union members that may cast their vote,
    • The closing date of the vote.
  5. Voting
    Once the vote is opened, all Union members that may cast their vote can do so until the vote is closed.
    1. Core Worlds, Inner worlds and Minor Worlds may cast a vote in a basic vote.
    2. Votes are cast publicly. A vote can be cast either by direct announcement or by registering the vote with the Chancellor, who will report the vote as soon as reasonably possible. (OOC: All votes must be made public in the vote thread.)
    3. A vote is legal if and only if it adheres to the following conditions:
      • Votes must be cast after the vote is openend and before the vote is closed.
      • Votes must clearly indicate the desired option, or the 'abstain' option.
      • Votes may not be changed, withdrawn or otherwise alterated (OOC: If you made a mistake, contact the Storyteller.)
      • (Note on interpretation: Voters are responsible for clarity and correctness of their vote.)
  6. Closing
    The chancellor closes the vote any time after the deadline, at their leisure.
    1. The chancellor may allow additional time to vote at the request of a voter, or at their leisure.
    2. If the accumulated extension time exceeds 2 days, the chancellor must produce a valid reason for the extension.
  7. Tallying
    After the vote has been closed, the votes will be tallied.
    1. Tallying is done as follows:
      • All legal votes are weighed equally.
      • All missing votes default to 'abstain'.
      • All illegal votes default to 'abstain'.
    2. An absolute majority (more than half) of the cast votes is required for an option to win. Abstentions are not counted towards the total number of votes.
    3. If a vote has exactly 2 options and ends in a tie, the Chancellor casts the deciding vote.
    4. If a vote has more than 2 options and ends without a single option having an absolute majority, the following procedure is used:
      1. First, all options with 0 votes are removed from consideration.
      2. If after this removal, exactly 2 options are left - these necessarily being tied - the Chancellor casts the deciding vote between the two.
      3. If after this removal, more than two options are left, the half of the options with the most votes proceed to a new round of voting.
      4. In case there is an uneven number of options, the fraction is rounded up for the number of options to proceed.
      5. In case there is a tie in the number of votes between options to be eliminated and options to proceed to the next round, the Chancellor decides how many of the tied options proceed to the next round.
        • The Chancellor may in this case pass all tied options, none of the tied options or some number in between. This is an exception to the rule regarding half of the options proceeding. However:
        • The new vote must always have a minimum of two options.
        • At least one option must be eliminated above and beyond all options with 0 votes. This may either be one of the tied options or an option with more than zero, but fewer than the tied votes, if available.
        • If the number chosen by the chancellor eliminates at least one but not all of the tied votes, the actual options that are removed are determined by an objectively random method, chosen by the Chancellor, such as a dice roll. All options must have equal odds of being eliminated in this fashion.

General Election Vote

  1. General Elections follow the Basic Vote law, adapted as follows:
  2. Voting
    1. All Union members may cast a vote.
    2. Votes are cast privately (OOC: Vote by PMing vote to the administrator.)
  3. Closing
    The deadline for a general election vote may not be extended. The deadline is rock hard and inflexible.
  4. Tallying
    No absolute majority is required: the side with the most votes wins. No further voting rounds will be opened.
    1. Votes are tallied by independent committee. (OOC: represented by the Storyteller)
    2. In case of a tie in General Elections, the current Chancellor casts the deciding vote.
    3. (If no absolute majority is reached, it is custom to add the opposing candidate Chancellor with the second highest number of votes to the cabinet, though this is not required.)