IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 2nd, 2023
Ms. ConfussIed (for herself, Mr. Cityuser (Author), and Ms. SveetChloe, and Mr. Jayhawk “Rap God” Bosun , and Mr. ADMIRAL_RICKY, and Mr. Sithmaster921) introduced the following bill:
A BILL
To centralize and modernize currently standing outdated election laws. This act will reinvigorate the Firestone Elections Committee, and further reform its power. This act will also serve to limit the power that election sponsors hold over candidates and ensure accountability for them.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Firestone in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act may be cited as the “Democracy Act”.
SEC. 2. ENACTMENT
This Bill shall go into effect as an Act of Congress upon the completion of the constitutionally required processes.
SEC. 3. SEVERABILITY
Should any part of this Act be struck down and/or declared unenforceable, then that part shall be severed with the rest remaining in full force and effect unless all is struck down and/or declared unenforceable.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT
This Act shall be enforced by any relevant parties.
SEC. 5. ELECTIONS
(a) An election is a binding public referendum to determine who shall assume a position.
(b) This law applies to elections established by law.
(c) Participation in all elections shall be restricted to citizens. Participation includes supporting, voting, and candidacy.
(d) Election rules shall be defined as regulations governing elections that candidates must follow.
(e) The election sponsor shall be the individual hosting the election. Who the election sponsor is for any given election shall be designated by law or the Constitution.
(f) The election sponsor shall enforce this act, including election rules, and must do so fairly and without prejudice.
(g) The election sponsor for all gubernatorial elections shall be the Founder of the State of Firestone.
SEC. 6. ELECTIONS HOW CONDUCTED
(a) An election announcement must be posted under the Elections category in the Firestone Forums. Said election announcement must also be advertised in the State of Firestone Discord. Should the election sponsor otherwise be incapable of posting the announcement on the forums or in the Discord, a moderator may post it for them whenever they are able to.
(b) This announcement shall state the length of campaigning during which supports may be collected. This announcement shall state the start and end of times of voting.
(c) The campaigning period must be at least three (3) days long, however the election sponsor may extend that period within reason.
(d) The voting period must be at least thirty-six (36) hours long, however the election sponsor may extend that period within reason.
(e) Typographical errors in the election announcement may be corrected.
(f) The election sponsor shall be prohibited from creating election rules other than the ones set forth in this act.
(g) The result of the election must be truthfully reported and honored by the election sponsor OR anyone tasked with carrying out the election results.
(h) A candidate wins an election for a single position if they obtain the most votes. If there are multiple equivalent positions in a single election, they shall be awarded to those candidates who received the most votes. If the remaining term length varies between the positions, candidates with more votes shall be seated to serve longer.
(i) Should a candidate violate one of the regulations set forth in Section 12 of this act, the election sponsor shall disqualify the candidate from the election.
(j) The election results must be posted at least 1 week before the legally recognized end of term. An election has officially concluded after 48 hours have passed since the posting of the election results.
(k) Seated officials shall remain in office until the winners have assumed their seats.
SEC. 7. VOTING HOW TAKEN
(a) Voting for non-gubernatorial elections shall occur as a poll on the Firestone Forums.
(b) The anonymity of voters shall be maintained except to verify eligibility.
(c) For gubernatorial elections, voting shall occur in such manner as the Founder may direct.
(d) Only eligible candidates shall be placed on the ballot.
SEC. 8. RUNNER-UP
(a) Should an official depart from an election position within 2 weeks of victorious candidacy, the runner-up shall assume the position.
(b) If the runner-up could be any of two or more poeple, neither may assume the position, which shall be considered vacant.
(c) This section shall not apply to positions with a line of succession established by law.
SEC. 9. CANDIDACIES HOW TAKEN
(a) Candidates, in order to run, must publish a speech under the Elections category and Speeches subcategory in the Firestone Forums. The speech must specify which election the candidate is running for. The speech must be published after the election announcement and before the campaigning period ends.
(b) Candidates with an unexpunged felony conviction are ineligible to run for government office.
SEC. 10. SUPPORTS HOW TAKEN
(a) To “support” a candidate is to voice support for them in a reply to their published speech. An individual may support any number of candidates, but if an individual supports the same candidate multiple times only one shall be counted.
(b) The election sponsor may choose how many supports are necessary for a given election, however that number shall not fall under 5 supports.
SEC. 11. BREAKING TIES
(a) If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes and are therefore equally entitled to a position, runoff voting shall be performed between those candidates in the same manner as for the first vote.
(b) Should the runoff voting end in a tie between 2 individuals, it shall be broken by an untampered and public coin flip.
SEC. 12. CANDIDATE RULES
(a) Candidates may only post one candidacy speech for a given election.
(b) Candidates must have a Trello account, Firestone Forums account, and Discord account.
(c) Candidates may only advertise their campaign to an individual only once unless said aforementioned individual supports their candidacy in the form of a direct message or forums post. Messaging friends or individuals that the candidate would otherwise have a prior personal relationship shall not be a violation of this rule.
(d) Candidates may not commit any crime against democracy, as defined in Chapter 13 of the Firestone Criminal Code.
SEC. 13. CRIMES AGAINST DEMOCRACY
(a) Chapter 13 of the Firestone Criminal Code shall be established with the title “Crimes Against Democracy”.
(b) Section 1 of Chapter 13 shall be a Class A Misdemeanor titled “Vote Buying” carrying a jail time of 500 seconds. It shall have the following text:
"(a) The act of vote buying shall be recognized as a criminal offense within the State of Firestone.
(b) Vote buying shall be the act of providing someone money or other thing of value with an agreement that they will vote, not vote, or vote a certain way in a public election."
(c) Section 2 of Chapter 13 shall be a Class C Felony titled “Voter Intimidation” carrying a jail time of 700 seconds. It shall have the following text:
"(a) The act of voter intimidation shall be recognized as a criminal offense within the State of Firestone.
(b) Voter intimidation shall be the act of, with the intent to make someone vote, not vote, or vote a certain way in a public election, threatening to commit a crime against another person."
(d) Section 3 of Chapter 13 shall be a Class C Felony titled “Voter Suppression” carrying a jail time of 700 seconds. It shall have the following text:
"(a) The act of voter suppression shall be recognized as a criminal offense within the State of Firestone.
(b) Voter suppression shall be the act of intentionally preventing someone from voting in a public election by way of committing any unlawful act."
(e) Section 4 of chapter 13 shall be a Class C Felony titled “Subverting Democracy” carrying a jail time of 700 seconds. It shall have the following text:
"(a) The act of subverting democracy shall be the deliberate failure to honour the results of an election.
(b) This section shall only be applicable if an official action in the capacity as an election sponsor subverted democracy. Speeches shall not be considered official actions."
SEC. 14. THE FIRESTONE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
(a) The Firestone Elections Committee (herein, also FEC) shall be established.
(b) The FEC shall be responsible for monitoring, investigating, and promoting democratic elections within the State of Firestone.
(c) The FEC shall consist of one (1) individual appointed by the Governor, one (1) individual appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, one (1) individual appointed by the Attorney General, and one (1) individual appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(d) The Secretary of State shall be the chairperson of the FEC and responsible for its effective administration and assembly.
(e) The chairperson shall not be permitted to vote in matters before the committee except in a matter where a tie exists.
(f) A member of the FEC other than the Secretary of State may be removed by the senate with a simple majority vote.
(g) Should a member of the FEC become the Secretary of State during their tenure as a member of the committee, their seat will be vacated.
SEC. 15. THE FIRESTONE ELECTION COMMITTEE’S ETHICAL OBLIGATIONS
(a) All members of the committee must remain impartial whilst performing their duties as prescribed by this act. They may not support any specific candidacy while acting in the capacity of their position on the committee.
(b) Should any member identify a conflict of interest, they shall recuse themselves from any voting that would directly or indirectly affect a conflicted individual.
(c) Any member of the committee may present an action to the committee for voting.
(d) No member of the committee may possess more than 1 felony conviction, or have any convicitions of a Crime Against Democracy, as defined by Section 13 of this Act. Should a member of the committe obtain such criminal record, they shall be automatically removed from the committee.
SEC. 16. THE FIRESTONE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE’S POWER TO INVESTIGATE AND OVERTURN
(a) The FEC may through a simple majority vote launch an investigation into an election on the basis that misconduct or a violation of this act existed.
(b) The committee must open an investigation if they see fit within 2 days of the election results being posted.
(c) Such an investigation may, at most, progress for five (5) days.
(d) Notwithstanding section 6j of this act, an election shall not conclude until the conclusion of any ongoing investigations related the election. No candidate may assume their position until said ongoing investigation has concluded.
(e) The FEC, upon finding potential criminal wrongdoing, may recommend prosecution to the Department of Justice.
(f) The FEC may, by supermajority vote, invalidate an election if it is found to have been conducted in violation of this act. Upon the vote passing, the election sponsor shall restart the election process for the given election.
SEC. 17. THE FIRESTONE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE’S MISCELLANEOUS POWERS
(a) The place and manner in which a speech shall be published, as described in § 6, may be changed by a supermajority vote of the FEC.
(b) The place and manner in which a reply shall be made, as described in § 10, may be changed by a supermajority vote of the FEC.
(c) The place and manner in which votes are taken, as described in § 7, may be changed by a supermajority vote of the FEC.
(d) The permitted election rules, as described in § 12, may be changed by a supermajority vote of the FEC.
(e) A supermajority is reached if, for each member against the action, there are at least two members in favor of it.
(f) A simple majority is reached if there are more members in favor of the action than against. Ties are broken by the chairperson.
(g) All members of the committee must be given at least 24 hours to vote on an action. Four members must cast a vote in favor or against for any majority to be reached.
(h) All decisions by the committee must be public at all times, and an accurate record must be kept of such decisions.
(i) The FEC shall have no authority in matters regarding gubernatorial elections, which shall be exclusively managed by our Lord and Savior FederalLaw.
SEC. 18. NULLIFICATIONS
(a) A Bill to Stop Alternate Account Votes (A Bill to Stop Alternate Account Votes) shall be declared null and void.
(b) A bill to implement Instant Run Off voting as the primary way to elect our Governors (A bill to implement Instant Run Off voting as the primary way to elect our Governors) shall be declared null and void.
(c) A Bill to Save The Firestone Elections Committee (A Bill to Save The Firestone Election Committee) shall be declared null and void.
(d) A Bill to Assemble the Firestone Elections Committee (A Bill to Assemble the Firestone Election Committee) shall be declared null and void.
(e) A Bill to Re-Establish Election Rules (A Bill to Re-Establish Election Regulations.pdf - Google Drive) shall be declared null and void.
(f) Bill to Remodel Elections (Bill to Remodel Elections) shall be declared null and void.
(g) A Bill to Simplify Elections (A Bill to Simplify Elections) shall be declared null and void.
(h) An Act to Initiate the Runner-Up (An Act to Initiate the Runner-Up) shall be declared null and void.
(i) A Bill to Solve Election Issues (A Bill to Solve Election Issues - #2) shall be declared null and void.
(j) Prevention of Criminals In Government Act (Prevention of Criminals In Government Act) shall be declared null and void.