The Elections Act

Legislature State Legislature
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The Elections Act

STATE OF FIRESTONE

September 27, 2023

AN ACT

TO

ESTABLISH A MODERN ELECTION SYSTEM

SECTION I: SEVERABILITY; EFFECTIVENESS

  1. This act shall be deemed effective once all conditions outlined by the constitution necessary for its passage are properly fulfilled.
  2. This act shall not apply to any ongoing elections at the time this act is deemed effective.

SECTION II: PRESIDING OFFICERS; RESPONSIBILITY

  1. The Founder, or anyone designated by the Founder, shall be the election sponsor for Gubernatorial Elections.
  2. Any official designated an election sponsor according to the Constitution or other relevant law shall comply with this act. Election sponsors shall only have authority over elections they are hosting and are empowered to host by the Constitution and other relevant laws.
  3. Election sponsors have a responsibility to remain impartial whilst performing their duties as an election sponsor. Electon sponsors have a responsibility to exercise due caution and fairness in the execution of their duties.

SECTION III: ELECTION GUIDELINES

  1. To start an election, the election sponsor is responsible for creating a post on the State of Firestone forums that must include:
    1. The start time of the campaigning period,
    2. The end time of the campaigning period, which shall indicate the deadline for signatures,
    3. The start time of the voting period,
    4. The end time of the voting period.
    5. The amount of supporters/signatures necessary to be considered on the voting ballot.
  2. Typographical errors in the election announcement may be corrected.
  3. The end time of the voting period must be at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the term ending. This shall not apply to Gubernatorial elections. This shall not apply to already vacant seats.
  4. Winners shall not assume office until the term (if applicable) of the seated official(s) has concluded.
  5. In the event the election sponsor is unable to create a post on the State of Firestone forums, an alternate election sponsor shall have the ability to make the post for them, however, the election sponsor shall still decide the contents of that forum post.
  6. In the event the Firestone forums are no longer functional, the Founder shall be authorized to dictate an alternate system.
  7. The election sponsor shall be prohibited from enforcing election rules other than the ones outlined in this act or other law.
  8. The result of the election must be truthfully reported and honored by the election sponsor OR anyone tasked with reporting the election results.

SECTION IV: ADDITIONAL ELECTION RULES

  1. Candidates may not commit any crime against democracy, as defined in Chapter 12 of the Firestone Criminal Code.
  2. Candidates may not maliciously harass anyone for support.
  3. Election sponsors must disqualify candidates for failure to abide by any constitutionally mandated requirements. These requirements need not be explicitly stated by the election sponsor in the election rules.
  4. Should a candidate have an unexpunged, unpardoned, or otherwise unremoved felony arrest or conviction, the election sponsor must disqualify the candidate.
  5. Candidates may not violate any other section in this act or violate any other election requirements or rules set by law.

SECTION V: CANDIDACY

  1. To run, you must be a Citizen of the State of Firestone.
  2. Candidates using an alternate account to run for office shall be disqualified.
  3. To run, a candidate, or someone on their behalf, 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. In the event someone is posting the speech on behalf of a candidate, they shall also specify the name of the candidate running. This process shall also be referred to as declaring candidacy.
  4. If a candidate is running with a running mate for a position that allows or requires such, the running mate shall also be subject to the election rules and provisions in this law and any other law dictating elections.
  5. If the running mate drops out, is disqualified, or is no longer eligible, the candidate must redeclare with a new running mate (if in the campaigning period), or shall not be considered a valid candidate. They cannot transfer votes from their old campaign post or support forum to their new one.
  6. Anyone running for Governor must have a running mate to fill the Lieutenant Governor position. Anyone running for Lieutenant Governor must have a running mate to fill the Governor position.
  7. If voting has already begun when a candidate or, if applicable, their running mate, drops out, is disqualified, or is no longer eligible, then the vote must be reconducted with both the candidate and their running mate removed from the ballot.
  8. The election sponsor shall set the amount of supporters/signatures necessary to be considered on the voting ballot. Candidates who fail to reach the set amount of supporters/signatures required shall not be allowed on the voting ballot.
  9. 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.
  10. After reaching the set amount of supporters/signatures, a candidate must comment their speech below the election announcement. Commenting before reaching the set amount of supporters/signatures shall not fulfill this requirement.

SECTION VI: VOTING SYSTEMS

  1. After the conclusion of the campaigning period, the election sponsor shall create a forum post with a poll on the Firestone Forums. The options for this poll shall be the names of the candidates who reached the necessary amount of support, have not dropped out, and have not been disqualified.
    1. This shall not be required for gubernatorial elections.
  2. For gubernatorial elections, voting shall occur in a manner at the discretion of the Founder.
  3. The anonymity of voters shall be maintained except to verify eligibility.
  4. All alternate accounts correlated to any other persons who have supported or voted for a candidate shall not be counted in the final vote count.
  5. All elections in the State of Firestone, except for runoff elections, shall be conducted using the First Past the Post (FPTP) system. In the First Past the Post system, each voter shall only vote for one candidate on the ballot.
  6. The election sponsor determines the winners by awarding seats to the candidates who receive the highest number of votes until all available seats are filled. If the remaining term length varies between the positions, candidates with more votes shall be seated to serve longer.
  7. In the event there is only one seat available, the election sponsor has a choice between two processes for conducting an election:
    1. The candidate with the most votes wins the only seat.
    2. The candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote wins the seat. In the event no candidate receives 50% of the vote, runoff voting shall be performed between the two candidates with the most votes. A new separate forum post with a poll shall be created with the candidates. The seat is awarded to the candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote.
  8. If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes and have received enough votes for an available seat, but there is not enough seats to accommodate the tied candidates, runoff voting shall be performed between those candidates in the same manner as for the first vote. A new separate forum post with a poll shall be created with the tied candidates. The election sponsor determines the winners by awarding seats to the candidates who receive the highest number of votes until all available seats are filled.
  9. Should the runoff voting for a Senate seat end in a tie between 2 individuals, the House of Representatives shall vote on which individuals are declared winners for the available seats.
  10. Should the runoff voting for a House of Representatives seat end in a tie between individuals, the Senate shall vote on which individuals are declared winners for the available seats.
  11. Ties for any Gubernatorial election shall be handled by a process determined by the Founder, or any individual he may designate.
  12. Ties in all other elections shall be broken by an untampered, public game of chance in which each candidate has an equal chance of winning a seat. This process shall continue until all available seats are filled. This game of chance must be reasonably transmissible.

SECTION VII: VOTING CRIMES

  1. Chapter 12 of the Firestone Criminal Code shall be established with the title “Crimes Against Democracy”.
  2. Chapter 12, Section 1 of the Firestone Criminal Code shall be established and be titled, “§1 - Vote Buying”.

    It shall be a Class C Felony and recognized as a “Courts Only” offense. It shall state,

    "(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."

  3. Chapter 12, Section 2 of the Firestone Criminal Code shall be established and be titled, “§2 - Voter Intimidation”.

    It shall be a Class C Felony and recognized as a “Courts Only” offense. It shall state,

    "(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."

  4. Chapter 12, Section 3 of the Firestone Criminal Code shall be established and be titled, “§3 - Voter Suppression”.

    It shall be a Class C Felony and recognized as a “Courts Only” offense. It shall state,

    "(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."

  5. Chapter 12, Section 4 of the Firestone Criminal Code shall be established and be titled, “§4 - Subverting Democracy”.

    It shall be a Class C Felony and recognized as a “Courts Only” offense. It shall state,

    "(a) The act of Subverting Democracy shall be recognized as a criminal offense within the State of Firestone.

    (b) Subverting Democracy shall be the act of deliberately failing to honor the results of an election. Intentionally falsely disqualifying a candidate shall also be considered Subverting Democracy.

    (c) This section shall only be applicable if an official action in the capacity of an election sponsor subverted democracy. Speeches shall not be considered official actions."

SECTION VIII: RUNNER-UP

  1. Should an official resign from an election position they won or be banned from the community within 2 weeks of winning that seat, the runner-up shall assume the position.
  2. If the runner-up could be any of two or more people, neither may assume the position, which shall be considered vacant.
  3. This section shall not apply to positions with a line of succession established by law.

SECTION IX: MISCONDUCT

  1. If an election sponsor fails to follow this act, either intentionally or because of gross negligence, it shall be grounds for impeachment or removal, at the discretion of the relevant legislature.
  2. Election sponsors have a responsibility to take into consideration all factors before a disqualification, including, but not limited to, fairness of the disqualification, intent of the candidate, and the weight of the candidate’s actions.
  3. Election sponsors must have a preponderance of evidence that the candidate being disqualified committed the actions in question.
  4. When disqualifying a candidate, the election sponsor must share the reason for disqualification and the evidence with the candidate before disqualifying the candidate. The election sponsor shall also
  5. A council of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and County Executive shall be created to address disputes over disqualifications. Any individual legally empowered to act in the official capacity of any of these positions shall do so if the position is vacant or the position-holder is on leave of absence. If such an individual does not exist and a position on the council is vacant or the position-holder is on leave of absence, the council may still conduct business.
  6. The council may (not required) add a fifth member who has the unanimous consent of all four council members. Their membership shall be reconsidered every four months, in which they shall require unanimous consent to stay on the council. This member can be removed from the council with a majority vote. This member shall not be a member of Congress, the Governor’s cabinet, or the Governor’s staff.
  7. This council shall not hear disputes over disqualifications in Gubernatorial elections. The Founder or anyone he designates shall have sole jurisdiction over disputes over disqualifications in Gubernatorial elections.
  8. An individual who believes they were falsely disqualified may petition this council within 24 hours of the disqualification with a formal complaint stating:
    1. Their name,
    2. The election they were disqualified in,
    3. The name of the election sponsor who disqualified them,
    4. Why they were disqualified,
    5. and why they believe the disqualification was false.
  9. The council shall then have 24 hours to vote on whether to uphold the disqualification. If the election sponsor who disqualified the individual is on the council, they shall not be permitted to vote. A majority vote is required to uphold a disqualification. If a member of the council permitted to vote fails to vote, their vote shall be considered an abstain or no vote.
  10. If the council does not uphold the disqualification, the disqualification shall be considered overturned. If the council ties, the disqualification shall be considered overturned.
  11. If an individual’s disqualification is overturned and the individual has already met the necessary supports necessary to make the voting ballot, then voting shall be reconducted with the individual on the ballot. Supports from after the disqualification shall count.
  12. If an individual’s disqualification is overturned and the individual has not already met the necessary supports to make the voting ballot, then the ongoing or completed vote shall remain in effect. Supports from after the disqualification shall count.
  13. If applicable, the reconducted voting must conclude before the term of the seated official(s) has concluded.
  14. Election sponsors are expected to only reconduct a vote after all ongoing disqualification disputes for that election are complete.
  15. If the winner or composition of winners changes as a result of a reconducted vote, then these shall be considered the new election results and winner(s).
  16. Individuals who are disqualified during the campaigning period are expected to continue to collect signatures/supports if they plan to contest their disqualification, so if the disqualification is overturned, they still have the necessary supports to reach the ballot.

SECTION X: ENFORCEMENT AND NULLIFICATION

    a. A Bill to Stop Alternate Account Votes, defined as A Bill to Stop Alternate Account Votes, shall be repealed.

    b. A bill to implement Instant Run Off voting as the primary way to elect our Governors, defined as A bill to implement Instant Run Off voting as the primary way to elect our Governors, shall be repealed.

    c. A Bill to Save The Firestone Elections Committee, defined as A Bill to Save The Firestone Election Committee, shall be repealed.

    d. A Bill to Assemble the Firestone Elections Committee, defined as A Bill to Assemble the Firestone Election Committee, shall be repealed.

    e. A Bill to Re-Establish Election Rules, defined as A Bill to Re-Establish Election Regulations.pdf - Google Drive, shall be repealed.

    f. Bill to Remodel Elections, defined as Bill to Remodel Elections, shall be repealed.

    g. A Bill to Simplify Elections, defined as A Bill to Simplify Elections, shall be repealed.

    h. An Act to Initiate the Runner-Up, defined as An Act to Initiate the Runner-Up, shall be repealed.

    i. A Bill to Solve Election Issues, defined as A Bill to Solve Election Issues, shall be repealed.

    j. Prevention of Criminals In Government Act, defined as Prevention of Criminals In Government Act, shall be repealed.

CHIEF SPONSOR

Speaker of the House CanadlanLaw

CO SPONSOR(S)

AestheticallyHappy
FaithFCM
AydenJulien
ScottMcAllister
kyhuls
ADMIRAL_RICKY
SwedishVic

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