Law:50RZ16 The Electoral Commission Reform Act
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 EPHEMERAL STATUS |
LEGEU |
It amends the following: |
 Cosă: PASSED |
| Per 164 — Con 11 — Aus 13 |
 Senäts: PASSED |
| Per 8 — Con 0 — Aus 0 |
L'Anuntziă dels Legeux |
View Clark Result |
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.
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