2013/L1 Amendments to The Fiôván Elections and Referendum Law (Fiova)

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WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE PROVINCE AND PENDING ACTS IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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This law is currently IN FORCE

Sponsored by: Carlüs Xheraltescu

Approved by:

4 — 0 — 0

Date: 4 November 2013/XXXIV

It amends the following:

2012/L1 The Fiôván Elections and Referendum Law (Fiova)

Fiôvâ Provincial Chancery

WHEREAS as a FREE province we should endeavour to unshackle ourselves as far as possible so as to maximise our autonomy, and

WHEREAS devolved elections grant us the opportunity to run a Senatorial election as we believe it should be run, and

WHEREAS the key to a free and fair election is anonymity and secrecy when casting one's vote, now

THEREFORE, be it enacted by the General Assembly of Fiova that the following changes be made to 2012/L1 The Fiôván Elections and Referendum Law.

1. TITLE II.1 be amended to read as follows:

This section shall apply equally to elections for the Capitán, the Senator and to referendums.

2. The entirety of TITLE III be amended to read as follows:

TITLE III: Elections for the Capitán and Senator of Fiôvâ

1. The Secretary of State shall call for nominations for Capitán of Fiôvâ whenever an election becomes due under the Constitution, or Organic Law in the case of the position of Senator.
2. Nominations for Capitán and Senator shall be communicated to the Secretary of State, no more than seven days after the opening of nominations. The Secretary of State may, if in the circumstances it seems expedient to the creation of fairer elections, extend the deadline for nomination.
3. Upon the day following the close of nominations, if no nominations have been received, then the election shall be void and the Secretary shall then restart the election process at a time of his/her choosing. Otherwise, the Secretary of State shall publish the names of all candidates standing, as well as their fifty word statements. Seven days following that, s/he shall make the ballot paper available to all electors as outlined in the subsequent sections of this Section and in Section 5.
4. At the close of the voting period, the Secretary of State shall count the votes in accordance with Section 5 of this Act. Unless the election is void, the Secretary shall then declare the successful candidate to be Capitán of Fiôvâ, or in the case of the Senatorial election, Senator of Fiôvâ.

3. TITLE V be amended to read as follows:

TITLE V. The Preferential Voting System for the Capitán and Senator

PART ONE. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Nominations for Capitán and Senator of Fiôvâ shall include:
   1. the candidate's full name;
   2. their party affiliation (if any); and
   3. a statement, no longer than fifty words, of the candidate’s aims and objectives.
2. Upon the receipt of the nomination, if the nomination is in order, the Secretary of State shall confirm to the candidate that their nomination has been accepted.
3. Upon the close of nomination, the Secretary shall publish the name of each candidate, their party affiliation (if any), and their fifty-word statement.

PART TWO. COUNTING VOTES FOR CAPITÁN AND SENATOR ELECTIONS

1. In this Section, unless the contrary intention appears-
   1. "quota" means the number of votes sufficient to elect a candidate at an election, being the first whole number which is greater than half of the total number of votes received;
   2. "second preference recorded for a candidate" means the recording on a ballot-paper of the number "2" in the square opposite the name of a person whose name appears on the ballot paper as a candidate;
2. The ballot paper for a Capitán and Senator election shall be prepared as follows:
   1. the names of the candidates, in the form of the candidate's surname followed by his or her initials, shall appear on the ballot paper in a random order;
   2. each ballot paper shall have an "abstain" option listed last on the ballot paper after the names of all the candidates; and
   3. a box shall appear to the left of each name and the "abstain" option in which electors will fill out their preferences.
3. Each voter shall then place a number in the box next to the name of each candidate they wish to vote for in order of preference, with "1" being the first preference, "2" being the second preference and so on. If the elector does not wish to vote for any candidate, they shall place a number "1" in the box next to the "abstain" option, and their vote shall not be counted towards any candidate, and shall not be used in determining the quota. Any preferences expressed after the "abstain" option shall be of no effect.
   1. If more than half of the ballots indicate the "abstain" option, then the election shall be void and the Secretary shall then restart the election process at a time of his/her choosing.
4. To determine the successful candidate, the number of first preferences recorded for each candidate shall first be counted.
5. A candidate who has, after the first preferences have been counted, a number of such preferences equal to or greater than the quota shall be declared elected.
   1. Where after the first preferences have been counted no candidate has obtained the quota, the candidate who, at that time, has the least number of first preference votes transferred to him/her as provided by this Part, shall be excluded, and all the votes obtained by him/her shall be transferred to the candidates next in order of the electors' respective preferences.
   2. The ballot-papers obtained by an excluded candidate which indicate no further valid preferences shall be declared "exhausted", and set aside as finally dealt with.
6. The process of excluding the candidate who has polled the next lowest number of votes at the election and transferring to other candidates his/her votes shall be repeated until the total number of exhausted votes is greater than the amount of votes required to enable all unexcluded candidates to reach a quota. The candidate with the most votes shall then be declared elected.
7. Where at any time it becomes necessary to exclude a candidate, and 2 or more candidates having the same number of votes, have at that time, the least number of first preference votes transferred to them as provided by this Chapter, then whichever of those candidates was recorded as having the lowest number of votes at the last count or transfer at which they had an unequal number of votes shall be first excluded. If those candidates have had an equal number of votes at all preceding counts or transfers, the Secretary of State shall decide which of those candidates shall be first excluded.
8. In determining which candidate is next in the order of an elector's preference, any candidates who have been declared elected or who have been excluded shall not be considered, and the order of the elector's preference shall be determined as if the names of those candidates had not been on the ballot-paper.
9. Where on a transfer it is found that on any ballot-paper to be transferred there is no candidate opposite whose name a number is placed, other than a candidate whose name has already been either declared elected or excluded, those ballot-papers and their votes shall be set aside as exhausted.