Election Schedule

[Claude Desmoulins]

Based on my calculations, the calendar for the upcoming elections is as follows:

Dec 26 - Deadline for candidates to declare intent
Jan 10 - Polls open
Jan 17 - Polls close

FYI

[Sonja Strom]

This is to announce that if I am appointed by the DPU and elected by the Citizens, I will be happy to serve in the next Representative Assembly.

[Ranma Tardis]

I would like subject to approval by the Simplicity Party run for election for the RA.

[Pip Torok]

If I am elected by the DPU and by the citizens the CDS, I would be happy to serve as RA member.

[Patroklus Murakami]

Claude

Could we get an update on the number of citizens in the CDS? This is crucial information for determining the size of the next RA and which factions are eligible to contest the election. The constitution states that the RA is composed of "the odd whole number nearest to 10% of the population, rounded down" which means 7 seats if we have 70 or more citizens and 5 if we have slipped back over recent months.

The number of citizens also determines how large factions have to be in order to contest elections. The 8th RA passed a constitutional amendment which states that "the minimum size requirement for a party to participate in RA elections shall be 10% of the total CDS population, rounded down". So, it's critical that we know how many citizens we have, and who they are, so that we can determine which factions are eligible to contest the elections in January. The current numbers are:

CSDF - 16
DPU - 9
NuCARE - 4
Simplicity - 7

which appears to rule out NuCARE but I'm sure that some of the other 'members' are either former citizens or non-citizens (one or two are in CSDF for example).

The CSDF candidates for the January election will (hopefully!) declare themselves soon.... I won't be one of them!

[Sudane Erato]

To whom it may concern...

The current list of voting citizens can be arrived at by anyone by visiting this page:

http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=224

and referring to the link "CDS Citizen List". This lists, live and at that moment, all citizens who are contained in our database. However, for the purposes of voting eligibility, from this list must be deducted "provisional" citizens... those who are not current with their tier. I can give you that number at any given moment. (I'll have to go count them).

Sudane..................

[Rose Springvale]

Can't give the cite, but don't we have a rule for how long a citizen must have been in CDS before they can vote or hold office as well?

[Patroklus Murakami]

Can't give the cite, but don't we have a rule for how long a citizen must have been in CDS before they can vote or hold office as well?

That is correct, Article V, Section 3 of the Constitution states: "No citizen shall be eligible to vote in any election for public office in the Confederation of Democratic Simulators unless he or she has been a citizen for not less than 28 consecutive days immediately before any such election."

[Rose Springvale]

To whom it may concern...

The current list of voting citizens can be arrived at by anyone by visiting this page:

http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=224

and referring to the link "CDS Citizen List". This lists, live and at that moment, all citizens who are contained in our database. However, for the purposes of voting eligibility, from this list must be deducted "provisional" citizens... those who are not current with their tier. I can give you that number at any given moment. (I'll have to go count them).

Sudane..................

Wow! i didn't realize this was finished! Amazing work Sudane and Brian!! All maps and tier charts are posted and easy to read. This will save HOURS of work in the future!

I just counted and came up with 80 citizens on the list. Of course some wouldn't have been citizens as of December 15, which is the "record date" (unless i counted wrong!)

[Justice Soothsayer]

I will stand again for the RA as a member of the CSDF faction.

Justice Soothsatyer

[Sonja Strom]

it's critical that we know how many citizens we have, and who they are, so that we can determine which factions are eligible to contest the elections in January. The current numbers are:

CSDF - 16
DPU - 9
NuCARE - 4
Simplicity - 7

Thanks to Patroklus for bringing up this issue. I also have been thinking about it, especially because it looks like maybe only two factions have met the qualifications necessary to participate in the election.

As the sponsor of the bill Patroklus cited, I can try to describe its origins, but I would say the main point is its intent. This regulation was put into place to ensure that all factions (the strange CDS term for political parties) on a ballot are legitimate groups of citizens. The structure of the CDS voting system is designed in such a way that all factions on the ballot are nearly guaranteed a seat in the Representative Assembly. This means at some point there should be a regulation of how a faction can qualify to be on the ballot. If we did not have this, it would be possible for every seat in the Representative Assembly to be filled by a different faction. If such a scenario were the case, some of these factions might consist of only a couple of people who wanted to have a seat in the RA for a reason completely different than everybody else in the community, to cause grief and disturbances for example. As we all know, well-considered disagreements are a vital aspect of democracy, but there also has to be a point where the disagreements align, in that they are all trying to do what is best for the community. There is a lot more that can be said about this design, and that already has been said about it elsewhere in this Forum, but I believe I have described the overall intent of this regulation, that factions must demonstrate they have a minimum amount of support from the citizens in order to qualify for an election.

The intent of this regulation was not to exclude existing or legitimate factions from participation in elections.

There are a few different dynamics that have led to the current status Patroklus brought up. One is, some factions have put more effort into gaining and retaining members than others. Another dynamic is, there have been changes in who is living in the CDS, especially with regard to a number of CARE and then NuCARE members choosing to go elsewhere. Another dynamic is that only a certain number of citizens want to join a faction. A few of our most active and prominent citizens do not belong to a faction - a huge loss to the DPU.

Overall it seems to me beneficial for the CDS to have a minimum-percentage requirement for faction participation in elections. However, perhaps the height of the current requirement should be reconsidered. I do not think the minimum percentage should be adjusted simply to allow any certain faction to participate in elections, which would be arbitrary, subjective and actually in a way discriminatory, but I do think legitimate groupings that may simply disagree should not be excluded from participation. Exactly what the ideal minimum percentage would be is difficult for me to determine, but a discussion about possibly lowering the current faction membership requirement might be in the best interest of the community.

[Arria Perreault]

I will run for a second term in the RA as CSDF member.

[Timo Gufler]

After considering a while I decided to participate the election as a member of DPU. If the winds are fair I will happily serve as a member of RA.

[Claude Desmoulins]

Let me begin with a quotation from Article IV Section 2

The minimum size requirement for a party to participate in RA elections shall be 10% of the total CDS population, rounded down.

The minimum faction size is equal to three. No later than 15 days prior to the opening of the polls, faction members will report to the SC Dean their willingness or unwillingness to serve in the RA.....

Now for a couple of comments.

1. The second (partial) paragraph says "report to the SC Dean" I would prefer that that report create some sort of written record. Replying to this thread does that. Dropping me a notecard does that. IMing me does that if I'm not in world since I have IM set to go to email. If you IM when I'm in world please follow up with a notecard. Note that the deadline for doing this is tomorrow.

2. The first part says " 10% 0f the total CDS population..." It does not say 10% of eligible voters.

[symokurka]

This is to announce that if I am appointed by the Simplicity Party and elected by the Citizens, I will be happy to serve in the next RA