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CDSL 43-01 Election Procedures Act

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Preamble

  1. The Constitution of the Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS), hereinafter referred to as the ‘CDS Constitution,’ establishes a system of government grounded in the democratic will of its citizens and constrained by defined electoral terms. Accordingly, elections shall serve as the standard mechanism for appointing officials to key government positions, including the Chancellor, who leads the executive branch, and members of the Representative Assembly, which serves as the legislative body.
  2. To safeguard the continued functioning of the executive and legislative branches, alternative methods of filling offices—such as acclamation without formal elections—may be permitted under exceptional circumstances. Such measures must be subject to strict conditions and controls. Once it becomes feasible to return to the standard process of popular election, that course must be promptly resumed.

Section 1: Eligibility and Declaration of Candidacy

  1. CDS Constitution, Article IV, defines the eligibility for holding a governmental office set by election or – if necessary – acclamation (Paragraph 3), and the eligibility for voting (Paragraph 4).
  2. The declaration of candidacy for the Chancellorship or an RA seat shall be submitted by interested citizens that fulfil the conditions in (1) via notecard (copy – no modify) to the Dean of the Scientific Council within the set time. Any declaration submitted later than the set due date is null and void, and it needs to be repeated when a by-election is called up to fill vacant roles.

Section 2: Election Method

  1. The CDS Constitution, Article I, Paragraph 2(c), specifies that the electoral system will use the Single Transferable Vote method to allocate seats to the Representative Assembly following an election. The CDS will use the ‘Droop quota’ to determine the minimum number of votes a candidate needs to be elected. [CDSL 32-1]
  2. Droop quota is understood to mean: without the decimal part. [CDSL 32-1]
  3. The voting methodology for the Chancellorship will follow the same method as for the Representative Assembly election or Single-Transfer Vote if the current method for the Representative Assembly election does not work for single-candidate elections. [CDSL 13-05]

Section 3: Conditions for Acclamation

  1. If the number of declared candidates for the Representative Assembly is equal to the number of seats, the declared candidates shall be acclaimed into office without a campaign period or polling. [CDSL 32-1]
  2. In the event that there is only one declared candidate for Chancellor, the declared candidate shall be acclaimed into office without a campaign period or polling. [CDSL 13-05 (4)]

Section 4: Regulation of Terms

  1. The Chancellor and the Representative Assembly are elected simultaneously for the same term of 6 months. In general, the regulations of CDS Constitution, Article I, Paragraph 2(d), apply.

Section 5: Procedures how to handle Vacancies in Governmental Roles

This Section details the requirements stated in Paragraphs 2(d) and 5(a) and (d) CDS Constitution:

  1. In a case where the number of candidates declared for the Representative Assembly is less than the number of seats, the Scientific Council may call for a by-election in an attempt to fill any available seat(s) according to Section 6. Seats that remain open after one by-election shall remain vacant for the balance of the term. [CDSL 32-1]
  2. Where a vacancy occurs on or before April 1st or October 1st, and the regular elections for the sitting RA and Chancellor had excess candidates who did not attain a seat, the regular election software will be rerun according to Section 2 using the data from the regular election, to establish the order in which the unsuccessful candidates would have been elected, had there been additional seats on RA available or multiple positions for Chancellor. [CDSL 20-02 (1)]
  3. The Dean of the SC will ask such candidates as defined in (2), in order, if they wish to fill the vacant RA seat or Chancellorship. Once a candidate accepts, the Dean will publish the results and announce the name of the candidate who has accepted. That candidate will be sworn into office as soon as possible. [CDSL 20-02 (1)]
  4. Where there were no unsuccessful candidates in the regular election, or where no qualified candidate accepted the seat or Chancellorship, a by-election will be held as defined in Section 6. [CDSL 20-02 (1)]
  5. Where a vacancy occurs after April 1st or October 1st no by-election will be held and the seat or Chancellorship will remain vacant until the next regular elections. [CDSL 20-02 (3)]
  6. If no candidate declares for Chancellorship by the deadline prior to the election campaign, or if the sitting Chancellor leaves or is removed from office within the first four months of the term, the Scientific Council shall call a special Chancellor by-election. Applications shall open on the date of the public notice and remain open for one week. [CDSL 13-05 (5)]
  7. If the elected Chancellor resigns or is otherwise unable to serve after less than half of the term has elapsed, a replacement Chancellor shall serve for the remainder of that term. This replacement may either be the candidate who received the second-highest number of votes in the most recent election, or a citizen elected in a special by-election. After completing the term, the replacement Chancellor shall be eligible to stand as a regular candidate in future elections, under the same conditions as any other citizen in good standing. [CDSL 13-05 (8)]
  8. If no candidates submit applications during the designated by-election period, the Scientific Council shall issue a renewed call for candidates within 14 days, and (b) may appoint an interim Chancellor from among eligible citizens in good standing to serve until a Chancellor is duly elected. No interim Chancellor may serve beyond the end of the term unless elected in a regular or special election.
  9. If, after two consecutive calls for candidates (including a by-election), no citizen volunteers for the office of Chancellor, the Scientific Council shall: (a) request that the sitting Chancellor, if willing, remain in office in a caretaker capacity until the end of the term; or (b) if no incumbent is willing, appoint the Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA) as Acting Chancellor, with powers limited to essential administrative duties, including the proposal of the new budget. In this case, the LRA pro tempore shall assume the obligations and duties of the LRA. Such interim arrangements shall last only until the next scheduled election, when the office of Chancellor must be filled by popular vote or acclamation.

Section 6: Regulations for the Change of Terms

  1. The Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA) of the outgoing term shall contact the Dean of the Scientific Council (SC) in a timely manner to schedule the inaugural meeting of the new RA term. This meeting should ideally take place on the first weekend following the start of the new term, but no later than the second weekend.
  2. The Executive shall schedule the traditional Inauguration Ball within the same time frame as the RA inaugural meeting—that is, within the first two weekends of the new term. The Ball should not be scheduled during the outgoing term. Once the event is scheduled, the Executive must announce it via all standard communication channels and add it promptly to the official calendar.
  3. The outgoing Chancellor shall remain in office on a provisional basis until the new Chancellor is officially sworn in.
  4. Outgoing members of the RA shall continue to serve provisionally until the inaugural RA meeting has been held and new officers have been elected.
  5. Immediately after the close of the polls, the Dean of the SC shall invite the new RA members to the inaugural meeting using all official communication channels, including the Forum, group messages in-world, and individual messages (IMs), to ensure all members are informed and able to attend and vote for new officers.
  6. The official swearing-in of the new Chancellor and members of the RA shall occur at whichever event takes place first: either the RA inaugural meeting or the Inauguration Ball.
  7. Swearing-in ceremonies arranged on short notice and outside of these two official events should be avoided in order to underscore their formal and ceremonial significance to the CDS community. Any government members unable to attend either event shall be sworn in at the next regular RA meeting.

Section 7: By-Elections

  1. To ensure a current Citizen List is in place in the event of a by-election, a census will be taken on the last Friday of July, August, January and February and will be used to create a Citizen List, using the procedures legislated in CDSL 16-04 Citizenship membership publication for election purposes. This Citizen List shall be posted in the Forums, on the portal, and inworld by the Chancellor,(or in the event of a Chancellor vacancy, the Dean of the SC) with information on how to challenge inclusion or exclusion from the list. [CDSL 20-02 (2)]
  2. Any citizen may challenge inclusions or exclusions within 14 days of publication, by notecard to the Dean of the SC. Where no challenges have been received, or once any challenges have been resolved, the Citizen List will be declared accurate and official. [CDSL 20-02 (2)]
  3. If a vacancy occurs on or before March 31st, or on or before September 30th, the most recent Citizen List shall be used to establish those who qualify to stand for election or to vote. [CDSL 20-02 (2)]
  4. The SC shall meet and create a schedule for the by-election, ensuring that all of the following timeframes are observed:
    1. The Dean of the SC will open new applications on the day notice is officially published in the Forums and close applications after a week.
    2. The Dean of the SC will declare the Citizen List to be official once the deadline for challenges has passed, and when any challenges have been resolved.
    3. Only those citizens whose names appear on the official Citizen List may run for office or vote in the by-election.
    4. The Dean of the SC will ensure that all candidates are listed on the Citizen List and will publish an official list of candidates to the Forums and inworld.
    5. The campaigning period may begin at noon SLT on the Saturday following the publication of the official candidate list, but not before noon SLT on the 22nd day following the date the census was conducted.
    6. The polls for the by-election may open at noon SLT the following Saturday, but not before the 29th day following the date the census was conducted, and will remain open for 168 hours. In the event of a server outage which prevents citizens from casting ballots and lasts more than 12 hours, the Dean of the SC has the authority to adjust or extend the election schedule. [CDSL 20-02 (2)]

Section 8: Resignation from Governmental Roles

  1. To ensure that it is clear when a government official has resigned and the process to replace him or her must begin. To also provide a record of such resignation, and provide a check and balance to ensure that resignations are acted on. [CDSL 20-01]
  2. A member of government who wishes to resign will do so by submitting a notecard to the LRA and to the Dean of the SC indicating that he or she is resigning; he or she will also post a notice of their resignation in the relevant discussion Forum of his or her arm of government:
    1. Chancellor in the Executive Branch Announcements Forum
    2. RA member in the Representative Assembly Discussion Forum [CDSL 20-01]
  3. The LRA shall immediately post a notice of the resignation in the RA Announcements Forum and by in-world notice in the C.D.S. group and request that the process for replacement begin. [CDSL 20-01]
  4. If the LRA chooses to resign, he or she will do so by notecard to the Dean of the SC, who will immediately post a notice of the resignation in the SC Announcements Forum and by inworld notice to the C.D.S. group, and begin the process for replacement. [CDSL 20-01]
  5. If the Dean of the SC has received a notecard of resignation and the individual resigning has posted their resignation in the designated Forum, the Dean will proceed with the process of replacement, even in the absence of a notice or request from the LRA. [CDSL 20-01]

Section 9: References to Retired Acts related to Elections

  1. This Act incorporates regulations covered in a number of now retired CDS Acts:
    • Section 2 (1)-(2): [CDSL 32-01]
    • Section 2 (3): [CDSL 13-05]
    • Section 3 (1): [CDSL 32-01]
    • Section 3 (2): [CDSL 13-05 (4)]
    • Section 5 (1): [CDSL 32-01]
    • Section 5 (2)-(4): [CDSL 20-02 (1)]
    • Section 5 (5): [CDSL 20-02 (3)]
    • Section 5 (6): [CDSL 13-05 (5)]
    • Section 5 (7): [CDSL 13-05 (8)]
    • Section 7 (1)-(4): [CDSL 20-02 (2)]
    • Section 8 (1)-(5): [CDSL 20-01]