SO 2017-8 Electoral Act

Definition : An act to prevent any electoral frauds and reduce the number of ineligible votes.

The region is concerned about the electoral frauds that may happen in future elections. The Presidential Elections that was held not too long ago have spurred the doubts of many nations. I do hereby propose these set of Legislation .

Article i Complete Shutdown Of Incoming Nations During Elections

Nations from this region understands that we have to get more active nations to participate in our politics but it came to my attention that there is an influx of new nations on the Election Day. To solve these problem , we will lock our region with our password at least 2 days before the elections start.New nations can pre register through the forums but not officially registered till the elections are over.
Article ii Criteria to be able to vote
Malaya would be calling for a minimal criteria for nations so that they are legible to vote. This is to ensure those nations know about our region's politics before voting.New nations must be able to have 2 of these criterion before being able to vote.  The Criterion are as such :
- Must be active and engage in our discussions for 1 week .
- Shows interest in upgrading our region
- A minimum of 50 Million Population.
Article iii Investigation Team
As the council is concerned about electoral fraud. We need a special team to investigate the suspicious nations. Preferably, this team shall comprise of our older nations in this game and region. To be specific , nations that has 6 months of commitment in this region. The Investigation Team should have the rights to report any suspicious nations to the MOJ for further actions to be taken. Most trusted nations shall be picked to be part of this team. This team is obligated to investigate any nations if they want to. The Investigation Team is able to detain and temporary disable the detained nations from voting. The Investigation Team shall now be identified as IT .

I do hereby confirmed that this is a legitimate proposed legislation by Islamic State Of Malaya

February 4, 2017
Islamic State of Malaya, Senator
Thomolia, Senator

Debate will last until Thursday February 9, 2017.

In the opinion of the Chair, Article II of this bill violates both Article I Section B of our Constitution and basic rules of grammar which render it vague and highly open to interpretation. I do hereby call on Minister of Jurisprudence Hashkin to advise Parliament on the Constitutionality of this legislation, and request that the author or another Senator to propose an amendment to the bill which would correct all grammar mistakes and eliminate any loose ends which call even more into question the constitutionality of the bill.

In my professional opinion, article 2 of the bill does violate the consitution (Article 1 section B)

Thank you, Minister. The debate may now proceed with the following opinion of the Minister of Jurisprudence, whose job it is "to know the Constitution and the laws passed by Parliament":

Hashkin wrote:In my professional opinion, article 2 of the bill does violate the consitution  (Article 1 section B)

We oppose this bill and will vote it down in the voting chamber.

Can Hashkin provide full details on violating the constitution based on Article iii of this act?

If there is a violation , i would request that i could amend this act to be able to passed and be legislated

I do propose the following amendment to the Act in its entirety:
"Article I: Introduction
Do to recent instances of suspected voter fraud, We, the Parliament of the Union, do move to prevent voter fraud and while preserving the rights of the members of the Union.

Article II: Complete Shutdown Of Incoming Nations During Elections
1) The Founder shall "lock" the region, defined as placing a hidden password on the region, no later than two (2) days before an election and no earlier than five (5) days before an election.
2) Prospective members of the region shall not be permitted to enter the region when it is locked, however they will be permitted to register and interact on the Union Forums.

Article III: Voter Registration
1) The Founder shall create and maintain a private Voter Registration Database (hereinafter "Database"), and a public Eligible Voter List (hereinafter, "List"), the latter being published via dispatch.
2) The Founder shall, within thirty (30) days of the ascension of this Document, draft and publish via dispatch a Voter Registration Form (hereinafter, "Form"), which shall contain fields asking for a nation name and a link to their own forum account.
3) All Members shall have the right to fill out and submit the Form to the Founder via Telegram.
4) The Founder, with the assistance of the Administrative Officers should the Founder elect to delegate the duty to them, shall process the Form within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving the Form.  This shall include confirming the nation in question's right to vote, inserting the relevant information into the Database and the List, and informing the nation in question via Telegram that their Form was processed successfully, if applicable.
5) The Founder shall contact the Ministry of Jurisprudence to determine if the nation in question has the right to vote.
6) If the nation in question does not have the right to vote or did not properly complete the Form, the Founder shall not continue processing the Form and shall telegram the nation in question informing them that their Form was not processed and the reason why.
7) If the nation in question has the right to vote and properly completed the Form, the Founder shall not deny the Form.
8) Members may register to vote at any time, however if a Nation chooses to register within the seven (7) days before an election, they shall be required to Telegram the Minister of Jurisprudence that they consent to the Ministry of Jurisprudence viewing their IP Address once.  The Ministry of Justice may use this information for investigation or prosecution purposes, if required.   The Ministry of Justice shall inform the Founder that the nation in question did indeed consent to the search.
9) If the nation in question did not consent to the search within twelve (12) hours of submitting the voter registration pursuant to Clause 8 of this Article, the nation shall have their Form denied.  This clause shall supersede Clause 7 of this Article.
10) After a nation has their Form processed successfully, they shall be classified as a Registered Voter.
11) Only Registered Voters may vote.
12) The Database shall contain only the nation name, forum account link, and the date when registration was processed and approved for all Registered Voters.
13) The List shall contain only the nation name for all Registered Voters.

Article IV: Investigation Team
1) The Ministry of Jurisprudence shall form an Election Investigation Commission (hereinafter, "EIC") to investigate suspected instances of Voter Fraud.
2) The EIC shall be composed of the three (3) appointed Inspectors, to be appointed by the Minister of Jurisprudence.  Should any conflict of interest occur at any time, the Minister of Jurisprudence shall suspend the Inspector in question and appoint an Interim Inspector to take their place temporarily.
3) The EIC may, with a majority vote, compel the Minister of Jurisprudence to prosecute a nation for Election Fraud.

Article V: Conclusion
We, the Parliament of the Union, do hereby enact the above provisions as Law."

Though I continue to admire and applaud this Parliament's efforts to eradicate Voter Fraud, I must remain opposed to the idea of voter registration on principal. One of the reasons I find this region so great and different from others is the complete absence of procedure around the act of voting in direct elections. I cannot bring myself, however necessary the task, to vote for the removal of this unique badge of trust, especially as I find that SO 2016-6 already gives the Minister of Jurisprudence wide discretion to analyze votes after the election, with the aid of the Founder. Therefore, I will either abstain or vote against this bill, amended or not.

I would however support Libertarian Democracy's amendment, as I find it clarifies the intent of the original bill while removing all possible violations of the Constitution, except for the mandate in Article III Clause 9 that the Voter Registration Form must be denied if the nation in question did not consent within 12 hours to disclosure of their IP address. This, I find, along with the supersession of Clause 7 by clause Clause 9 in Article III, continues to violate Article II Section B of the Constitution.

While I agree with Abdoa that the amendments are not Ideal, and the idea of a Voter Registration is not ideal either, but I think it is the best route to go.

1) I did struggle to write Article III Clause 9. Perhaps it would be better to say something like "the Form will be accepted, but by registering within this time period the nation shall implicitly consent to an IP Search. This must be made clear on the Form dispatch." That way the person can still cast a vote within the 7-day window, but will be subject to a search to remove suspicion.

2) I too dislike Forms, however I intend for the the Voter Registration form to be as simple as possible. Basically all you have to do is TG the Founder and give them your nation name and a link to your forum account. That's it. No lengthy citizenship application things like other region's do that are more complicated than a job application IRL.

I recognize my colleague's remarks and reasoning, and I would request that the amendment be amended to reflect his first point. Also however, though I am relieved about his second point, I think that it should be explicitly mentioned what the form will contain and the medium (TG). Otherwise, I would be prepared to abstain from voting against the final version of the bill if the amendment as I have requested it to be amended is passed.

I do withdraw my previous amendment and hereby propose the following amendment to the Act in its entirety:
"Article I: Introduction
Do to recent instances of suspected voter fraud, We, the Parliament of the Union, do move to prevent voter fraud and while preserving the rights of the members of the Union.

Article II: Complete Shutdown Of Incoming Nations During Elections
1) The Founder shall "lock" the region, defined as placing a hidden password on the region, no later than two (2) days before an election and no earlier than five (5) days before an election.
2) Prospective members of the region shall not be permitted to enter the region when it is locked, however they will be permitted to register and interact on the Union Forums.

Article III: Voter Registration
1) The Founder shall create and maintain a private Voter Registration Database (hereinafter "Database"), and a public Eligible Voter List (hereinafter, "List"), the latter being published via dispatch.
2) The Founder shall, within thirty (30) days of the ascension of this Document, draft and publish via dispatch a Voter Registration Form (hereinafter, "Form"), which shall only contain two fields: one asking for a nation name and the other asking for a link to their respective forum account.
3) All Members shall have the right to fill out and submit the Form to the Founder via Telegram.
4) The Founder, with the assistance of the Administrative Officers should the Founder elect to delegate the duty to them, shall process the Form within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving the Form.  This shall include confirming the nation in question's right to vote, inserting the relevant information into the Database and the List, and informing the nation in question via Telegram that their Form was processed successfully, if applicable.
5) The Founder shall contact the Ministry of Jurisprudence to determine if the nation in question has the right to vote.
6) If the nation in question does not have the right to vote or did not properly complete the Form, the Founder shall not continue processing the Form and shall telegram the nation in question informing them that their Form was not processed and the reason why.
7) If the nation in question has the right to vote and properly completed the Form, the Founder shall not deny the Form.
8) Members may register to vote at any time, however if a Nation chooses to register within the seven (7) days before an election, they shall implicitly consent to the Ministry of Jurisprudence viewing their IP Address once, after the election.  The Nation shall still have their registration processed and be permitted to vote, but if they are found to be guilty of Voter Fraud they shall have their vote stricken from the final count, along with all discovered puppets of that nation.  The Ministry of Jurisprudence may use this information for investigation or prosecution purposes, if required.
10) After a nation has their Form processed successfully, they shall be classified as a Registered Voter.
11) Only Registered Voters may vote.
12) The Database shall contain only the nation name, forum account link, and the date when registration was processed and approved for all Registered Voters.
13) The List shall contain only the nation name for all Registered Voters.

Article IV: Investigation Team
1) The Ministry of Jurisprudence shall form an Election Investigation Commission (hereinafter, "EIC") to investigate suspected instances of Voter Fraud.
2) The EIC shall be composed of the three (3) appointed Inspectors, to be appointed by the Minister of Jurisprudence.  Should any conflict of interest occur at any time, the Minister of Jurisprudence shall suspend the Inspector in question and appoint an Interim Inspector to take their place temporarily.
3) The EIC may, with a majority vote, compel the Minister of Jurisprudence to prosecute a nation for Election Fraud.

Article V: Conclusion
We, the Parliament of the Union, do hereby enact the above provisions as Law."

I do request that Hashkin, as the Minister of Jurisprudence, review this amendment to confirm its legality under the Constitution and previous Acts of Parliament.

Just a comment: Article II.2 basically allows non-region members to participate on the forums without being in the region for seven days maximum every month (almost). This is dangerous for the integrity of the region, I believe.

Otherwise, I now support the amendment.

I do hereby permit and call upon Minister of Jurisprudence Hashkin to inform Parliament on the legality of the amendment.

I do withdraw my previous amendment and hereby propose the following amendment to the Act in its entirety...again:
"Article I: Introduction
Do to recent instances of suspected voter fraud, We, the Parliament of the Union, do move to prevent voter fraud and while preserving the rights of the members of the Union.

Article II: Complete Shutdown Of Incoming Nations During Elections
1) The Founder shall "lock" the region, defined as placing a hidden password on the region, no later than two (2) days before an election and no earlier than five (5) days before an election.
2) Prospective members of the region shall not be permitted to enter the region when it is locked, however they will be permitted to register on the Union Forums, but will not be permitted to interact on the forums until the region is un-locked following the election.

Article III: Voter Registration
1) The Founder shall create and maintain a private Voter Registration Database (hereinafter "Database"), and a public Eligible Voter List (hereinafter, "List"), the latter being published via dispatch.
2) The Founder shall, within thirty (30) days of the ascension of this Document, draft and publish via dispatch a Voter Registration Form (hereinafter, "Form"), which shall only contain two fields: one asking for a nation name and the other asking for a link to their respective forum account.
3) All Members shall have the right to fill out and submit the Form to the Founder via Telegram.
4) The Founder, with the assistance of the Administrative Officers should the Founder elect to delegate the duty to them, shall process the Form within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving the Form.  This shall include confirming the nation in question's right to vote, inserting the relevant information into the Database and the List, and informing the nation in question via Telegram that their Form was processed successfully, if applicable.
5) The Founder shall contact the Ministry of Jurisprudence to determine if the nation in question has the right to vote.
6) If the nation in question does not have the right to vote or did not properly complete the Form, the Founder shall not continue processing the Form and shall telegram the nation in question informing them that their Form was not processed and the reason why.
7) If the nation in question has the right to vote and properly completed the Form, the Founder shall not deny the Form.
8) Members may register to vote at any time, however if a Nation chooses to register within the seven (7) days before an election, they shall implicitly consent to the Ministry of Jurisprudence viewing their IP Address once, after the election.  The Nation shall still have their registration processed and be permitted to vote, but if they are found to be guilty of Voter Fraud they shall have their vote stricken from the final count, along with all discovered puppets of that nation.  The Ministry of Jurisprudence may use this information for investigation or prosecution purposes, if required.
10) After a nation has their Form processed successfully, they shall be classified as a Registered Voter.
11) Only Registered Voters may vote.
12) The Database shall contain only the nation name, forum account link, and the date when registration was processed and approved for all Registered Voters.
13) The List shall contain only the nation name for all Registered Voters.

Article IV: Investigation Team
1) The Ministry of Jurisprudence shall form an Election Investigation Commission (hereinafter, "EIC") to investigate suspected instances of Voter Fraud.
2) The EIC shall be composed of the three (3) appointed Inspectors, to be appointed by the Minister of Jurisprudence.  Should any conflict of interest occur at any time, the Minister of Jurisprudence shall suspend the Inspector in question and appoint an Interim Inspector to take their place temporarily.
3) The EIC may, with a majority vote, compel the Minister of Jurisprudence to prosecute a nation for Election Fraud.

Article V: Conclusion
We, the Parliament of the Union, do hereby enact the above provisions as Law."

I do hereby co-sponsor the amendment.

Debate is closed. Please go vote on the amendments.