44RZ05 - The Where do you Want to be Oiled First? Amendment

WHEREAS many citizens of Talossa are uncomfortable with the ballots submitted for elections to the Senate becoming public knowledge, and

WHEREAS some citizens have expressed concerns that such a system tends to favour one side or another as the ballots come in, or that citizens feel pressure to vote in a particular way, and

WHEREAS technology has advanced to the point where a reliable secret ballot system for such a dispersed community of citizens is possible, and

WHEREAS with proper Organic requirements, such a system can indeed be employed to conduct Talossan elections without eliminating the important advantages that the currently Organically-mandated system provides to the nation, and

WHEREAS leaders of the provincial governments have advocated the use of alternate electoral schemes for the election of Senators, and

WHEREAS the use of these alternate schemes, if certified as fair by the royal authority of the province, can be of no harm, and permitting the Senatorial elections to be conducted by provincial authority will offload the overburdened Chancery, now

THEREFORE be it resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification:

Section 1. Section 2 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "Elections for the filling of places in the Senäts shall be conducted by the Secretary of State in accordance with election law. These elections shall be conducted simultaneously with general elections to the Cosâ." is replaced in full by the following text:

Elections for the filling of places in the Senäts shall be conducted simultaneously with general elections to the Cosa.

Section 2. Section 5 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "A political partiy may endorse a candidate for any vacant Senate seat. In the event that a voter specifies that party as his choice for that Senate seat, his vote shall be counted for the candidate so endorsed." is replaced in full by the following text:

A political party may endorse a candidate for any vacant Senate seat. In the event that a voter specifies that party as his choice for that Senate seat and the election is conducted by the Chancery, his vote shall be counted for the candidate so endorsed.

Section 3. Section 6 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "The candidate receiving a plurality of the vote shall be declared the winner. In case of a tie between two or more candidates, the executive officer of the province shall select one of those candidates to be the Senator." is replaced in full by the following text:

Any Senatorial election conducted by the Chancery shall be conducted according to the provisions given in Section 6 of Article VII concerning election to the Cosa, and the candidate receiving a plurality of the vote shall be declared the winner. In case of a tie between two or more candidates, the executive officer of the province shall select one of those candidates to be the Senator.

Section 4. Section 7 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "Voting is not secret. As soon as one's votes are cast, they become public knowledge." is replaced in full by the following text:

Unless a province explicitly requests that Chancery conduct the election to the Senate seat for that province, the province shall be responsible for doing so, and shall certify to the Chancery that the result represents the will of the people.

Noi urent q'estadra så,
Ma la Mha, Contă Thord (Seneschal)
Brad Holmes (Senator-AK)
Iustì Carlüs Canun (Senator-MA)
Viteu Marcianüs (Senator-VD)
Dame Litz Cjantscheir (MC-RUMP)
Sir Mick Preston (Senator-MM)