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REGION OF RIGHT TO LIFE
Established June 1, 2011




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Reforming the Constitution; Three Ideas from the Founder
Topic Started: Wednesday May 24 2017, 01:30 AM (834 Views)
Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

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The June 2017 election is almost here. As I mentioned on the regional message board, I think the 19th Senate should consider reforming the regional constitution. Here are my three ideas:
  • An Independent Delegate: Since 2012, the President and the WA Delegate of Right to Life have been the same person. In 2012, this made a lot of sense because, in the game, the Delegate was the only nation with whom the Founder could share executive powers. As you might recall, NationStates added regional officers in October 2015, forever changing the dynamics of regional management. Our constitution has not been adjusted to account for this major change, and I've been wondering lately whether it might be a good idea to separate the presidency and the delegacy. The President would be elected forum-side and would continue to serve as the head of government. The Delegate would continue to be elected game-side and would focus exclusively on matters related to the World Assembly -- resolutions, endorsements, etc.

  • An Independent Executive: Related to the proposal above, it also might be reasonable to take the President out of the Senate, thereby separating the executive and legislative branches. Of course, this has been proposed several times in the past. Removed from the legislative process, the President could focus his attention on making Right to Life a better, more active region through various programs, initiated and carried out by himself and his ministers. The role of the Founder would continue to be primarily administrative -- keeping the region peaceful and orderly and enforcing its laws (with the needed assistance of moderators and other officials).

  • A Flexible Senate: A perennial issue in regional politics has been the size of the Senate. Right now, the Senate has three members: the President and two senators. In the past, the Senate had five members: the President, a Vice President, and three senators. The five-member Senate was abandoned, and we returned to the three-member Senate because there were simply not enough players willing to run for the extra two seats. If the second proposal above were adopted, there would be three senators, elected once every four months. I think three is a good number for a region our size, but we should provide for the Senate's expansion for the times when activity and interest are unusually high. My recommendation: the Senate will have three members, unless more than six candidates run. If more than six candidates run, the number of senators elected will be equal to one-half of the number of candidates, fractions rounded down. To prevent tied votes, if the number of senators is even (e.g., a four-member Senate), we could give the President a casting vote.



Of course, the main concern would be staffing -- getting enough players to fill all of the offices:
  • Executive Council
    Founder
    President
    Delegate
    Foreign Minister
    Interior Minister

  • Regional Senate
    Senator
    Senator
    Senator

  • Independent Officers
    Bank Director
    Cartographer
    Justice of the Peace
    News Director
The only possible solution that I see would be to minimize the number of restrictions on citizens serving in multiple offices. In my opinion, the only necessary restrictions would be the following:
  • The Founder may not serve as the President, a senator, or the Justice of the Peace.
  • The President may not serve as a senator or the Justice of the Peace.
  • A senator may not serve as the Justice of the Peace.
Consequently, all 12 regional offices could conceivably be staffed by as few as six players. For example:
  • Executive Council
    Founder -- A
    President -- B
    Delegate -- B
    Foreign Minister -- C
    Interior Minister -- D

  • Regional Senate
    Senator -- C
    Senator -- D
    Senator -- E

  • Independent Officers
    Bank Director -- E
    Cartographer -- F
    Justice of the Peace -- F
    News Director -- A
Edited by Culture of Life, Wednesday May 24 2017, 01:43 AM.
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New Missouri
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The United Empire of New Missouri

I agree with Stellonia, but I think we should use cumulative voting.
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The RCS
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Billy Graham

New Missouri
Sunday Jun 11 2017, 08:19 PM
I agree with Stellonia, but I think we should use cumulative voting.
After looking up more on it, I'm fine with that too. Given good conditions of course.
Edited by The RCS, Sunday Jun 11 2017, 09:14 PM.
I'm a Proud Southern Protestant Christian from the great state of North Carolina // Conservative Trump Republican // and a Proud fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and the North Carolina Tar Heels
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Stellonia
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So, does range voting sound good?
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The RCS
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Billy Graham

It sounds good to me, would you mind to write it up since you're the mastermind behind it.
I'm a Proud Southern Protestant Christian from the great state of North Carolina // Conservative Trump Republican // and a Proud fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and the North Carolina Tar Heels
Citipointe Live
 
Jesus, be glorified
Your ways are higher than mine
Washed away every stain, Lord
No greater love than the blood, Lord
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Stellonia
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RTL Const. 4:1
 
The Senate is the regional legislature and the supreme court. There are three senators, including the President.

RTL Const. 5:1
 
The nominations period for presidential elections shall be from the last seven days of the months of March, July, and November first to seventh days of the months of March, June, September, and December. The voting period for presidential elections shall be from the first three days of the months of April, August, and December eighth to tenth days of the aforementioned months.

RTL Const. 5:4
 
The Founder is responsible for breaking any ties that might occur in a presidential election. If the incumbent President is involved in a tie, then the Founder shall break the tie in favor of against that candidate.

RTL Const. 6:1
 
The nominations period for senatorial elections shall be from the last seven days of the months of January, May, and September fifteenth to twenty-first days of the months of January, April, July, and October. The voting period for senatorial elections shall be from the first three days of the months of February, June, and October twenty-second to twenty-fourth days of the aforementioned months.

RTL Const. 6:3
 
Senatorial elections shall take place publicly on the regional forums. Subject to such reasonable restrictions that the statutory law may impose, anyone who holds citizenship in the region at the beginning of the nominations period and maintains it through the whole election process may vote. Each eligible voter can vote for one candidate up to two candidates. The two three candidates who receive the most votes shall be elected.

RTL Const. 6:4
 
The Founder is responsible for breaking any ties that might occur in a senatorial election. If an incumbent senator is involved in a tie, then the Founder shall break the tie in favor of against that candidate.
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Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

Stellonia
Monday Jun 12 2017, 02:10 AM
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First, I think Sections 5.1 and 6.1 should be reworded to ensure that citizens have a full seven days to declare their candidacies and campaign and that voters have a full three days to cast their ballots. Above, I suggested the following language (which also has the advantage of being more concise):
  • "Presidential elections shall begin on the first day of the months of March, June, September, and December. There shall be seven days of nominations followed by three days of voting."

  • "Senatorial elections shall begin on the fifteenth day of the months of January, April, July, and October. There shall be seven days of nominations followed by three days of voting."
Second, the incumbency rule hasn't been discussed yet. If your fellow senators would also like to see the rule changed, then I'd be willing to sign a bill changing it.

Third, your draft uses [wiki]limited voting[/wiki]. Are we sure that we want limited voting to be our system, or would [wiki]cumulative voting[/wiki] be a better option? I'm willing to poll the region's residents on this matter.

Spoiler: click to toggle

Fourth, the constitution should explicitly bar the Founder and the President from serving in the Senate. In my opinion, the following wording would be good for Section 4.1:
  • "The Senate is the regional legislature and the supreme court. There are three senators, and none of them shall be the Founder or the President. Nevertheless, the Founder and the President shall each have the right to propose legislation and open votes in the Senate chamber."
Fifth, your bill doesn't mention term limits. Have you changed your mind on this issue? (Please say yes.)
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Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

Currently, cumulative voting is winning overwhelmingly in the regional poll. Based on this poll and on the comments above, here's a draft for a bill that I hope will satisfy all of your goals.
  • Article 2 -- minor changes for clarity and for codifying some customary powers
  • Article 3 -- expands the powers and duties of the President (since he'll no longer be a senator)
  • Article 4 -- removes the President from the Senate (separation of powers)
  • Article 5 -- shortens the term of office for the President to three months; adds a term limit for the President; removes the incumbency tiebreaker rule
  • Article 6 -- shortens the term of office for a senator to three months; adds a term limit for senators; removes the incumbency tiebreaker rule
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I still think the term limits should not be included.

Is my draft missing any constitutional reforms that you want and on which all three of you can agree, or is there anything in the draft that any one of you would like to see removed?
Edited by Culture of Life, Thursday Jun 15 2017, 04:38 AM.
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Billy Graham

Looks good, I'm good with everything here.
I'm a Proud Southern Protestant Christian from the great state of North Carolina // Conservative Trump Republican // and a Proud fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and the North Carolina Tar Heels
Citipointe Live
 
Jesus, be glorified
Your ways are higher than mine
Washed away every stain, Lord
No greater love than the blood, Lord
- From the song Providence (Broke My Chains)
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New Missouri
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The United Empire of New Missouri

I think it looks good.
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Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

Culture of Life
Thursday Jun 15 2017, 03:55 AM
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Stellonia, what are your thoughts?

In addition, I think we should include the following appendix:
Quote:
 
Appendix: These constitutional amendments shall take effect on July 15, 2017.
That would give the Senate time to adjust the regional code so that it complies with the new appointments clause (RTL Const. 3:2). Also, New Missouri wouldn't have to resign from the Senate and appoint a replacement because the next senatorial election would be scheduled to start on July 15.
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