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The Celestial Union of Lazarus

The Elections Act


The Cosmic Council enacts:

PART 1 — PRELIMINARY

1. Purposes
The purposes of this Act are –

To codify and standardize the conduct of elections in Lazarus –
to solidify certain traditions regarding elections into procedure; and
to ensure continued peaceful and stable transfers of power.


2. Commencement
This Act comes into operation upon passage.


PART 2 — TEXT

3. The Timing of Elections

1) General Elections shall be held on the 8th day of :
January, May, and September for the Celestial Being.
February, May, August, and November for Sovereign, Defender of the Realm, and Convenor.
March, July, and November for the Prelates and Guardians.


2) General Elections shall last for a duration of fourteen (14) days, ending on the 22nd day of the month in which they began.

3) Special Elections shall be held as soon as reasonably possible once a vacancy in an elected office appears.
For the purposes of this Act, "as soon as reasonably possible" shall be defined as the moment an election commissioner is able to confirm the vacancy and access the elections sub-forum to open the standing period.

4) Special Elections shall last for a duration of seven (7) days.


4. The Composition of Elections

1) General Elections shall be composed as follows;
A four (4) day standing period.
A six (6) day campaigning period.
A four (4) day voting period.


2) Special Elections shall be composed as follows;
A two (2) day standing period.
A three (3) day campaigning period.
A two (2) day voting period.


3) In Regards to Prelates: In the clauses Article IV SS3E, and Article IV SS6 of the mandate, the term 'elect' shall be interpreted to mean a simple majority confirmation vote in the Cosmic Council.

5. The Conduct of Elections

1) The Election Commissioner determined by deliberation with their fellow commissioners to have the least conflict of interest in the election will officiate the election.
If there is only one commissioner at the time of the election they will serve by default.
If all available commissioners find themselves to have irreconcilable conflicts of interest they may ask the Convenor, or the Holy Prelate when applicable to appoint another commissioner.


2) Any eligible citizen will be considered a candidate for election upon stating their intent in the standing thread posted by the Election Commissioner.
"eligible citizen" is determined by the Mandate as follows; "a) hold the status of Core World and have done so for the continuous period of no less than three months, (b) not have been convicted of a crime."
An eligible citizen must not have met the consecutive term limit for the position they stand for, as outlined by the Mandate.


3) Candidates may begin campaigning in the elections sub forum immediately once they declare their candidacy in the standing thread.

4) After the full four (4) day standing period has elapsed, the standing period will be considered closed and the Election Commissioner will close the standing thread.
Any candidacy declarations submitted after the four (4) day period has elapsed will be considered invalid.


5) Immediately after nominations are closed, the six (6) day campaigning period will begin.

6) Upon the conclusion of the campaigning period, the Election Commissioner will open the voting thread and the four (4) day voting period will commence.
The voting thread will remain open for the full period of four (4) days or 96 hours after the Election Commissioner opened the voting thread.
Any votes submitted after the 96 hour period has passed will be considered invalid.


7) If no candidate receives a majority of votes, including abstention votes, (50+1%) the Election Commissioner will immediately open a 48 hour run-off voting period between the two candidates who received the largest shares of the vote. In the instance where votes to abstain receive a majority, the Election Commissioner will re-open nominations.

8) A citizen whose application was accepted during a regular or special election cycle is unable to cast a vote in said election.

9) A special election term is not to count towards consecutive term limits for potential candidates.

6. Election Commissioners

1) Any Councillor with Forum Administrator privileges may serve as an Election Commissioner.

2) If no Forum Administrator is available, any Guardian may serve as an Election Commissioner.

3) Election Commissioners are appointed by the Convenor,
If the Office of Convenor is vacant, or the Convenor cannot be contacted for more than seven (7) days the Holy Prelate may appoint an Election Commissioner.

4) Once appointed Election Commissioners serve an unlimited term.

5) Election Commissioners may be recalled by a simple majority vote of the Cosmic Council.