[Discussion] Plurality Voting

[The Almighty Jesus Whale]

From what I've seen, preferential voting does lead to run-offs, so that would be something to keep in mind. Another similar approach would be to say when there are more than two candidates, if no one reaches majority, the lowest voting getting candidates are removed and the top two candidates are voted on for majority.

That could be a little of a simpler approach than potentially going through a ranking system.

Well like Cormac said, that'd cause elections to drag on for longer, IRV would do all of that instantly and wouldn't require more time for elections.

[Jakker]

From what I've seen, preferential voting does lead to run-offs, so that would be something to keep in mind. Another similar approach would be to say when there are more than two candidates, if no one reaches majority, the lowest voting getting candidates are removed and the top two candidates are voted on for majority.

That could be a little of a simpler approach than potentially going through a ranking system.

Well like Cormac said, that'd cause elections to drag on for longer, IRV would do all of that instantly and wouldn't require more time for elections.

True true that's fair.

[Revall]

Can we have a theoretical example of preferential/ranked voting to better illustrate the concept I'm not doing a great job of seeing it in my head.

[Andrew]

Can we have a theoretical example of preferential/ranked voting to better illustrate the concept I'm not doing a great job of seeing it in my head.

I think this is a close, if not exact, explanation of what is being proposed.

[Cormac]

Can we have a theoretical example of preferential/ranked voting to better illustrate the concept I'm not doing a great job of seeing it in my head.

Let's take a hypothetical Pharaoh election as the example. First, voters would rank their candidates in order of preference, ranking the person they most prefer first and the person they least prefer last. Here's what an example ballot might look like:

1. Jakker
2. Ridersyl
3. The Almighty Jesus Whale
4. Revall

The election administrator would count votes by first counting everyone's first choice. If, for example, Jakker receives a majority after the first choices are counted, great; Jakker is elected Pharaoh. If there isn't a majority for anyone from the first choices, the second choices are counted. If Syl receives a majority from the combination of first and second choices, he is elected Pharaoh. And so on, until a majority is achieved.

The benefit to this system over plurality voting is that it ensures that the Pharaoh is someone who has broad majority support, even if that person is only the first choice of a plurality of people, because they will be the first or second choice of a majority. In a plurality system, the person actually elected might not be even the second or third choice of a majority -- they could be a majority of people's last choice, their least favorite, and still end up elected Pharaoh because they had a slim plurality in their favor.

Essentially all voters need to know is that they should rank candidates in order of preference. This system is as easy for voters as is any system. It's a bit more complicated for the election administrator, but not by much.

[Revall]

Thanks Cormac! I'm on board with preferential voting it'll also make our elections more interesting.

[Jakker]

Once we get a general consensus of what we want to do, we can start drafting some amendments. It might be easier to first write up something on its own and then we can take the wording and fit it into an amendment.

[The Almighty Jesus Whale]

I can take a stab at writing a draft, and then we can go from there.

[The Almighty Jesus Whale]

So we'd be amending Section VI of the State Code, which currently states,

Section 6: Election of Officials

1. The following officials will be elected from among the membership of the Deshret and will have the following length of term:

(a) The Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order will have a term of three months.
(b) The Keeper of the Deshret will have a term of two months.

2. There will be no limit to the number of terms any elected official may serve.

3. All elected officials will be elected by plurality vote of the Deshret.

4. In the event that any elected office becomes vacant, an election for that office will begin as soon as practical following the vacancy.

What I'd propose amending it to is

Section 6: Election of Officials

1. The following officials will be elected from among the membership of the Deshret and will have the following length of term:

(a) The Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order will have a term of three months.
(b) The Keeper of the Deshret will have a term of two months.

2. There will be no limit to the number of terms any elected official may serve.

3. All elected officials will be elected as prescribed in the Election Administration Act.

4. In the event that any elected office becomes vacant, an election for that office will begin as soon as practical following the vacancy.

With that out of the way, I will now propose an amendment to the Elections Administration Act, namely Sections I and II.

Proposed amendment to Section I which currently states

1. Elections for Keeper of the Deshret will be administered by the Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order. Elections for Pharaoh will be administered by the Keeper.

2. In the event that an electoral administrator is standing for office in an election they are designated to administer or the office of the electoral administrator is vacant, administration of that election will pass to the most senior member of the Deshret who is not standing for that office and is available to serve as electoral administrator.

3. In the event of a tie, the electoral administrator will vote to break the tie and otherwise will not vote in an election they are administering.

I'd propose amending it to strike out Subsection III, as under IRV it would not be needed.

1. Elections for Keeper of the Deshret will be administered by the Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order. Elections for Pharaoh will be administered by the Keeper.

2. In the event that an electoral administrator is standing for office in an election they are designated to administer or the office of the electoral administrator is vacant, administration of that election will pass to the most senior member of the Deshret who is not standing for that office and is available to serve as electoral administrator.

3. In the event of a tie, the electoral administrator will vote to break the tie and otherwise will not vote in an election they are administering.

Section II currently reads

1. The election period for any elected office will begin with a three day period for submission of candidacy, followed by a two day period for additional campaigning, followed by a three day period for voting. Candidates may campaign throughout an election period.

2. An election period will begin eight days before the expiration of an elected official's term or as soon as practical after an elected office is vacated. Should an election period for any reason be delayed, the incumbent official will continue to hold office until conclusion of the election period.

3. In any election, members of the Deshret may vote for one eligible candidate who has submitted candidacy or may vote abstain/present. Votes of abstain/present will count only toward participation in the vote for the purpose of retaining membership in the Deshret.

4. In the event that only one candidate stands for an election the Deshret will hold a confidence vote for that candidate.
In a confidence vote councilors may vote Aye, or Nay on the candidate.

5. In the event that the candidate fails to obtain a majority of the vote then the office shall be declared vacant.

I would like to propose amending Subsections IV as a majority will always be found after voting with IRV. Subsection III will be reworded to allow for abstentions and present votes, but getting rid of the vote for one candidate language.

1. The election period for any elected office will begin with a three day period for submission of candidacy, followed by a two day period for additional campaigning, followed by a three day period for voting. Candidates may campaign throughout an election period.

2. An election period will begin eight days before the expiration of an elected official's term or as soon as practical after an elected office is vacated. Should an election period for any reason be delayed, the incumbent official will continue to hold office until conclusion of the election period.

3. In any election, members of the Deshret may vote for one eligible candidate who has submitted candidacy or may vote abstain/present. Votes of abstain/present will count only toward participation in the vote for the purpose of retaining membership in the Deshret. Members of the Deshret may vote present or abstain such votes will count only toward participation in the vote for the purpose of retaining membership in the Deshret.

4. In the event that only one candidate stands for an election the Deshret will hold a confidence vote for that candidate.
In a confidence vote councilors may vote Aye, or Nay on the candidate.

5. In the event that the candidate fails to obtain a majority of the vote then the office shall be declared vacant. In any election, Members of the Deshret may vote for any and all candidates who have accepted or declared their candidacy for office by ranked ballot. Members may rank their first preference for the respective office first, their second preference second, and so on. If a candidate reaches a majority of the vote on the first ballot, they win the election. If no candidate reaches a majority on the first ballot, the candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated, and the second preferences of their voters will be distributed. This process will be repeated until a candidate reaches a majority.

This seems a bit clunky to me, but it spells out the process in what I think are the most basic terms possible.

Thoughts, concerns, comments, questions?

[Cormac]

I've cleaned JW's suggestions up a bit and put them into legislative format. Thanks JW for laying the groundwork for that. I've also included an option to reopen candidacy submissions (reopen nominations) in place of our current "confidence vote" system, as that makes more sense with ranked choice voting than does the current confidence vote system.

As a note, I did leave the language about a tie in place, as we could still end up in a tie once we're down to two candidates in ranked choice voting.

Election Administration Amendment

Section 1: Amendments to the State Code

1. Section 6.3 of the State Code of Osiris will be amended as follows:

3. All elected officials will be elected by plurality vote of the Deshret.

3. All elected officials will be elected by majority vote of the Deshret, as prescribed by law.

Section 2: Amendments to Statutory Law

1. Section 1.3 of the Election Administration Act will be amended as follows:

3. In the event of a tie, the electoral administrator will vote to break the tie and otherwise will not vote in an election they are administering.

3. In the event of a tie involving two choices at the conclusion of instant run-off voting, the electoral administrator will vote to break the tie and otherwise will not vote in an election they are administering.

2. Section 2.3-5 of the Election Administration Act will be amended as follows:

3. In any election, members of the Deshret may vote for one eligible candidate who has submitted candidacy or may vote abstain/present. Votes of abstain/present will count only toward participation in the vote for the purpose of retaining membership in the Deshret.

4. In the event that only one candidate stands for an election the Deshret will hold a confidence vote for that candidate.
In a confidence vote councilors may vote Aye, or Nay on the candidate.

5. In the event that the candidate fails to obtain a majority of the vote then the office shall be declared vacant.

3. In any election, members of the Deshret must rank all eligible candidates and the option to reopen candidacy submission from most to least preferred on their ballot, or may vote abstain/present.

4. The option to reopen candidacy submission will be included in all elections. Should the reopening of candidacy submission receive majority support, the election period will be restarted.

5. The candidate elected to office in any election will be the candidate who receives majority support in the election. If no candidate receives majority support on the first count, instant run-off voting will be conducted.

3. The following will be amended into Section 2 of the Election Administration Act as Section 2.6:

6. Instant run-off voting will be conducted by eliminating the choice ranked first on the fewest ballots, and transferring the vote(s) of any member(s) who ranked this choice first to their next preferred choice, as indicated by their ballot. This process will be repeated until a candidate or the option to reopen candidacy submission receives majority support.

4. The following will be amended into Section 2 of the Election Administration Act as Section 2.7:

7. Votes of abstain/present in any election will count only toward participation in the vote for the purpose of retaining membership in the Deshret, and will not count for or against majority support needed to be elected to office or to reopen candidacy submission. Members may vote abstain/present only as a substitute for casting a ballot, and may not substitute abstain/present for ranking each choice on their ballot.

5. The following will be amended into Section 3 of the Election Administration Act as Section 3.1(e):

(e) Majority support: A simple majority of votes cast in an election, excluding votes of abstain/present.