Proposal 1: Voting Rules and Procedure

[Osmany Ramon]

Here is my basic outline for how Voting Rules and Procedures should be done. Critique, respond, debate below and once we have a polished version, we will put it up for a vote. I know this is boring stuff but we need some kind of rules for who can vote, how we vote, etc. etc. It will make our lives easier down the line.
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Proposal 1: Voting Rules and Procedures
Day 681, 19:30

Voting Privileges in the Internationale Congress
1) Voting privileges will be extended to the Chairman of the Internationale and one (1) representative from each member party in good standing who shall be called a Member of Congress.
a) A party in good standing is defined as a party that has been duly admitted to the Internationale and is in compliance with membership requirements, including but not limited to being current in dues payments.
b) Member parties may appoint their Member of Congress in any manner of their choosing.

Quorum
1) No vote shall be upheld unless a quorum of the Voting Members of Congress has been achieved on each individual vote.
2) A quorum of the Congress of the Internationale shall consist of a simple majority of its membership voting "Yes", "No", or "Present".

Introducing Business to Congress
1) Topics may only be introduced to Congress by the Chairman of the Internationale or a Member of Congress.
a) Non-Members of Congress must find a Member of Congress to sponsor their business and introduce it to the Congress for consideration.
2) Business is brought before the Internationale by posting a new topic on the forums under the "Congress" topic.
a) The subject of the post should start with "Proposal" and the proposal's number (example: "Proposal 1: Voting Rules and Procedures").
b) The proposals will be in numerical order.
3) Time and date of the proposal's introduction will be included at the top of the proposal (example: "Day 681, 19:00").
4) Proposals will be open for discussion and debate for at least 48 hours from the date and time stamp provided.

Voting on Proposals
1) Once a proposal has been open for discussion for a minimum of 48 hours, a member of Congress of the Chairman can move to put the proposal up for a vote.
2) If the move to put the proposal up for a vote is seconded by a Member of Congress or the Chairman, a new topic will be started with amended proposal as the text.
a) The subject of the post should start with "Vote" and the proposal's number (example: "Vote 1: Voting Rules and Procedures").
3) Time and date of the vote's commencement will be included at the top of the vote (example: "Day 681, 19:30").
4) Votes will be open for a period of 48 hours from the time stamp provided.
5) Members of Congress may vote "Yes", "No", or "Present"
a) A "Present" vote counts towards the quorum but does not count as a "Yes" or a "No"
6) If at the end of the 48 voting period, a quorum has been reached, the votes will be tallied and a simple majority will determine if the proposal is adopted.
a) If quorum is not reached, the proposal will be defeated automatically.

Congressional Record
1) All Proposals and Votes, once they have been completed, will be locked and moved to a section of the forums dedicated to preserving such records.
2) The Proposals and Votes will be viewable by the public and may not be deleted.

[Osmany Ramon]

That's kind of a basic procedure but it's open for discussion right now. Since this has not yet been adopted, I suppose we will leave it up for anyone to vote on when it comes time. Once it is adopted, then only votes by Members of Congress and the Chairman will be counted in future votes.

[Maksim Chuikov]

I agree with everything, except section: Voting Priviledges, article 1.

Voting privileges will be extended to the Chairman of the Internationale and one (1) representative from each member party in good standing who shall be called a Member of Congress.

I must begin by saying, I have complete faith in you, Osman. The proposals that are going to be posted in the coming weeks are going to be proposals which everyone benefits from. But when it starts expanding into international aid, the chairman position may very well become a race for 'an extra vote'. Even if the chairman's rights to voting may be restricted, in the end how can we monitor he doesn't vote in the interest of his party. It may become harder in the future to change this idea therefore I'm proposing this now.

We must minimize faction build-ups and split in the Internationale, not to mention corruption. This is the first step.

- M. Chuikov

[Osmany Ramon]

Good point and this was never clearly defined in the constitution. Perhaps we treat the Chairman as a Member of Congress in all ways except voting?

I was going to do another proposal next that defined who is eligible for Chair and how they are elected. I figured we should keep the Chair position open too who wish to run but only Congress elects them. If this is the case, and the Chair is not elected from a pool consisting of only Members of Congress, then I agree, the Chair should have no vote.

If on the other hand, the Chair ends up being more like a Prime Minister, where he/she is a Member of Congress elected by Congress to the position, then the Chair should be able to vote because otherwise the the Chair's party loses voting privileges.

I like the first idea because it will allow anyone in the world to run but still requires that they campaign for the office and therefore must be known by Members of Congress.

I move to change the wording of that clause to:

"Voting privileges will be extended to 1 representative from each member party in good standing who shall be called a Member of Congress."

Can I get a second?

[Phoenix Quinn]

Seconded

[Osmany Ramon]

Amended Proposal
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Proposal 1: Voting Rules and Procedures
Day 681, 19:30

Voting Privileges in the Internationale Congress
1) Voting privileges will be extended to 1 representative from each member party in good standing who shall be called a Member of Congress.
a) A party in good standing is defined as a party that has been duly admitted to the Internationale and is in compliance with membership requirements, including but not limited to being current in dues payments.
b) Member parties may appoint their Member of Congress in any manner of their choosing.

Quorum
1) No vote shall be upheld unless a quorum of the Voting Members of Congress has been achieved on each individual vote.
2) A quorum of the Congress of the Internationale shall consist of a simple majority of its membership voting "Yes", "No", or "Present".

Introducing Business to Congress
1) Topics may only be introduced to Congress by the Chairman of the Internationale or a Member of Congress.
a) Non-Members of Congress must find a Member of Congress to sponsor their business and introduce it to the Congress for consideration.
2) Business is brought before the Internationale by posting a new topic on the forums under the "Congress" topic.
a) The subject of the post should start with "Proposal" and the proposal's number (example: "Proposal 1: Voting Rules and Procedures").
b) The proposals will be in numerical order.
3) Time and date of the proposal's introduction will be included at the top of the proposal (example: "Day 681, 19:00").
4) Proposals will be open for discussion and debate for at least 48 hours from the date and time stamp provided.

Voting on Proposals
1) Once a proposal has been open for discussion for a minimum of 48 hours, a member of Congress of the Chairman can move to put the proposal up for a vote.
2) If the move to put the proposal up for a vote is seconded by a Member of Congress or the Chairman, a new topic will be started with amended proposal as the text.
a) The subject of the post should start with "Vote" and the proposal's number (example: "Vote 1: Voting Rules and Procedures").
3) Time and date of the vote's commencement will be included at the top of the vote (example: "Day 681, 19:30").
4) Votes will be open for a period of 48 hours from the time stamp provided.
5) Members of Congress may vote "Yes", "No", or "Present"
a) A "Present" vote counts towards the quorum but does not count as a "Yes" or a "No"
6) If at the end of the 48 voting period, a quorum has been reached, the votes will be tallied and a simple majority will determine if the proposal is adopted.
a) If quorum is not reached, the proposal will be defeated automatically.

Congressional Record
1) All Proposals and Votes, once they have been completed, will be locked and moved to a section of the forums dedicated to preserving such records.
2) The Proposals and Votes will be viewable by the public and may not be deleted.

[Osmany Ramon]

Proposal Passed
Day 686 16:30

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