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Elections Contingency Act 2018

Writer's picture: ParliamentParliament

[Passed 6-0. Royal Assent: 18 May 2018]

An Act to provide for contingencies for election procedures when the Election Manager is unable to follow the prescriptions of law, and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Burgesses in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. SHORT TITLE

This act may be cited for all purposes as “Elections Contingency Act.”

2. PROVIDING CONTENGENCIES FOR ELECTION SETTINGS

A. The Election Manager shall, to the best of their ability, follow all prescriptions of law concerning the settings to be used for the OpaVote elections process.

B. In the event the Election Manager is unable to follow these instructions due to a feature or option no longer being available for free, the Election Manager may deviate from these prescriptions of law that they are unable to follow. The Election Manager shall take care to ensure that such deviations are as limited as possible.

C. The Election Manager shall take care to ensure that any such deviations are not prejudicial to any one party.

D. In the event the Election Manager must deviate from these prescriptions of law, the election manager shall publish a notice in the Tartannac Gazette declaring such deviations immediately after taking such an action.

E. Candidates may appeal the Election Manager’s deviations to the Court of Common Pleas on the following grounds:

E1. On the grounds that the deviation was unnecessary and that the Election Manager could have followed the prescription of law on OpaVote without incurring a fee.


E2. On the grounds that the deviation was prejudicial to at least one party to a degree that a reasonable person could find that it could have impacted the results of the election.

E3. On the grounds that the Election Manager did not publish a notice of the deviation in the Tartannac Gazette within 4 hours of making such a deviation.

E4. On the grounds that the Election Manager’s deviation was excessive and that the Election Manager could have addressed the issue through a less disruptive deviation.

F. Any appeal of the Election Manager’s decision to the Court of Common Pleas must occur within 3 days of when the deviation occurred.

G. In the event the Court of Common Pleas or higher Court of Appeal agrees to hear a case regarding the decision of an Election Manager, it may, at its discretion, stay the results of the election pending a final disposition of the case.

H. In the event the Court of Common Pleas, or higher Court of Appeal, finds that the Election Manager acted inappropriately, the Court may invalidate the election and order a new election without delay. The Court may also issue a ruling directing the Election Manager to address an issue that requires deviation in a different fashion. The candidates may also request a new election manager, who shall be selected under the provisions outlined by law.

I. The rulings of the Court of Common Pleas may be appealed to the appropriate Appellate Court by either party.

3. LIMITATIONS TO DEVIATIONS

A. No Election Manager may declare that anything but a plurality of votes is needed for a candidate to win an election. In the event OpaVote does not allow plurality elections without a fee, the Election Manager may run an election poll stating a different threshold, but the final results reported to His Majesty shall reflect an election so long as one person has achieved a plurality of votes.

B. No Election Manager may omit a name of a candidate who has been lawfully nominated as a candidate for the office that is being elected.


4. COMMENCEMENT

This legislation and all the provisions therein shall come into force upon receiving the Royal Assent.

THE MEANING OF CERTAIN TERMS EMPLOYED IN THIS ACT:

1. “Election Manager” shall refer to the Sovereign, or any person whatsoever who is designated as an Election Manager in an election under the provisions of Sconnish Law.

2. “The Prescription(s) of Law” shall refer to all mandates by statute, order-in-council, or court order concerning the conduct of a Sconnish Election.

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