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Connotar wrote:How are Prime Ministers and those guys elected?

I'm glad you asked

We have a lecture available for "Elections and How To Vote" below;


Elections and How to Vote
New Union College - Faculty of Union Law and Politics - 006

Format
10-Minute Read

Associate/s
Caduceo

Date
11/06/2020



Elections are one of the key things that allow us to practice our freedoms and rights democratically in the Union of Force, as we elect many of the government officials which pave the way our Union takes.

To help you be aware of how Elections work, the different types of elections, candidacy eligibility, and how you can utilise your right to vote, this module will aim to spread awareness regarding those topics.

Elections are come in two forms, both of which are enshrined in our Constitution. First are General Elections, which occur every four months on the first days of March, July, and November. These elect the Prime Minister, all seats in the House of Representatives except for those from the Capital (Force), and all Court Justices.

Second are the Midterm Elections, which also occur every four months but on the first days of January, May, and September (which are two months after every General election, thus they are called "Midterm") and these elect the Capital territory's seats in the House of Representatives and all Court Justices.

So how are these Elections done? As mentioned, they all start on the first day of the month they are held, and are started, overseen, and run by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. There are three stages of Elections, each must be started within 12 hours after the previous stage. The first three days are dedicated to candidacy announcements, where Citizens can announce their intention to run if eligible (if they are allowed to based on their region, what position it is, if they're not prohibited by a punishment, etc.), followed by three days of debate, where there are required questions provided by the Founder and/or the Speaker, and if candidates don't answer these required questions, they can be disqualified from the race. Any Citizen may also ask questions to any of the candidates but those aren't required. Finally, the last stage is four days of voting.

Some additional information for these stages:
  1. Each stage may be shortened by up to one day "should circumstances necessitate it", but the length of a stage may not be changed once that stage has begun.

  2. The Speaker shall be responsible for sending a telegram to all citizens of the Union's capital region and is urged to send one to each of its states, notifying them of the start of each election stage. They shall do the same on the Force Discord Server.

  3. If the Speaker is unable to perform these duties, the responsibility of doing so shall fall to the Deputy Speaker. If for whatever reason, the Deputy Speaker is unable to fulfill these duties either, the Chief Justice shall be endowed with these responsibilities.

  4. No emergency election for a vacant office shall conflict with a regularly scheduled election for that same office.

Before the actual guide to voting, I want to briefly discuss the different methods of voting available in Union elections. One is ranked choice voting, which the Constitution defines as: "If there are more than two candidates, voters may rank their preferred candidates. Their favorite candidate shall be ranked 1, their second favorite 2, and so on as far as they wish to do rankings. Each candidate may only be ranked once.", there's also alot of additional clauses in the Constitution which talks about ranked preference:
First preference votes shall be counted initially. If a candidate achieves a majority after this, they shall be elected. Otherwise, the candidate with the least votes shall be eliminated and the second preferences of that candidate's voters shall be counted instead. This process of elimination and counting next preferences shall be repeated until one candidate has a majority of votes; If no candidate can be eliminated or more than one can be eliminated, the second preferences of all voters shall take the place of first preference ones. If a candidate has a majority of votes at this stage, they shall be elected. Otherwise, this process shall be repeated with each successive preference until it is possible to eliminate just one candidate. If no candidate achieves a majority, an instant runoff shall be triggered. The second preference of those who voted for a candidate other than the two with the most votes shall be counted, then their third preference, and so on until a candidate has a majority of votes. If all of a voter's preferences have been eliminated, their ballot shall not be used in further counting. Abstentions shall not be considered in determining whether or not a candidate has achieved a majority. If for any reason, this process of elimination does not result in a candidate holding a majority of the vote, another vote, following the same procedures and lasting only one day, shall be held.
In elections for House Representatives and Court Justices, however, it's much simpler. For House Reps, ballots shall allow residents of each territory to vote for or against each candidate running for that territory's seat(s). They may vote, at maximum, for as many candidates as there are available seats, and the candidates with the most votes are elected. For Justices, all Citizens can vote for or against each candidate. They may vote, at maximum, for up to five candidates if there are at least that many candidates for the position. Otherwise, they may vote, at maximum, for up to three candidates. The candidates with more votes for than against them shall be elected.

We used to vote in elections through our Linkoffsite forums, where we simply posted our ballots publicly. That was before we started using the Union Voting System, a special program made by our very own Founder, Renegalle, which processed our ballots safely, systematically, and anonymously. It does everything from prevent voting fraud, allow you to change your ballot with specially generated IDs, and list down all the votes in a spreadsheet to be safely released to the public once the voting ends. The LinkUnion Voting System might be confusing to some newcomers, however, so here's a guide for using it to vote.
  1. When it is time to vote, you will receive a telegram or a Discord announcement notifying you that you can visit the Union Voting System (found at https://forcens.com/vote/) and submit your ballot.

  2. As the page instructs you, open your NationStates account in a new tab before entering your nation name into the box and continuing.

  3. The next page is where I see alot of people get confused. For this, you'll need a verification code from NS, which confirms that it's actually you voting and not anyone else. You can get this either by logging into the frame that is inserted on the page, but alot of times it might get difficult. So you can also open the link provided to you on that page (the one that says "by clicking here") - it might be easier for you to access on a computer rather than a mobile device at times. Afterwards, just copy the generated code, paste it in the box, then proceed.

  4. Now here comes the important step, entering your ballot. I've mentioned the types of voting earlier, so here are examples ranked preference voting for Prime Minister as well as voting for House Representatives.

  5. Once you've submitted your vote, congratulations! You have officially practiced your right to vote. You will receive a unique ballot number, which you should never share, because this allows you to change your vote during the election period.

  • Now what if you want to change your vote? Simple - just grab your ballot number, return to the main page (https://forcens.com/vote/), and click the "Change My Vote" button and repeat step 4

Read dispatch

Post self-deleted by Zinoca.

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• How many languages can you speak, and which ones?

Tigslarlowducken wrote:I can speak fluent British and American. My Canadian is a tad rusty.

Same

Caduceo wrote:Question #22 - are you using NS's Light more or Dark mode?

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• How many languages can you speak, and which ones?

2! English and Spanish. Im hoping to make it three by learning italian.

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• How many languages can you speak, and which ones?

3 and those are English, Serbian and most of Croatian because it's a similar language.

Sidervida

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• How many languages can you speak, and which ones?

I can speak good swedish and good english, just started learning english.
And i can understand a lot norwiegian cause it is similar to swedish but i can't speak it tho so i gues that wasen't the question.

Sidervida and ThePerfectSociety

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• How many languages can you speak, and which ones?

I speak English fluently and a little German

Caduceo wrote:I'm glad you asked

We have a lecture available for "Elections and How To Vote" below;


Elections and How to Vote
New Union College - Faculty of Union Law and Politics - 006

Format
10-Minute Read

Associate/s
Caduceo

Date
11/06/2020



Elections are one of the key things that allow us to practice our freedoms and rights democratically in the Union of Force, as we elect many of the government officials which pave the way our Union takes.

To help you be aware of how Elections work, the different types of elections, candidacy eligibility, and how you can utilise your right to vote, this module will aim to spread awareness regarding those topics.

Elections are come in two forms, both of which are enshrined in our Constitution. First are General Elections, which occur every four months on the first days of March, July, and November. These elect the Prime Minister, all seats in the House of Representatives except for those from the Capital (Force), and all Court Justices.

Second are the Midterm Elections, which also occur every four months but on the first days of January, May, and September (which are two months after every General election, thus they are called "Midterm") and these elect the Capital territory's seats in the House of Representatives and all Court Justices.

So how are these Elections done? As mentioned, they all start on the first day of the month they are held, and are started, overseen, and run by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. There are three stages of Elections, each must be started within 12 hours after the previous stage. The first three days are dedicated to candidacy announcements, where Citizens can announce their intention to run if eligible (if they are allowed to based on their region, what position it is, if they're not prohibited by a punishment, etc.), followed by three days of debate, where there are required questions provided by the Founder and/or the Speaker, and if candidates don't answer these required questions, they can be disqualified from the race. Any Citizen may also ask questions to any of the candidates but those aren't required. Finally, the last stage is four days of voting.

Some additional information for these stages:
  1. Each stage may be shortened by up to one day "should circumstances necessitate it", but the length of a stage may not be changed once that stage has begun.

  2. The Speaker shall be responsible for sending a telegram to all citizens of the Union's capital region and is urged to send one to each of its states, notifying them of the start of each election stage. They shall do the same on the Force Discord Server.

  3. If the Speaker is unable to perform these duties, the responsibility of doing so shall fall to the Deputy Speaker. If for whatever reason, the Deputy Speaker is unable to fulfill these duties either, the Chief Justice shall be endowed with these responsibilities.

  4. No emergency election for a vacant office shall conflict with a regularly scheduled election for that same office.

Before the actual guide to voting, I want to briefly discuss the different methods of voting available in Union elections. One is ranked choice voting, which the Constitution defines as: "If there are more than two candidates, voters may rank their preferred candidates. Their favorite candidate shall be ranked 1, their second favorite 2, and so on as far as they wish to do rankings. Each candidate may only be ranked once.", there's also alot of additional clauses in the Constitution which talks about ranked preference:
First preference votes shall be counted initially. If a candidate achieves a majority after this, they shall be elected. Otherwise, the candidate with the least votes shall be eliminated and the second preferences of that candidate's voters shall be counted instead. This process of elimination and counting next preferences shall be repeated until one candidate has a majority of votes; If no candidate can be eliminated or more than one can be eliminated, the second preferences of all voters shall take the place of first preference ones. If a candidate has a majority of votes at this stage, they shall be elected. Otherwise, this process shall be repeated with each successive preference until it is possible to eliminate just one candidate. If no candidate achieves a majority, an instant runoff shall be triggered. The second preference of those who voted for a candidate other than the two with the most votes shall be counted, then their third preference, and so on until a candidate has a majority of votes. If all of a voter's preferences have been eliminated, their ballot shall not be used in further counting. Abstentions shall not be considered in determining whether or not a candidate has achieved a majority. If for any reason, this process of elimination does not result in a candidate holding a majority of the vote, another vote, following the same procedures and lasting only one day, shall be held.
In elections for House Representatives and Court Justices, however, it's much simpler. For House Reps, ballots shall allow residents of each territory to vote for or against each candidate running for that territory's seat(s). They may vote, at maximum, for as many candidates as there are available seats, and the candidates with the most votes are elected. For Justices, all Citizens can vote for or against each candidate. They may vote, at maximum, for up to five candidates if there are at least that many candidates for the position. Otherwise, they may vote, at maximum, for up to three candidates. The candidates with more votes for than against them shall be elected.

We used to vote in elections through our Linkoffsite forums, where we simply posted our ballots publicly. That was before we started using the Union Voting System, a special program made by our very own Founder, Renegalle, which processed our ballots safely, systematically, and anonymously. It does everything from prevent voting fraud, allow you to change your ballot with specially generated IDs, and list down all the votes in a spreadsheet to be safely released to the public once the voting ends. The LinkUnion Voting System might be confusing to some newcomers, however, so here's a guide for using it to vote.
  1. When it is time to vote, you will receive a telegram or a Discord announcement notifying you that you can visit the Union Voting System (found at https://forcens.com/vote/) and submit your ballot.

  2. As the page instructs you, open your NationStates account in a new tab before entering your nation name into the box and continuing.

  3. The next page is where I see alot of people get confused. For this, you'll need a verification code from NS, which confirms that it's actually you voting and not anyone else. You can get this either by logging into the frame that is inserted on the page, but alot of times it might get difficult. So you can also open the link provided to you on that page (the one that says "by clicking here") - it might be easier for you to access on a computer rather than a mobile device at times. Afterwards, just copy the generated code, paste it in the box, then proceed.

  4. Now here comes the important step, entering your ballot. I've mentioned the types of voting earlier, so here are examples ranked preference voting for Prime Minister as well as voting for House Representatives.

  5. Once you've submitted your vote, congratulations! You have officially practiced your right to vote. You will receive a unique ballot number, which you should never share, because this allows you to change your vote during the election period.

  • Now what if you want to change your vote? Simple - just grab your ballot number, return to the main page (https://forcens.com/vote/), and click the "Change My Vote" button and repeat step 4

Read dispatch

Thank you so much! This was extremely helpful.

Caduceo

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• How many languages can you speak, and which ones?

1 english

Here’s a daily question!
• What’s your favorite country?

North solomon islands

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• What’s your favourite country?

Sidervida why
I have too many favourites
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and every country in Europe

North solomon islands wrote:Sidervida why
I have too many favourites
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and every country in Europe

you're telling me poland is one of your favorite countries

North solomon islands

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• What’s your favorite country?

I like many countries but i ofcourse like sweden the most cause i live there, but otherwise i like all the nordic countries(finland and iceland the most) and germany.

North solomon islands

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• What’s your favorite country?

usa

New Legland wrote:you're telling me poland is one of your favorite countries

but poland cannot into space

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a daily question!
• What’s your favorite country?

I really like Germany and I am also fond of Iceland and Norway.

Hello all! It's me again~ your ambassador from TRR! Are you ready for some magic?

You're invited to join us once again at Harry Potter and the Festival of Friends

Harry Potter and the Festival of Friends is back to celebrate the end of the year with a Harry Potter themed festival for the entire NationStates community! The event is hosted by XKI, GD, TEP, TRR, and TSP, and I hope see you there!

Discord: https://discord.gg/V8KdadurDA
Main Schedule:

Event Schedule

Times are listed using both EST and UTC for convenience. Use Linkthis site for easy time zone conversion.

Before you continue, it's recommended you read the event organizers' statement here.

Wednesday, December 30

Thursday, December 31

Friday, January 1

  • 9 AM EST (2 PM UTC): Harry Potter Trivia, Round 2

  • 9 PM EST (2 AM UTC): Movie Night - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Saturday, January 2

  • All day: 2nd day of IO Games contest - Agar.io/Splix.io

  • 9 AM EST (2 PM UTC): Movie Night - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Sunday, January 3

Monday, January 4

  • All day: Closing of Zonko's Meme Contest

  • 9 AM EST (2 PM UTC): Movie Night - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  • 9 PM EST (2 AM UTC): Harry Potter Trivia, Round 3

  • 12 AM EST (5 AM UTC): House Points close

Tuesday, January 5

  • All day: Contest winners announced & final House Points tallied!

  • All day: Closing of Yule Ball RP

  • 9 AM EST (2 PM UTC): Movie Night - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

  • 7:30 PM EST (2 AM UTC): Movie Night - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Wednesday, January 6

  • All day: Wrap-up and closing House Ceremony

Event Descriptions

House points explanation

  • Owlery Project of Appreciation: Everyone deserves to get owls at Hogwarts, so send some positivity and kindness to your fellow NSers via owl to remind them they're appreciated!

  • Magic Quill Writing Contest: A fun fantasy writing contest for any medium seeking the most creative stories to be judged.

  • Fantastic Art & Where to Find it: A contest for original graphics and artwork of any kind surrounding the wizarding world.

  • Yule Ball RP: An enchanting ball RP run via Google Doc for guests to immerse themselves in the wizarding world and enjoy festivities, plus with a few surprises along the way!

  • Character Contest: Open to all, but to help encourage our RPs, design a character and one will be selected to be drawn!

  • Zonkos Meme Contest: A contest seeking the finest original Harry Potter memes in the land, the more memes the merrier!

  • CYOA: A Harry Potter based Choose-Your-Own-Adventure run in the event discord.

  • IO Games: A few daily rounds of a variety of popular IO games where the highest score from that wins the points.

  • Trivia: Harry Potter based trivia rounds, both easy and hard, to test your wizarding knowledge.

Participating On Site

For those not able to join the discord, the following events will have onsite participation:

Read dispatch

For those who don't use Discord, there's a section covering onsite participation for two of the event at the bottom of the dispatch.

Caduceo and ThePerfectSociety

Here’s a New Years Question!
• What’s your new years goal?

Renegalle and Salibaic

North solomon islands

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a New Years Question!
• What’s your new years goal?

Does anyone set resolutions anymore?

Sidervida

Tigslarlowducken

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a New Years Question!
• What’s your new years goal?

Acquire the sire

Renegalle, Sidervida, and Southern xenick

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a New Years Question!
• What’s your new years goal?

Nothin

Welcome Floopinstan, Najenigig, Kohlceriah, Hamburgur, The kights, Landias osa kolariso to Force!
If you've got Discord, please feel free to join! This is our server invite: https://discord.gg/xugzxQe

You can also take a look at our Newcomer's Guide, which will tell you what there is to do around here and how to get involved:

Welcome!

by Union dispatch office

Link Join our LinkDiscord Server so you can get to know our community!

Contents

Hello and welcome to the region of Force! Whether you just joined NationStates, are looking for a better region, or just decided to check in - Force is the region for you! You may have joined because of the recruitment telegram or through other methods, but there’s a lot more about us than you may take away at first! From the Government and Civil Service, to Roleplay and a great Community, our region has a lot to offer. But that can get overwhelming, which is where this guide comes in handy! Learn about the government, elections, people and activities, while you discover all of the perks of being a citizen!

Our community talks in three main places: On our Regional Message Board, LinkForums, and LinkDiscord Server. The latter of these has turned into one of the essential elements of life here, as it serves as the main hub for government activities, general discussion, contests, meetings, and helpful starting info. Joining the server also ensures you keep up to date with different activities, the passage of laws, elections and voting on amendments, ongoing political debates, community discussions, and more. If being an active part of the community is your thing, then there's no reason not to join our LinkDiscord.

We hope you enjoy your stay in our beautiful region!
Force was founded on the 30th of January 2017 by Founder and now-Emperor Renegalle, but it only started taking form on the 29th of April, after the creation of the first regional forums and the creation of the Ministries of Internal and Foreign Affairs. This was followed by the creation of the Ministries of Roleplay, Military, and the former Ministry of WA Affairs. Only on June 10th was the first Prime Minister elected and on July 2nd was the first Constitution implemented. And now - on its third Constitution and after thirteen Prime Ministers over seventeen terms, the Union is ever-growing and ever-changing, thanks to the people over the years who've helped it become what it is today. You can be a part of our history too, but only if you choose to work hard and get noticed!

You can find a detailed, chronological Force History Linkhere.

One of the main elements of life in the Union is its government. The Government of the Union is divided into multiple branches, each tasked with overseeing lawmaking, communications, management, moderation, and many many more. Multiple branches exist in order to allow for an effective power division, while creating a government with viewpoints and proposals from citizens with different ideas and projects. Every citizen is entitled to participate in the different parts of the government, each serving a different role.

  • The High Court - as the judicial branch of the government, the Justices of the Court are responsible to see to cases filed against individuals in the court of law, as well as decide upon the constitutionality of bills passed by the House of Representatives.

  • The House of Representatives - composed of representatives from Force, the States, and various territories, the House is responsible for all federal legislation, including constitutional amendments, which start in the House. It is the second most important branch of government, and is responsible for keep the power of other bodies in check, while working on improvements for the government based on the needs of the citizens. The House is led by a Speaker, responsible for communicating passed laws and mediating sessions, representing the House, and maintaining activity.

  • Cabinet - the Cabinet is responsible for appointing Ministers, and it is directed and overseen by the Prime Minister, the Union’s Head of Government.

  • Ministries - The Union has a wide number of ministries, each tasked with developing and reviewing a different aspect of the government. Each ministry is led by a Minister and Deputy Minister appointed by the Prime Minister. The Ministries are as follows:

    • Foreign Affairs - handles diplomatic relationships embassies and ambassadors.

    • Internal Affairs - focuses on recruitment, welcoming, government affairs, and connecting with citizens.

    • Media and Culture - directs cultural activities and events, runs national holidays, writes The Force Flyer, and produces other government media.

    • Roleplay - oversees the Union RP, including its map, statistics programs, and official RP events. It also routinely changes time periods and updates the types of stats available.

For as long as the Force Government has existed, Civil Service has served as one of its most important foundations. Our Civil Service is composed of different offices based in the Ministries, each consisting of developing a specific area or project related to said Ministry.

All citizens are encouraged to participate in the Ministries, in which they can get a shot at developing projects and initiatives from their respective area. For instance, the Ministry of Media and Culture offers positions for editors and writers for The Force Flyer and the Internal Affairs Ministry offers positions as hosts or recruiters. Ministries can only exist and work efficiently with the help of citizens, through the Civil Service, which allows anyone to seek a job in government and better the region and the Union as a whole.

You can apply for the Civil Service Linkhere!

  • The Governorship Program was created to allow citizens to govern a territory and allow them to grow a region, and consequently, a government, under the guidance and watch of the federal government. It allows you to experience firsthand the management of a region while having steady support to back you up, should you need help.

  • The Media Policy allows you to form independent news outlets which can be supported and officially recognized by the federal government, as long as their content covers happenings in the Union. It allows any citizen to make their voice heard and hold those in power accountable. A list of recognized media outlets can be found here.

  • If you have dived head-first into the Roleplay, you may be interested in joining the Roleplay Ministry, the decision making and moderation team for the Roleplay!

In many NationStates communities, one of the biggest highlights is an RP, and the Union is no exception. The Union Roleplay combines well organized political situations, diplomatic simulation and creative events. There are a few steps involved in getting into the RP, but it has become an experience no member should miss.

In order to enter the RP, you need to join our LinkRoleplay Discord Server and apply through there.

When you enter the RP, there are many things to do depending on how you want to manage your nation. Want to create a commercial empire with hundreds of trade routes? Sure! Become a warmonger and seek world domination? Go right ahead! Participate in UN debates and missions, host meetings with your fellow leaders, deal with rebellions, create ground-breaking policies, form alliances, and deal with events and foreign relationships? Why not!

The RP has something for everyone - even you!

Over the course of its 4+ year history, the Union has steadily grown to have an incredibly diverse and welcoming community. On our RMB, LinkDiscord, and LinkForums, you will have the opportunity to discuss, debate and chat with citizens from all over the world, as you share global news, discuss regional politics, and enjoy casual conversations with friends. Our LinkDiscord server is the main place you ought to be if you really want to be immersed in our community.

One of the most exciting times to be a citizen is during our elections, where voting for Prime Minister, House Reps., and Court Justices is held! Anyone in Force and the rest of the Union is allowed to run for office and vote - even as a newcomer. During the elections, candidates will engage in debates and interviews, and are encouraged to rally support with inspirational activities, posters, and other creative ways of getting out your message.

And of course, we have one of the latest elements of our community, clubs! Any citizen can create a clubs focused around an activity, interest, or piece of media, allowing you to pursue your interests and find others who share them. There are a wide variety of different clubs, such as the Anime Club, Culinary Association, and...uh...Clock Front?

Well, if you made it through this whole guide, we can safely say you know just about everything you need to know about our great Union. But, you shouldn’t stop here, because Force is a region so varied, we’d need a couple thousand extra pages to write absolutely everything down, and that would be kind of boring. The point is, the Union is about every single one of our citizens, because, let’s be real, what’s the point of having a great community if there’s no one to enjoy it?

Overall, we hope you spend a long time with us here in the Union, and if you do ever decide to leave, we hope you do so with great memories of our little piece of the world.

With Love, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Union Government ♥️

Important Links

Read dispatch


(got any questions do not be afraid to ask)

Renegalle and Connotar

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a New Years Question!
• What’s your new years goal?

Be less short-tempered

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a New Years Question!
• What’s your new years goal?

Practice my flute more often.

Sidervida wrote:Here’s a New Years Question!
• What’s your new years goal?

go to sleep earlier and not use elctronics so much

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