I often get asked the question "What's your favorite holiday?" My immediate answer is "Taylor Swift's Birthday!" After an awkward couple of minutes where I stare excitedly at my conversation partner, then slowly lower my head in shame, I usually mumble "Christmas..." Speaking of holidays, the Senate recently passed an amendment to the Elections Act (2012), which deals with allowing time for holidays when starting an election. However, before we get into that amendment, another one was passed, within a few weeks, that also merits discussion. As this is the case, please hold while I come up with another opening that I can then torture into a tie-in to the amendment.
Speaking of holidays, I often go to amusement parks on holidays. (Yeah, yeah, that's good.) When I go to amusement parks my favorite thing, other than listening to hundreds of youngsters scream at me, is standing in line. (Wait for it...) Perhaps that's why I want to take a closer look at the recently passed legislation "Second Amendment to the Elections Act (2014)," which deals with the standing period in a by-election (Calvin Coolidge you've done it again.)
In this article, I'd like to examine both of these amendments, as well as the act that they affect.
To begin our analysis, the purpose of this act is, as it states, to ensure "that elections be carried out fairly and democratically." All events need someone to start them, and elections are no different. That is why section (2) states,
One can only assume that second sentence was added in after that presidential election from a few years back when HEM and Lethen were both rendered incapable of movement via Chinese finger trap. Should any conflict arise in regard to the administration of the election, section (3) tells us,
So, if you have any problems with how I conduct an election, you can talk to the manager about that. Also, I'm the manager. And, in case any of you had any reason to suspect someone could manipulate the election in their favor, section (4) sets us straight by saying,
Now, we can't think of writing an act about elections without talking about voting. That's where these next sections come in. Sections (10) and (11) deal with when, and how long, the voting period is. They say,
Sorry you had to see that. Anyway, along the lines of cutting into people's personal time: what to do in the event of a tie. Essentially, this act has taken care of almost all the possible scenarios, each detailed in a series of sections under the title "Regarding Ties and Runoff Elections." I'm going to put all of the sections here, for the sake of completion, but if you find it rather repetitive, I do, and I also do. (See what I did there?)
To conclude, the Elections Act (2012) is an expansive law that spells out how we conduct our elections here in Europeia. Many different scenarios are anticipated, and we have a clear chain of command in this regard. With the two new amendments, this act shows that just because everybody is out for blood in elections doesn't mean we can't be civil about our process. As always, I encourage any reader that wants to find out more about this topic to check out the Law Index, or look at the discussions of these amendments in the Senate, titled, "Amendment to the Elections Act (2012)" and "*Second* Amendment to the Elections Act (2014)." Until next time, I'm Calvin Coolidge, filing my tax returns with my cushion.
Speaking of holidays, I often go to amusement parks on holidays. (Yeah, yeah, that's good.) When I go to amusement parks my favorite thing, other than listening to hundreds of youngsters scream at me, is standing in line. (Wait for it...) Perhaps that's why I want to take a closer look at the recently passed legislation "Second Amendment to the Elections Act (2014)," which deals with the standing period in a by-election (Calvin Coolidge you've done it again.)
In this article, I'd like to examine both of these amendments, as well as the act that they affect.
To begin our analysis, the purpose of this act is, as it states, to ensure "that elections be carried out fairly and democratically." All events need someone to start them, and elections are no different. That is why section (2) states,
One can only assume that second sentence was added in after that presidential election from a few years back when HEM and Lethen were both rendered incapable of movement via Chinese finger trap. Should any conflict arise in regard to the administration of the election, section (3) tells us,
So, if you have any problems with how I conduct an election, you can talk to the manager about that. Also, I'm the manager. And, in case any of you had any reason to suspect someone could manipulate the election in their favor, section (4) sets us straight by saying,
Take that, conspiracy theorists. Another important element of any election is deciding how many positions there are available. As far as how that is decided, section (5) says,
This means that there is no set number of seats in the Senate. So, that's right kids, the Senate can be a wild and crazy place. And, just to prove it to you, they put in sections 6 and 7, which state,
Yes. Because as we all know, the only way to solve the problem of not getting enough people to run in an election is to hold another election. This next part of the act, much like a night with Anumia, might make you a little weak at the knees. That's because it deals with standing periods. (And when people stand for a while... sometimes their knees... oh, just forget it.) Just in case any readers are unaware of the vocabulary here, a standing period is the time when a person can declare their candidacy for office. The standing periods are different for every election, as sections (8) and (9) explain,
Hidden in the mass of text that is section (9) is one of our two amendments. Specifically, the last sentence, which is the "Second Amendment to the Elections Act (2014)." This extends the time period to 72 hours in a by-election in regards to standing, giving more time for more possible candidates. And while more candidates may sometimes split the vote, taking away the victory from a better qualified, highly intelligent, dashingly handsome candidate (Not that I'm bitter,) I think we can agree that more democracy is almost always a good thing.
Now, we can't think of writing an act about elections without talking about voting. That's where these next sections come in. Sections (10) and (11) deal with when, and how long, the voting period is. They say,
This makes everything swift (Tee hee, Swift) and painless, as the voting only lasts one day. Even if we have a runoff, this thing will end before the sun goes down, gosh darn it! I've got to keep up on my stories, and this "democracy" thing is really cutting into my personal time!
Sorry you had to see that. Anyway, along the lines of cutting into people's personal time: what to do in the event of a tie. Essentially, this act has taken care of almost all the possible scenarios, each detailed in a series of sections under the title "Regarding Ties and Runoff Elections." I'm going to put all of the sections here, for the sake of completion, but if you find it rather repetitive, I do, and I also do. (See what I did there?)
Zzz... wha-? Huh? Oh, it's over. Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get to everybody's favorite candidate: None of the Above. In this act, there are two whole sections talking about this, and here they are:
So, if you ever wondered how None of the Above gets on the ballot, with no prior experience and a very noncommittal attitude, now you know. We have now reached the last section of this act, but it might as well be a visit to your grandmother's house, because it is full of potpourri. This last section, titled, "Regarding Other Matters" contains three sections, each with a fun fact about elections. They state,
In case you were wondering when that other amendment was coming in, you can rest easy. The final section is the amendment that was designed to allow for time discrepancies due to holidays. This gives the person in charge a time cushion that they can use to make things easier for everybody. Sort of like how real cushions make things easier for everybody. I don't know about you, but I've never found an accountant half as good as my cushion. Just me? Okay.
To conclude, the Elections Act (2012) is an expansive law that spells out how we conduct our elections here in Europeia. Many different scenarios are anticipated, and we have a clear chain of command in this regard. With the two new amendments, this act shows that just because everybody is out for blood in elections doesn't mean we can't be civil about our process. As always, I encourage any reader that wants to find out more about this topic to check out the Law Index, or look at the discussions of these amendments in the Senate, titled, "Amendment to the Elections Act (2012)" and "*Second* Amendment to the Elections Act (2014)." Until next time, I'm Calvin Coolidge, filing my tax returns with my cushion.
