Senate Size Still Six; Citizens Debate
Electoral Panel Reaches Consensus as Citizens' Assembly Dialogue Rages
Written by McEntire
(Europeia - May 9, 2017) - Europeia's Electoral Panel recently took up discussion regarding the size of the upcoming Senate, with the election scheduled for May 12. The Electoral Panel, comprised of the president, chancellors, and speaker of the Senate, landed on a size of six seats for the coming term. The Elections Act (2015) requires the panel to establish the size of the next senate prior to each election.
The decision to keep the Senate at the same size came without extensive debate within the Electoral Panel. President Calvin Coolidge and Supreme Chancellor Mousebumples both noted that the quality of the field was the primary factor in their decisions to support six.
"I haven't looked at platforms too much yet, but is there any argument for 5?," asked Supreme Chancellor Mousebumples. "I don't know that the current field is terribly impressive as of yet."
President Calvin Coolidge agreed with Mousebumples. "I'm also at 6," he said. "I don't think we need more with the current field."
Using the quality of candidates as the determining factor in determining Senate size is not universally accepted. In the Citizens' Assembly (CA), the topic became heated with arguments promoting both sides.
"We shouldn't base our Senate size on who we're comfortable voting for," said Aexnidaral Seymour. "A 5 person Senate is artificially restrictive for what purpose?"
Aexnidaral was not alone in his thoughts. "I'd say 6, and as always err on the side of 'let people in' than keeping them out," said Senate candidate Verteger. Aexnidaral and Verteger's opinions were not universally accepted in the CA, however. There were those who supported the line of thinking espoused by the Electoral Panel.
"I say 5. I'm not terribly impressed with the current crop of candidates," said Kaboom. "Cerian and Drex are probably the only ones that I'm 100% comfortable voting for."
The decision by the Electoral Panel ended official discussion about the number of seats for the upcoming Senate. However, the discussion in the CA as well as on the campaign trail, has demonstrated that how the panel reaches its decision is a topic of interest in the region. The question of whether the quality of the field should play a role in the number of seats is still up for debate, even if it is decided for this term. Considering the debate throughout the region, this was the most contentious that an Electoral Panel decision has been recently.
The fact that the main question regarding the number of seats centered on the quality of candidates is perhaps an indication of overall discontent in the region regarding the current field. "The region has many doubts in their future Senate, and making it bigger certainly won't help its functionality or popularity," said Le Libertia in the Citizens' Assembly debate.
The perceived lack of quality candidates can potentially impact the performance of the legislative body once the senators take office, with someone having to take the role of Speaker. The role of Speaker is highly important to a successful and functional Senate. It is possible that voters want to avoid the situation that took place in January. During that Senate, absentee leadership from the Speaker resulted in an aimless and ineffective legislative session, which ultimately required the region to replace three senators who either resigned or were removed from office.
It is already clear that the next Senate will bring new faces to the region's senior legislative body. Without the regular mainstays, the direction of the Senate is up in the air. Which direction it will take remains to be seen, however many agree that a change needs to come.
