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The Federal Laws of the VCC.
CYBERIAN FEDERAL CODE
TITLE VII - GENERAL STATUTES
CHAPTER 700 ELECTORAL CODE
700.01 SCOPE This Code applies to every election held in the Commonwealth.
700.021 ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER The Electoral Commissioner has any functions or powers vested by the Constitution or this Code.
700.022 The Judicial Council must designate a person to serve as Electoral Commissioner when there is no Electoral Commissioner during the 35 days before an election.
700.023 The Electoral Commissioner must not, whether directly or indirectly, in any manner give support to, or oppose, any party or candidate participating in an election, or any of the issues in contention between parties or candidates.
700.024 The Electoral Commissioner must not serve as Deputy President or Acting President.
700.024.1 If the Electoral Commissioner if serving as a Cabinet member, he must recuse himself from any non-public cabinet meetings or discussions within twenty-one days of an election.
700.024.2 Once the Population of Cyberia reaches fifty (50) voting citizens, the Electoral Commissioner may not serve (formally or informally) as a member of the Cabinet or the presidential staff.
700.03 ELECTORAL REGISTER The Electoral Commissioner must maintain a Yahoo (or equivalent) mailing list for election registration.
700.031 The Electoral Commissioner must ensure that no entry on the register is contrary to law.
700.032 Any elector or political party may object to any entry in the register on the grounds that it is contrary to law.
700.033 Each elector must ensure that their email address and details are current.
700.034 The Electoral Commissioner must not send a ballot to anyone who is not eligible to vote or to any email address which is not included on the register.
700.035 Every new citizen has the right to be informed, within 7 days of commencement of their citizenship act, of the need to register by subscribing to the Yahoo (or equivalent) mailing list for election registration.
700.04 TIMETABLE The Electoral Commissioner must observe the following timetable in conducting an election.
700.041 Notice of registration 3 weeks before election day;
700.042 notice of election 2 weeks before election day;
700.043 day of nomination 1 week before election day;
700.044 General elections must be held on the second Saturday in January, April, July and October in every year.
700.05 NOTIFICATION The Electoral Commissioner must notify each election by post in the Commonwealth Forum. The notification must include:
700.051 the timetable for the election;
700.052 an email address at which the Electoral Commissioner can be reached;
700.053 the qualifications for each office; and
700.054 the electors qualified to vote for each office.
700.06 NOMINATIONS Any elector or political party may (by notice directed to the Electoral Commissioner) nominate one or more candidates or a ticket to any office.
700.062 A citizen may be a candidate for more than one office at any election.
700.063 If the number of candidates in any election is not greater the number of seats the election must proceed in order to allow the people the option of electing a write-in candidate.
700.08 DEMOCHOICE The Electoral Commissioner must use the automated polling system at http://www.demochoice.org/dcsetup.php (if available) to conduct elections (including referendums and initiatives) under this code.
700.081 LISTING OF CANDIDATES When preparing a Demochoice poll the Electoral Commissioner must include the name, party and ticket position (if any) of each citizen qualified for the office but must exclude-
700.0811 any citizen (such as a judge or electoral commissioner) who is ineligible for elected office.
700.0812 in presidential elections, any citizen who who has not nominated for the office or has been nominated without their consent.
700.08121 If there are not at least 2 (two) announced candidates running, then all eligible candidates shall be listed except those who specifically notify the electoral commissioner of their desire to be excluded from the ballot.
700.082 PRESIDENTIAL MAJORITY If at any stage of a Demochoice count for President, there are only two remaining candidates who each have the same number of votes, the Demochoice random determination must be ignored and the EC must conduct a runoff election between the two candidates on the next Saturday after the election. If both candidates receive the same number of votes at the runoff election, the Demochoice random determination is to prevail.
700.10 MANUAL ELECTIONS This section applies if and only if the Demochoice script becomes unavailable or impracticable.
700.101 SECRET BALLOT The Electoral Commissioner must preserve the secrecy of the ballot. Ballots which are published or provided to an expert tabulator must be numbered uniquely but otherwise stripped of identification and the Electoral Commissioner must send a copy of their ballot (indicating the unique number) to each elector who votes.
700.103 ADOPTED LAW A manual election must be conducted, mutatis mutandis, according to Part 2 of Schedule 6 to the Constitution Act 1902 of New South Wales. The schedule is available at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca1902188/sch6.html
700.104 MANUAL QUOTA The quota for a manual election under this code must be calculated by dividing the total number of first preference votes for all candidates by 1 more than the number of vacancies to be filled and by increasing the result to the next highest whole number.
700.105 WRITE-IN VOTES Write-in votes are permissible. A write-in vote for a candidate already elected or excluded must be counted according to the next available preference.
700.106 EXPERT TABULATORS If the Electoral Commissioner has no experience of counting an STV election, then the Commissioner may call on the assistance of an expert tabulator to count the election.
700.1061 An expert tabulator may be given access to the ballots for an election and may count the election, but any decision or action by an expert tabulator (other than a purely technical one) must have the consent of the Electoral Commissioner.
700.107 MANUAL VOTING Each ballot must give the elector an option of voting for a ticket or for individual candidates.
700.1071 An elector may vote by writing on their ballot the name of the candidate they wish to elect, and may in addition add the names of other candidates in order from highest to lowest.
700.1072 If an elector votes for a ticket their ballot must be treated in all respects as if they had voted the order of preferences fixed in the ticket.
700.1073 In interpreting a vote the Electoral Commissioner must be guided by the clear intention of the elector.
700.111 DECLARATION The Electoral Commissioner must, as soon as practicable after the voting deadline, declare the result of each election. The declaration must include for each election:
700.1111 the number of electors who voted;
700.1112 the primary vote for each candidate;
700.1113 the total vote for each candidate at any stage of the count;
700.1114 a list of voters for each election showing the names of everyone who received a ballot, cast a vote or sent in an excuse for not voting;
700.1115 and the order of election of the successful candidates.
700.112 The declaration must be gazetted.
700.12 OFFENCES Chapters 950-953 provide for electoral offences.
700.13 JUDICIAL REVIEW Judicial review by the Supreme Court is a review on the merits without undue regard to matters of form or technicalities.
700.131 The Court is not required to nullify an election unless it is satisfied that there were acts or omissions by someone which changed the result of the election.
700.132 The Court must, if it nullifies an election or refuses to overturn a nullification by the Electoral Commissioner, make orders calling a new election as soon as practicable.
700.14 CASUAL VACANCIES Vacancies in the National Assembly and the Congress of the Community must be filled by appointment. The party which nominated the outgoing deputy or delegate must appoint the successor to a partisan vacancy. The president must appoint a successor to an independent vacancy.
700.15 SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS If a candidate is elected as president and deputy at the same time, their seat in the National Assembly must be treated as a legislative vacancy.
700.16 DECLINED ELECTIONS If a candidate is elected and declines to accept the office, that office must be treated as a casual vacancy.
700.17 PRIMARY ELECTIONS Primary elections may be held before any general election as jointly determined by the party and by the Electoral Commissioner.
700.171 Election day must be decided by the party.
700.172 The party must give its members a reasonable time to nominate for a primary election.
700.173 Only party members who are electors may vote in that party's primary election. The party itself may decide if electors who are party members can be candidates.
700.174 The party must provide the Electoral Commissioner with a list of members and candidates at least 3 days before election day.
700.175 The election must be administered by the Electoral Commissioner as agreed between the party and the Electoral Commissioner.
700.176 Subject to this section, the rules for general elections apply to primary elections.
700.177 Primary elections are not regular general elections for the purposes of the Nonvoters Clause of the Constitution.
700.18 UNIFORM DIVISOR The uniform divisor for calculating the number of deputies is that number which, when divided into the number of electors results in an odd number closest to the result of dividing the number of electors by 3.
