Title 2 of the AIN Code

Title 2 of the AIN Code (abbreviated 2 A.I.N.C.) is the second official title of the Code of Laws of the Alliance of Independent Nations. It contains all current laws that cover polls, voting, and elections to the union's non-roleplay government.

Section 1: Polls
1. All polls added to membership applications and measures in the Senate shall have mandatory time limits added to them when posted, via the “Run poll for:” option, set to whatever number of days is appropriate for the specific type of poll, as follows:
 * a. Membership applications shall have their polls open for a maximum of 14 days.
 * b. Measures in the Senate shall have their polls open for a maximum of seven (7) days.

2. A quorum of twelve (12) votes cast shall be sufficient to determine whether a measure has passed or failed, with a majority of “yes” votes required for passage.
 * a. Members may choose to vote “yes”, “no”, or “abstain” in all such polls, with abstentions representing either (i) no preference or (ii) avoidance of a conflict of interest by all members who abstain.
 * b. Abstentions shall count as "no preference", counting neither for "yes" neither for "no".
 * c. If voting on any measure reaches quorum before the time limit expires, the staff member or Speaker of the Union who declares that measure passed shall record the tally of the votes at that time in his post when announcing the passage of the measure.
 * d. If the time limit on the poll expires before quorum is attained, the measure shall be deemed to have passed only if at least seven (7) “yes” votes have been cast.

3. Members shall have the option of changing their vote in these polls prior to the expiration of the voting period or the passage of the measure (whichever comes first).

4. No member shall cast a vote, or change his vote, after the measure being voted on has passed.
 * a. Violations of this paragraph (hereafter referred to as “illegal voting”) shall be considered Class C offenses, as described in 3 A.I.N.C., and shall be punished accordingly. The listing of Class C offenses in 3 A.I.N.C. §2.4(a) shall be amended to include illegal voting upon passage of this Title.

Section 2: Schedule of Elections
1. General elections shall take place every six months, in February and August. For the purposes of this Title, elections that take place in February shall be termed “winter elections”, and elections that take place in August shall be termed “summer elections”.

2. Both winter and summer elections shall take up the entire month for which they are scheduled. Election months shall be divided as follows:
 * a. The first through the ninth (1st-9th) days of February, and the first through the tenth (1st-10th) days of August, shall be reserved for nominations.
 * b. The tenth through the eighteenth (10th-18th) days of February, and the eleventh through the twentieth (11th-20th) days of August, shall be reserved for campaigning.
 * c. The nineteenth through the twenty-seventh (19th-27th) days of February, and the twenty-first through the thirtieth (21st-30th) days of August, shall be reserved for voting.
 * d. The last day of an election month shall be reserved for the Electoral Commissioner to announce the results of voting.
 * e. During leap years, the schedule given above for winter (February) elections shall be shifted one day later than in other years, such that nominations shall begin on the second (2nd) day of February, and so forth. Winter elections in such years shall still end on the last day of February.

3. Governments elected in a given election shall take office on the day immediately following the end of that election, and their term shall continue until the end of the next election.
 * a. Governments elected in a winter election shall take office at midnight GMT on the first (1st) day of March, and shall continue in office until 23:59:59 BST on the thirty-first (31st) day of August.
 * b. Governments elected in a summer election shall take office at midnight BST on the first (1st) day of September, and shall continue in office until 23:59:59 GMT on the last day of February (regardless of whether that day is the 28th or 29th of February).

Section 3: Procedures for Elections
1. Union members who meet the qualifications for candidacy may nominate themselves, or be nominated by another union member, during the nominations period of an election.
 * a. Any member who is nominated by another must accept that nomination to become an official candidate for the position to which he was nominated.
 * b. All nominees must be in good standing with the union to be eligible to run for office.
 * c. All nominees for the offices of President, Vice President, and Speaker of the Union must satisfy the requirements of 1 A.I.N.C. §1.2(a) to be eligible for those offices, i.e. nominees must have most recently been accepted as union members before the end of the previous general election.

2. All candidates must post a campaign thread in the election subforum during the campaigning period. Such campaign threads must contain the candidate's manifesto or platform in order for that candidate to be placed on the ballot for the office he is seeking.

3. Prior to voting in any ballot, union members must post in every candidate's campaign thread that they have read that candidate's manifesto.
 * a. Nothing in this Title shall be construed to require members to vote in any election.

4. A ballot for all government offices shall be uploaded to Google Docs, and the Electoral Commissioner shall link to it in the Election Headquarters topic.
 * a. The ballot shall list all of the eligible candidates running for each office (as determined by the preceding regulations), as well as options to indicate no preference for any candidate or to submit a write-in vote within the ballot form itself.
 * b. All ballots shall have a time limit of nine (9) days during winter elections, or ten (10) days during summer elections, set via the appropriate Google Docs interface when the ballot is first uploaded, as well as allowing members to change their votes, in accordance with Section 1 of this Title.

5. The candidate who receives the most votes for a given office shall be elected to that office.
 * a. If only one candidate runs for an office, he must receive a majority of the votes to be elected. If more members indicate no preference and/or submit write-in votes than vote for the only candidate on a ballot, that candidate cannot win by default.

Section 4: The Electoral Commissioner
1. Prior to the opening of nominations, the Executive Council shall appoint an Electoral Commissioner to oversee the upcoming election.

2. The Electoral Commissioner shall be an active union member in good standing, who shall not run for any office in the election which he is appointed to oversee, and who shall be active on the AIN forums throughout the election month.

3. It shall be the Electoral Commissioner's responsibility:
 * a. to post the nomination and ballot threads,
 * b. to make known all rules and regulations governing elections,
 * c. to enforce said rules and regulations,
 * d. to maintain an up-to-date list of all nominees for all offices,
 * e. to ensure that the ballot is constructed correctly and in full compliance with the above regulations, and
 * f. to announce the winners of the election.

4. The position of Electoral Commissioner shall only exist during elections. Following the end of an election, the position shall cease to exist until the next election.

5. Prior service as an Electoral Commissioner shall not disqualify any member from being appointed Electoral Commissioner again.

Section 5: By-elections and Vacancies
1. In the event that an elected officer resigns or is removed from office prior to the normal expiration of his term, a by-election shall be held to fill the newly-created vacancy.
 * a. By-elections shall also be held if no one is elected to a given office during a general election, whether due to a lack of candidates or an unopposed candidate not receiving a majority of the votes for that office.

2. The President of the Alliance (or the Vice President, if the office of President is vacant) shall have authority to set a schedule for all by-elections as he sees fit, and to directly oversee by-elections, unless he shall choose to appoint an Electoral Commissioner for the by-election.

3. By-elections shall be subject to the same regulations as general elections, except for those regulations that deal specifically with scheduling.

4. Officers elected in a by-election shall serve for the remainder of the regular term of office, i.e. until the end of the next general election. They shall, however, be eligible to run for re-election in the next general election.

5. If no member is elected to a particular office during a by-election, the President may appoint an active member in good standing to the vacant office on the advice of the Executive Council; or he may leave said office vacant if it is not an executive office.

Source
Title 2 of the AIN Code

Original laws
Alliance Polls Act

Uniform Elections Act