Voting Procedures Act

This Act is to provide a clear and simple process for voting on legislation.

Section I

Changes to proposed Legislation are permitted during the period after its submission to the Council considering it, whether in private Council chambers, or in the public Conclave. There is a minimum of two weeks for a piece of legislation to be officially proposed before it can be voted on. In the course of debate, changes or edits are permitted until one week before the voting period begins. Should it be required that changes be made during the last week leading up to the vote, the vote must be rescheduled so that another week may pass for public visibility. Any changes or edits made to the Legislation after it has been moved to Proposed Acts will be notated and documented in a changelog at the end of the Legislation, which must be removed if the Legislation is passed and before it is published as a Law. As outlined in the Constitution, the timing and scheduling limitations may be waived during an April event. See Appendix 1 for workflow.

Section II

  1. The Grandmaster should schedule a vote for legislation, waiting at least 2 weeks for public viewing. The Grandmaster should also ensure all battalion representatives are notified of the scheduled date of the vote.
  2. The voting period will last exactly 48 hours from the selected starting time of the vote or until every representative has voted, whichever comes first. All votes will be counted; any representative that fails to vote either Aye or Nay will be counted as an abstention. During the tally, should the vote counts clearly show either passage or rejection, the result may be published while not ending the vote early.

Section III

During the 48 hour voting period, no comments, arguments, or qualifiers will be permitted regarding the legislation being voted on. The time of the first introduction and the 2 weeks of it under public review, to any time afterwards is where such action is permitted.

Section IV

All council members are to behave civilly and treat each other with respect worthy of all oathsworn Knights.

Section V

  1. If any member of either council is found to be in violation of this act, the Arbiters or a majority of the Triad have the full power to suspend any representative from partaking in as many sessions as they deem necessary.
  2. The Grandmaster can bypass any suspension issued in this manner. When this happens the Grandmaster shall inform the Arbiters, the Triad, or both of this.

Section VI

This act shall take effect as soon as voted and approved by both Councils and confirmed by the Grandmaster.

Appendix I

These are examples for the purpose of making the process clear and not a hard requirement to be followed.

Example Workflow 1

  1. Legislation is submitted to the Upper Council for review and discussion.
  2. Edits, changes made as determined necessary.
  3. Grandmaster or First Ranger submits Legislation to the Lower Council for review, comments, and debate.
  4. Edits, changes made as determined necessary.
  5. Grandmaster or First Ranger submits Legislation to Conclave and posts the link for it to Proposed Acts, with the scheduled voting period.
  6. Comments and debate due to increased audience.
  7. Member of the Lower Council suggests edits, resulting from a requirement revealed during open discussion.
  8. Grandmaster or First Ranger confirms general support for the edit.
  9. Grandmaster approves or denies edit, and, if applicable, ensures the changelog is updated.
  10. One week before the scheduled vote, no further changes permitted.
  11. Public viewing period ends; all discussion, debate, and queries cease.
  12. Voting period opens; both Councils vote for or against Legislation in its entirety.
  13. Upon passage, the Grandmaster or First Ranger removes the changelog to create a clean document and publishes it as Law in mandated locations.

Example Workflow II

  1. Legislation is submitted to the Lower Council for review and discussion.
  2. Edits, changes made as determined necessary.
  3. Legislation is reviewed and discussed simultaneously in the Upper Council.
  4. Edits, changes made as determined necessary.
  5. Members of the Upper Council submit proposed changes to the Lower Council as determined necessary.
  6. Grandmaster or First Ranger confirm that the discussion on the Legislation has concluded in both of the Councils and no further changes or debate are required.
  7. Grandmaster or First Ranger submits Legislation to Conclave and posts the link for it to Proposed Acts, with the scheduled voting period.
  8. Comments and debate due to increased audience.
  9. Member of the Lower Council suggests edits, resulting from a requirement revealed during open discussion.
  10. Grandmaster or First Ranger confirms general support for the edit.
  11. Grandmaster approves or denies edit, and, if applicable, ensures the changelog is updated.
  12. One week before the scheduled vote, no further changes permitted.
  13. Public viewing period ends; all discussion, debate, and queries cease.
  14. Voting period opens; both Councils vote for or against Legislation in its entirety.
  15. Upon passage, the Grandmaster or First Ranger removes the changelog to create a clean document and publishes it as Law in mandated locations