To start things off, great initiative, Aiv.
I support this yet have to agree with many of Cretox’s points.
Whilst there is a certain inherent good that lies in a more active total voter base within a region, I worry that voter literacy in its entirety would suffer as a result of this amendment. If not accompanied by another one to the same statute, that is.
Presently, pursuant to Section V.3., the following is mandated by law:
If we, as a region, seek to introduce voting by telegram, it’s crucial to ensure that all these lovely campaign materials we’re talking about remain accessible to this RMB crowd with a low proclivity to venture into our forums. What I mean is that we could make these resources more readily available on-site. Really, even in the absence of the great insight gained through reading the Q&A after the campaign post and the important interactive dimension of the campaign thread itself, I believe voters should still have the opportunity to review candidate platforms directly on NationStates; more than this, our laws should ensure this happens.
This could be accomplished by requiring (or simply allowing) that campaigns be posted in a dispatch linked on the RMB or published directly on the RMB itself. This kind of decision would help maintain a healthy degree of voter literacy and facilitate reasoned decision-making for all, so that this marvellous broader participation we’re aiming for with this amendment doesn’t come at the expense of a great deal of engagement with candidates’ platforms and positions.