Standing Orders - Section IV

The Magisterium
1

I would like to propose the following changes to Section IV of the Standing Orders.

The current Standing Orders:

— Begin quote from ____

SECTION IV. VOTING

…4.1- When a motion to vote has been seconded in accordance with subsections 2.1 and 2.2, the Provost shall then officiate a voting period of one week, or 168 hours, upon the motion.
…4.2- Each time a Magister votes, they must also explicitly supply their WA nation in the same post.
…4.3- A motion shall pass if a majority of votes are in favour of it:
…4.3.1- This order is notwithstanding any special requirements set out by the Concordat for certain types of votes, and in the case of extended requirement, the quorum shall always be achieved.
…4.4- A vote will be concluded when:
…4.4.1- The prescribed voting period ends;
…4.4.2- The Provost concludes the voting period, given that all eligible Magisters have voted.
…4.5- When a vote has concluded, the Provost shall then proceed as provided by the Concordat, according to the type of vote.
…4.6- Quorum numbers and voting eligibility will apply to the Magisterium size and its members prior to the voting period.
…4.7- Any Magister that was approved during any voting period shall not have their vote counted for that particular voting period.

— End quote

My proposed changes (in bold):

— Begin quote from ____

SECTION IV. VOTING

…4.1- When a motion to vote has been seconded in accordance with subsection 2.3, the Provost shall then immediately officiate a voting period of 168 hours(seven days) on the proposal.
…4.2- Each time a Magister votes, they must also explicitly supply their TEP nation and WA nation in the same post.
…4.3- A vote will be concluded when:
…4.3.1- The prescribed voting period ends;
…4.3.2- The Provost concludes the voting period, given that all eligible Magisters have voted.
…4.4- A motion shall pass if
…4.4.1- A majority (greater than 50%) of Yes/No votes are in favor of it; and
…4.4.2- The quorum number of 50% or more of eligible Magisterium voters has been met.
…4.4.3- This order is notwithstanding any special requirements set out by the Concordat for certain types of votes, and in the case of extended requirement, the quorum shall always be achieved.
…4.5- When a vote has concluded, the Provost shall then proceed as provided by the Concordat, according to the type of vote.
…4.6- Any Magister that was approved during any voting period shall not have their vote counted for that particular voting period.
…4.7- Any Magister removed or resigned from office or on an official Leave of Absence during any voting period shall not have their vote counted for that particular voting period.

— End quote

Changes are:

  • Fixed subsection in 4.1 to reflect new section 2 layout

  • Moved sections to go vote / result / post-actions

  • Clarified passing language

  • Defined “majority” and “quorum”

  • Added section about any Magister being removed, resigned, or on LOA.

  • Some minor language changes

2

I don’t see any problems with these amendments and additions.

3

I think its fine, though I’m not sure of the value of defining ‘majority’. It isn’t as if the word means anything else unless you specify it as a ‘supermajority’ or such.

4

I know what you’re saying but there have been times when I’ve heard questions about what happens if a vote gets half the possible votes (back when we had 6 people it was a distinct possibility). Of course, 50% is a loss since we don’t have a tiebreaker like the US Senate does.

It’s superfluous, but maybe necessary for clarification purposes.

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5

Sometimes for me it’s hard to tell how long a vote will last (like do I have 1 more day or 3 more days to think\vote). Would it be possible (not sure if this is the section either) to have like a date ime frame provided at the top of votes:

Vote Began: July 24, 2019 midnight EST
Vote Ends: July 31, 2019 midnight EST

(not sure if that is 7 days but approximately)

6

Seems reasonable. I’ll try to remember to do that next vote. If not, ping me.

7

Just the language on the “Yes/No” vote is awkward. I would remove that again and just add at the end of the phrase “, whereby abstentions shall not be counted as votes”.

I also dislike using percentages in legal texts, and prefer “more than half” or something to that effect, in actual words.

8

Changed:

— Begin quote from ____

SECTION IV. VOTING

…4.1- When a motion to vote has been seconded in accordance with subsection 2.3, the Provost shall then immediately officiate a voting period of 168 hours (seven days) on the proposal.
…4.2- Each time a Magister votes, they must also explicitly supply their TEP nation and WA nation in the same post.
…4.3- A vote will be concluded when:
…4.3.1- The prescribed voting period ends;
…4.3.2- The Provost concludes the voting period, given that all eligible Magisters have voted.
…4.4- A motion shall pass if
…4.4.1- Greater than 50% of the votes not including Present or Abstain are in favor of it; and
…4.4.2- The quorum number of 50% or more of eligible Magisterium voters has been met.
…4.4.3- This order is notwithstanding any special requirements set out by the Concordat for certain types of votes, and in the case of extended requirement, the quorum shall always be achieved.
…4.5- When a vote has concluded, the Provost shall then proceed as provided by the Concordat, according to the type of vote.
…4.6- Any Magister that was approved during any voting period shall not have their vote counted for that particular voting period.
…4.7- Any Magister removed or resigned from office or on an official Leave of Absence during any voting period shall not have their vote counted for that particular voting period.

— End quote

9

I am motioning this to vote.

10

I second the motion, if needed.