Difference between revisions of "Timed democracy"

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'''Timed
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'''Timed democracy''' was a system of government that originated in the [[Jasonia|Flying Islands of Jasonia]].
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Democracy''' was a system of government developed largely at the
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historic [[Flying Islands of Jasonia]]. The FIoJ was founded with no
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== Background ==
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constitution or laws, only promises of freedom. However, when it became
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clear that the first citizens were looking for a new nation rather than
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At the beginning of Jasonia's history, there was no constitution or code of laws in place, only promises of freedom. When it became clear, however, that the first Jasonians were looking not for a refugee camp but for a new motherland, a debate was ignited concerning the system of government to be adopted. After a month of debate, a vote on the system of government was held, which was won by [[Tony Au|Tony Au's]] late but popular entry, which he had named timed democracy.
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a refugee camp, Jasonia began a month-long debate that ended in a
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public vote to adopt a system of government. The winner of this vote
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From the beginning, Jasonia was by and large a democracy; however, as citizenship levels increased and some citizens became inactive, the custom of requiring votes from every citizen on every matter became increasingly impractical. The framers of Jasonia, therefore, decided that bills would pass or fail not upon a certain quota of votes but after a certain period of time.
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was a late but popular entry: something its founder [[dStryker]] had
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named Timed Democracy.
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== Procedure ==
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Even before having laws, Jasonia was largely democratic in its
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decisions. However, recognizing that, as citizenship levels increased
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In the weeks following the adoption of timed democracy, the details of its implementation were worked out by the Jasonian citizen body, headed by president [[Harvey Steffke|Jason Steffke]]. The initial version allowed any Jasonian citizen in good standing to table, debate, and vote on bills, with voting allowed during debates. Debates would be closed at the first strike of 10 pm Eastern Time after 48 hours had elapsed, and the thresholds for adopting different categories of bills were as such:
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and some citizens became inactive, getting every single member of the
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nation to vote on every single law was largely impractical, the early
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{| class="wikitable"
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members of the country realized that they would need a way to keep the
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|-
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legislature moving. Thus it was decided that bills would be considered
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!Bill type!!Threshold
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passed (or failed) when a specific time period had passed rather then
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|-
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when a certain quota of votes were tallied.
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| Diplomatic recognition
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The details of Timed Democracy were hammered out over the following
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| 42.86% (3/7)
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weeks by both President [[Jason Steffke]] and the body of voting
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|-
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citizens. The first system of Timed Democracy can be summed up by the
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| Law
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following:
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| 50%
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1) Any non-banned citizen of the country could pose any [[bill]] they
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|-
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desired.<br>
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| Constitutional amendment
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2) Any and all non-banned citizens were welcome to debate, vote, and
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| 75%
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change their votes at any time while the bill was open.<br>
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|-
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3) All votes ended after at least 48 hours had passed and were
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| Any action that would infringe upon Jasonia's sovereignty
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officially closed at exactly 10 PM eastern standard time. Thus, all
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| 100%
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votes would be open a period between two and three days. Any vote
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|}
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entered after the closing time was ignored.<br>
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4) The votes were tallied. All yea votes counted towards the bill. Nay
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Later on, Jasonia implemented several major changes to the system, such as the elimination of the diplomatic recognition threshold, procedures for amendments and deadline extensions, and a set of "haste voting rules" to allow for the quick passage of important matters.
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votes counted against it. Abstain votes were ignored entirely when
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determining if a vote passed or failed, but still counted in the number
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== Abuse ==
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of total votes a bill received.<br>
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5) A bill passed if there were a certain percentage of yea votes when
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Towards the end of Jasonia's life, the timed democracy system was abused by factions wishing to ram their own agendas through the legislative process: bills were proposed during OOC holidays to minimize opposition; large groups campaigned for laws that would affect only a scant few people; and other shady practices were observed. Timed democracy became clearly susceptible to use as a weapon against political enemies, equally representative as it is of every citizen; yet, during Jasonia's early days, when most citizens were concerned only for the fledgling nation's well-being, the system proved satisfying and efficient, and indeed almost seemed as a self-preservation instinct for Jasonia amidst a sea of failing [[Apollo sector]] nations.
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compared to the total of all yea and nay votes entered.<br>
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i) Recognition of a previously unknown [[micronation]] or an existing
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== Outside Jasonia ==
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micronation with a new government: 3/7 yea votes<br>
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ii) Normal laws: 50% yea votes<br>
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Timed democracy, and especially the "haste voting rules" seen in its later version, was later adapted for use in the [[Tymaria|United Republic of Tymaria]].
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iii) Amendments to the Constitution: 75% yea votes<br>
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iv) Any action that would involve the FIoJ losing its independence:
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[[Category:History]]
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100% yea votes<br>
 
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6) All laws were assumed to be in affect the second they actually
 
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passed.
 
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Clearly there are some unusual elements in the procedures, such as the
 
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bizarre 3/7 “majority” and the time a vote could be left open being
 
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based on when it was introduced, but this was the basics of the system
 
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the FIoJ was governed under. Later on, the Flying Islands of Jasonia
 
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implemented several major changes into the system, such as the
 
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elimination of the 3/7 oddity and required minimum vote quotas,
 
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procedures for extensions and amendments, and “Haste Voting Rules” to
 
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quickly pass bills of vast importance.
 
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Late in the life of the FIoJ, the Timed Democracy was abused by
 
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factions wanting to see their own agendas pushed through. Bills were
 
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proposed over real-life holidays to prevent significant opposition,
 
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large groups forced laws through that would affect only a small number
 
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of people, and other shady voting practices were observed. The Timed
 
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Democracy system, as it represents everyone in the nation equally,
 
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became clearly susceptible as being a weapon against one’s political
 
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enemies. Yet, during many months of Jasonia’s early life when most of
 
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the citizens were concerned less about politics and more about the
 
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nation’s well being, Timed Democracy proved an exceptionally efficient
 
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and satisfying way to pass legislation, and indeed it almost seemed as
 
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the very nation itself gained a self-preservation instinct to survive
 
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where many other old [[Apollo]] nations did not.
 
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Timed Democracy was later recognized by [[The United Republic of
 
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Tymaria]] and was adapted for use there, specifically the [[Haste
 
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Voting]] Rules. Tymaria had a slew of its own problems, but Timed
 
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Democracy was not one of them.
 
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Democratic elements and entire democratic legislatures exist elsewhere
 
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in the micronational world, but there are no known ones that stem
 
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directly from Timed Democracy.
 

Latest revision as of 04:03, 5 November 2016

Timed democracy was a system of government that originated in the Flying Islands of Jasonia.

Background

At the beginning of Jasonia's history, there was no constitution or code of laws in place, only promises of freedom. When it became clear, however, that the first Jasonians were looking not for a refugee camp but for a new motherland, a debate was ignited concerning the system of government to be adopted. After a month of debate, a vote on the system of government was held, which was won by Tony Au's late but popular entry, which he had named timed democracy.

From the beginning, Jasonia was by and large a democracy; however, as citizenship levels increased and some citizens became inactive, the custom of requiring votes from every citizen on every matter became increasingly impractical. The framers of Jasonia, therefore, decided that bills would pass or fail not upon a certain quota of votes but after a certain period of time.

Procedure

In the weeks following the adoption of timed democracy, the details of its implementation were worked out by the Jasonian citizen body, headed by president Jason Steffke. The initial version allowed any Jasonian citizen in good standing to table, debate, and vote on bills, with voting allowed during debates. Debates would be closed at the first strike of 10 pm Eastern Time after 48 hours had elapsed, and the thresholds for adopting different categories of bills were as such:

Bill type Threshold
Diplomatic recognition 42.86% (3/7)
Law 50%
Constitutional amendment 75%
Any action that would infringe upon Jasonia's sovereignty 100%

Later on, Jasonia implemented several major changes to the system, such as the elimination of the diplomatic recognition threshold, procedures for amendments and deadline extensions, and a set of "haste voting rules" to allow for the quick passage of important matters.

Abuse

Towards the end of Jasonia's life, the timed democracy system was abused by factions wishing to ram their own agendas through the legislative process: bills were proposed during OOC holidays to minimize opposition; large groups campaigned for laws that would affect only a scant few people; and other shady practices were observed. Timed democracy became clearly susceptible to use as a weapon against political enemies, equally representative as it is of every citizen; yet, during Jasonia's early days, when most citizens were concerned only for the fledgling nation's well-being, the system proved satisfying and efficient, and indeed almost seemed as a self-preservation instinct for Jasonia amidst a sea of failing Apollo sector nations.

Outside Jasonia

Timed democracy, and especially the "haste voting rules" seen in its later version, was later adapted for use in the United Republic of Tymaria.

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