LEX CORNELIA VEDIA DE RATIONE COMITIORUM
POPULI TRIBUTORUM
DEUTSCH |
ENGLISH |
I. All previous laws relating to the Comitia Populi Tributa
are hereby rescinded as they apply to the election of
magistrates and the voting of leges by the Comitia Populi
Tributa. This Lex Cornelia Vedia de Ratione Comitiorum Populi
Tributorum is hereby enacted to define the procedures by
which the Comitia Populi shall conduct the business of
electing magistrates and voting on leges.
II. Calling the Comitia to Order.
Either a Consul or Praetor may, as described in the
Constitution, call the Comitia to order, to hold a vote on a
lex or leges, or to hold an election. The magistrate who
calls the Comitia to order shall be referred to herein as the
presiding magistrate.
A. This shall be done by making a public announcement
announcing the call in those public fora which shall have
been designated for such purpose, in which must be
included:
1. The names of candidates for office and the office for
which they are running (when the Comitia is being called for
an election);
2. Date of Citizenship of each candidate.
3. The full text of any leges which are being voted on (when
the Comitia is being called to legislate),
4. The dates when the members of the Comitia shall begin and
finish voting,
5. Any special instructions that pertain to the mechanics of
the vote, if any.
B. The presiding magistrate shall have the responsibility for
taking all reasonable precautions to ensure that candidates
for a vote hold whatever qualifications are required by law.
The Censors shall assist in such efforts as to the best of
their ability.
III. Timing of the vote.
A. The edictum containing the call to vote must be issued at
least 120 hours (5 days) prior to the start of the vote. This
period shall be known as the Contio, and shall be used for
formal discussion of the issues and/or candidates before the
People for vote.
B. During the Contio, the following conditions shall
apply:
1. Those constitutionally empowered to do so may exercise
their powers of intercessio or obnuntiatio.
a. The exercise of intercessio will remove an individual item
from the vote, but voting on the other items will still be
allowed.
b. The exercise of obnuntiatio shall extend the Contio,
postponing the start and end dates of the voting period by 24
hours, during which time obnuntiatio may again be
exercised.
c. Should the exercise of nuntatio cause the voting period to
move such that it conflicts with calendarical restrictions as
defined by the Collegium Pontificum, the presiding magistrate
may change or extend the dates of the vote and/or contio at
his discretion.
2. A member of the Collegium Augurum shall be invited by the
presiding magistrate to seek favorable auspices for the
conduct of the vote, subject to those rules and regulations
the Collegium Augurum shall set forth by decreta. Should the
presiding magistrate himself be a member of the Collegium
Augurum, he may take the auspices for the vote himself.
C. The period between the start and end of the voting must
last no less than 120 hours (5 days).
D. The ability to vote during the voting period may be
impacted and/or suspended due to calendrical issues as
enacted by decreta of the Collegium Pontificum.
E. The rogatores shall tally the vote and shall deliver the
results to the presiding magistrate within 48 hours of the
close of the voting period.
F. The presiding magistrate shall announce the results of the
vote within 24 hours of receiving the results from the
rogatores, in at least the same venues as the original
announcement calling the vote was published.
IV. Voting procedures.
A. The censors shall issue to each citizen a unique voter
identification code. This code shall be used to maintain
anonymity in the voting process, and to minimize the
possibility of vote fraud. In a timely fashion prior to the
vote, the censors shall make available to the rogatores a
list of valid voter identification codes and the centuries
and/or tribes with which they are associated. The rogatores
shall not have access to the names of the citizens associated
with particular voter identification codes.
B. In consultation with the rogatores, the curator araneum
shall make available a cista; a secure web-based form to
allow citizens to vote directly through the official Nova
Roma web site. This form shall record the voter
identification number and desired vote(s) of the individual.
The information thus collected will either be forwarded to
the rogatores as it is gathered, or at the end of the
process, at their discretion. Alternative methods of voting
may be enacted by other legislation as required.
C. Each Citizen shall have the opportunity to vote for a
single candidate for each office for which a vacancy exists,
regardless of the number of vacancies within a given
magistracy. Citizens may cast a vote for a candidate not
listed on the ballot, or may waive their right to cast a vote
for a given magistracy. Once cast, no vote may be altered,
even with the correct voter identification code. Should
multiple votes be registered with the same voter
identification code, only the first one recorded shall be
used when tallying the vote.
V. Procedures for counting votes.
A. Votes shall be counted by tribes.
1. In the case of a magisterial election, each tribe shall
cast a number of votes equal to the number of vacancies for
the magistracy in question. Votes shall be assigned to those
candidates who received votes by members of the tribe, with
those candidates receiving the most valid individual votes
receiving the tribe's vote first, then working down in
descending order until all the tribe's votes have been
assigned.
EXAMPLE: Four candidates are running for Consul. Each tribe
casts two votes, because there are two vacant positions. In
tribe III, there are 26 votes for candidate A, 32 votes for
candidate B, 2 votes for candidate C, and 13 votes for
candidate D. The tribe's two votes are cast for candidates A
and B, since they received the two highest vote totals within
the tribe.
2. In the case of a vote on a lex, each tribe shall vote in
favor of the lex if a majority of the votes received by
members of the tribe are in favor. Otherwise, the tribe shall
be considered to have voted against the proposed lex.
3. Should a tie occur within a given tribe, the winner shall
be the candidate who is a paterfamilias or materfamilias, or
if such shall not decide the issue, the winner shall be
decided by lot. The rogatores may decide how such decisions
by lot shall be made in a fair manner.
B. A vote or election shall be decided by a majority of the
tribes.
1. In the case of a magisterial election, candidates must
receive votes from at least 18 of the 35 tribes in order to
win.
a. Should not enough candidates receive votes from at least
18 of the 35 tribes to fill all vacancies, a new election
shall be called within 30 days from the end of the current
election.
b. Should more candidates receive votes from at least 18 of
the 35 tribes than there are vacancies, the winner shall be
the candidate who is a paterfamilias or materfamilias, or if
such shall not decide the issue, the winner shall be decided
by lot. The rogatores may decide how such decisions by lot
shall be made in a fair manner.
2. In the case of a vote on a lex, 18 of the 35 tribes must
vote in favor for the lex to be adopted.
C. Votes may be tallied by automated means should the
rogatores determine such is preferable to, and at least as
accurate as, a manual count.
D. Only the aggregate votes of the tribes shall be delivered
to the presiding magistrate; the votes of individual citizens
shall be secret.
Passed by Comitia Populi Tributa in 05 July
2755, Yes: 25; No: 9
TABVLARIVM
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