LEX FABIA DE RATIONE COMITIORVM CENTVRIATORVM

1. All previous laws relating to the Comitia Centuriata are hereby rescinded as they apply to the election of magistrates and the voting of leges by the Comitia Centuriata. This Lex Fabia de Ratione Comitiorum Centuriatorum is hereby enacted to define the procedures by which the Comitia Centuriata shall conduct the business of electing magistrates, voting on leges, and voting to convict or acquit citizens brought to trial before the Comitia Centuriata.
2. 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, to hold an election, or to conduct a trial. The magistrate who calls the Comitia to order shall be referred to herein as the presiding magistrate.
1. This shall be done by making a public proclamation 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 are 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 are being called to legislate);
4. The dates and time when the members of the Comitia shall begin and finish voting;
5. Any special instructions that pertain to the mechanics of the vote.
6. In the case of a trial, the name of the accused, and the charges and specifications of which they are accused.
2. 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.
3. Timing of the vote.
1. 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.
1. In the event that, in an election for a magisterial office, there are not enough candidates elected to fill all vacancies in that office, the presiding magistrate may call for a follow-up election among those same candidates who failed to obtain that office in the previous election. For these follow-up elections, the 120-hour (5-day) requirement for the length of the Contio (official discussion period) shall be shortened to 24 hours.
2. During the Contio, the following conditions shall apply:
1. Those constitutionally empowered to do so may exercise their powers of intercessio or obnuntiatio.
1. Intercessio may be exercised against either the entire election or vote, or against one or more individual items on the ballot. If there are any items on the ballot that have not been subjected to intercessio, voting on them shall proceed normally. The removal of an item from the ballot due to intercessio shall not prevent that item from being placed upon the ballot for a different vote at a later time.
2. 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.
3. Should the exercise of nuntatio cause the voting period to move such that it conflicts with calendrical 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.
3. In the case of a vote on a lex, the period between the start and end of the voting must last no fewer than 120 hours (5 days).
4. In the case of a vote on the guilt or innocence of an accused citizen tried before the Comitia Centuriata, the period between the start and end of the voting must last no fewer than 192 hours (8 days).
5. 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.
6. The diribitores shall tally the vote and shall deliver the results to the presiding magistrate within 48 hours of the close of the voting period; in the cases of a magisterial election, the diribitores shall also announce in the appropriate public fora various running tallies as provided in V.B below.
7. The presiding magistrate shall announce the results of the vote within 24 hours of receiving the results from the diribitores in at least the same venues as the original announcement calling the comitia was published.
4. Voting procedures.
1. 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 diribitores a list of valid voter identification codes and the centuries with which they are associated. The diribitores shall not have access to the names of the citizens associated with particular voter identification codes.
2. In consultation with the diribitores, the magister aranearius 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 diribitores 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.
3. In the case of a magisterial election, each voter shall have the option to mark the each candidate "yes (uti rogas)" or to leave the candidate unmarked; each ballot shall carry the following direction: "you may vote for as many candidates as you wish, but you are advised to vote only for those candidates you strongly support." In the case of legislation, for each proposed law, each voter shall have the option to vote "yes (uti rogas)" or "no (antiquo)." In the case of a trial each voter shall have the option to vote "absolvo" (I absolve, innocent), or "condemno" (I condemn, guilty). 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.
5. Procedures for counting votes.
1. Votes shall be counted by centuries.
1. In the case of a magisterial election, the votes of each century shall be calculated as follows. For each century, the candidates shall be ordered by the number of 'yes' votes they receive from voters in that century, the candidate who receives most 'yes' votes (ties being decided by lot) being numbered 1, and so on in descending order. If any candidates have no 'yes' votes from voters in that century, those candidates shall not be listed.
2. In the case of a vote on a lex, each century shall vote in favor of the lex if a majority of the votes received by members of the century are in favor. Otherwise, the century shall be considered to have voted against the proposed lex.
3. In the case of a vote on the guilt or innocence of a citizen tried before the Comitia Centuriata, each century shall vote for conviction if a majority of the votes received from members of that century are marked "condemno." Ties within a century will result in that century voting to acquit.
4. The custodes may decide how decisions by lot shall be made in a fair manner. In the case of trials, no decisions will be made by lot.
2. In the case of a magisterial election, voting shall be sequential.
1. A century from the first class shall be selected by lot by the diribitores to vote first. No century containing only one member shall be selected for this purpose. For the first 48 hours of the voting period only members of that century shall be permitted to vote.
2. Twenty-four (24) hours after the beginning of the voting period, the diribitores shall tally the votes of all those who have voted so far according to the method set out in A.1 above, and shall announce the result no later than 48 hours after the beginning of the voting period.
3. Forty-eight (48) hours after the beginning of the voting period, the rest of the centuries in the first class shall be permitted to vote; members of the century selected under B.1 above who have not yet voted shall still be permitted to vote.
4. Ninety-six (96) hours after the beginning of the voting period, the diribitores shall tally the votes of all those who have voted so far according to the method set out in A.1 above, and shall announce the results no later than 120 hours after the beginning of the voting period.
5. One hundred twenty (120) hours after the beginning of the voting period, everyone who is eligible to vote but has not yet done so shall be permitted to vote. All voting shall cease no less than 216 hours after the beginning of the voting period.
3. Results shall be counted by century.
1. In the case of a magisterial election, the results are calculated as follows.
1. In the first round, the first (number one) preferences of the centuries are compared. If at this stage any candidate is the first preference of more than fifty per cent of the centuries (not including any 'void' centuries - centuries in which no 'yes' votes were cast), that candidate is elected. If no candidate has a majority of first-preference votes, then the candidate who is the number one choice of fewest centuries (ties being decided by lot) is eliminated. The election or elimination of a candidate ends the first round.
2. If there still are vacancies to be filled, there is a second round in which each century which voted for the elected or eliminated candidate as its first choice is given to its second choice candidate. If any such century has no second choice, that century becomes 'void'. As before, if any candidate now has a majority of the centuries (not including any 'void' centuries), he or she is elected. If not, the candidate with the fewest centuries is eliminated. This concludes the second round.
3. If there are still vacancies to be filled, each century held by the candidate who was elected or eliminated in the previous round is given to its second choice candidate or, if that candidate has been elected or eliminated, to its third choice candidate. Any century having no candidate as its next choice becomes 'void'. Any candidate who now has a majority of centuries (not including 'void' centuries) is elected, and if no candidate has a majority then the candidate with the fewest centuries is eliminated, ending the third round.
4. This procedure is repeated until all the vacancies are filled.
5. If at the end of any round the number of candidates is equal to the number of vacancies and all the candidates have the same number of centuries, the tie is decided by lot, but rather than eliminate the loser, the winner is elected, and the round ends.
2. In the case of a vote on a lex, a simple majority of the centuries casting votes must vote in favor for the lex to be adopted.
3. In the case of a trial before the Comitia Centuriata, a majority of the centuries most vote in favor of conviction in order for the accused to be convicted.
4. In the case of a magisterial elections, a "majority" is defined as "one half of the number of centuries (not including 'void' centuries) plus one, fractions being rounded down".
5. In the case of a vote on a lex, a "simple majority" is hereby defined as "one half of the number of centuries casting votes, plus one, fractions being rounded down". A century in which no voters cast votes shall not be counted toward this total.
6. In the case of a trial before the Comitia Centuriata, a "majority" is defined as "one half of the total number of centuries, plus one, fractions being rounded down."
   
   Even those centuries in which no voters cast votes shall be counted, as implicit votes for acquittal, toward the total.
4. Votes may be tallied by automated means should the diribitores determine such is preferable to, and at least as accurate as, a manual count.
5. Only the aggregate votes of the centuries shall be delivered to the presiding magistrate; the votes of individual citizens shall be secret.

[In accordance with the Lex Equitia de Vigintisexviris and praetorian edictum, the titles of rogatores and curator araneum have here been changed to the current and more correct diribitores, custodes, and magister aranearius. The rogatores are now registrars of new citizens working in the censor's office; the diribitores count votes, and the custodes break ties and certify elections].

[A. Tullia Scholastica, interpres linguae Latinae, scriba praetoris et magistri araneari, 2758].

Passed by Comitia Centuriata, Yes-38; No-9; Abstain-0

08 October MMDCCLVI

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