Lex Vedia de ratione comitiorum populi tributorum (Nova Roma)

In accordance with paragraph III.D. of the Constitution of Nova Roma, the Lex Vedia de Ratione Comitiorum Populi Tributorum is hereby enacted to set forth the rules and procedures for debate and the taking of votes within the comitia populi tributa.

I. A consul or praetor may call the comitia populi tributa to vote on a law, hear a legal case, or elect magistrates as described in paragraph III.D. of the Constitution of Nova Roma. The following procedure shall be used:

A.The presiding magistrate (defined as the highest-ranked magistrate present who holds imperium shall, in a public forum (such as the official email list, the official web site, or other venues which shall be provided for the purpose) convene the comitia and publish one or more of the following, along with the deadline by which voting must be completed:

• 1.In the case of a law, the content of the rogationes (proposals to be voted upon). While each proposal must deal with only a single topic, multiple proposals may be considered and voted on by the comitia at the same time.
• 2.In the case of a magisterial election, the names of the candidates and the offices for which they stand.
• 3.In the case of a legal case, the charges, names of the litigants, and consequences facing the defendant.

B.The people shall thenceforth engage in contio (discussion) of the various proposals,

candidates, or merits of the case. This contio (period of discussion) shall last at least long enough for two nundinia (market days) to have passed during the interval. Within the first twenty-four hours after the convening of the comitia, the right of intercessio or nuntiatio may be exercised by those Constitutionally empowered to do so.

C.Voting on the proposal shall begin the day following the publication of the proposal. The diribitores and custodes (election officials) shall tally the vote and present the result to the presiding magistrate. Voting shall be done by tribes; a plurality of the members of each tribe shall determine the vote of the tribe as a whole. A plurality of the tribes shall then decide the issue. The presiding magistrate shall then publish the result of the vote in at least the same forum as the original vote was called.

II.Leges saturae, which are laws which deal with more than one topic, may not be enacted by the comitia populi tributa. Laws dealing with different aspects of the same topic shall not fall into this category.

[In accordance with the Lex Equitia de Vigintisexviris and praetorian edictum, the title "rogatores" here and elsewhere has been changed to those of "diribitores and custodes", who are now the election officials; the rogatores now assist the censores in registering new citizens. Since the censores do not deal with tallying votes or certifying elections {the duties of the diribitores and custodes respectively}, the phrase "with the assistance of the censors" has been removed].

Notes

• The term 'trinundium,' which is a nonexistent word, has been replaced with 'contio,' which bears the intended meaning. It is unlikely that "trium nundinum," a genitive plural denoting a 24-day span, was intended

• This lex is no longer valid : it was superseded by Lex Vedia de Ratione Comitiorum Populi Tributorum, MMDCCLIV.