Edit: Based on feedback from lots of friendly people, I've changed:
- I removed Article II Clause 6 as it basically permitted member states to ignore any part of the bill they wanted
- Added an Article IV for clarification that this only applies to already democratic nations
- Added Article I Clauses 7~11 to establish a standard to allow every citizen to vote
Category: Furtherment of Democracy
Strength: Significant
The World Assembly:
Understanding that many nations have a historically ingrained system of autocracy;
Observes that free and regulated elections are a necessary tool to further democratic interests throughout the world;
Recognises that General Assembly Resolution #130 "Elections and Assistance Act" began to develop groundwork for fair and free elections, but failed to require member states to implement this and was subsequently repealed;
Resolved that every member state which desires to implement fair and free elections for heads of states, must comply with legislated expectations of what constitutes a fair and free election;
Hereby:
Article I - Principles of Fair and Free Elections
- Defines 'member state' as any nation member of the World Assembly which has chosen to conduct elections;
- Defines 'public office' as any office of government or civil service that is subject to an election for selection;
- Defines 'citizen' as any person of a member state who abides by common citizenship laws to be eligible to reside;
1. Requires that where each election of public office is held:
a. A secret ballot shall be used to deter voting influence from unlawful and illegitimate factors;
b. An aggregation and analysis of each vote shall be made publicly available;
2. Requires that a proportionate and just vote distribution method procedure is used to assign public office so as not to inequitably advantage or disadvantage a specific demographic of voters or candidates;
3. Requires that universal suffrage is offered by the state and permitted to be utilised regardless of gender, ethnicity, or any other individualising factors;
4. Requires that a comprehensive list of requirements to enlist as a potential candidate, if any, is made available;
5. Requires that a minimum of one polling location is required per one thousand citizens;
6. Requires that each citizen has access to a polling location within five kilometres of their residence;
7. Requires that mail-in voting and absentee voting be permitted and managed on an equal priority as in-person voting; by extension requires that each member state provide adequate facilities for citizens who are absent from their voting district or attempt to mail their vote in, in a way that will not inconvenience any citizens or discourage potential voters;
8. Requires that a minimum of one designated day per five hundred million citizens is given for elections, with an established set minimum of one day;
9. Requires that the period of time wherein elections are taking place be guaranteed as a protected period, and requires employers (whether privatised corporations or the state) provide unchanged pay and time off to all their employees during this period to allow citizens to vote regardless of their employement status;
Article II - Regulation
1. Introduces a universal Election Regulation Body (ERB) which shall be funded and administered by the World Assembly;
2. Requires each member state, to their best of their fiscal and legal ability, create an internal election regulation and governing body in compliance with the ERB;
3. Understands that this regulation body has the potential to be utilised for illicit activities and further vote manipulation, and therefore requires this regulation body to be inspected and evaluated in their compliance of ERB regulations and standards as laid out in Article I by the ERB at a minimum frequency of one time per year;
4. Requires that the ERB be permitted access to a minimum of a randomly chosen ten percent of polling locations and processing facilities without interference for purposes of monitoring fraud, ballot tampering, or other fraudulent activities;
5. Requires that the ERB make the results of these investigations public, archived and available for scrutiny and re-investigation;
Article III - Assistance in Transition
1. Recognises that many member states may have resistance in transitioning from a non-democratic to a democratic form of government (hereinafter 'developing nations';
2. Introduces and establishes a body for assistance in transitioning, the Democratic Transition Authority (DTA):
a. As an advisory rather than regulatory body, the DTA shall not have binding and legal authority in decisions relating to governmental systems, and shall strive to encourage fair and free elections developing nations;
b. The DTA shall co-operate with the ERB in providing fair and free elections in member states which historically have not had democratic systems of government;
c. The DTA shall be permitted under this Article's legislation to co-operate with willing governments of member states in developing democratic public office systems;
d. The DTA shall not be permitted to intervene with political systems orchestrated by uncooperative governments, and the DTA's authority shall not be forced upon states without an electoral system
3. Clarifies that this article will not necessitate DTA intervention for member states who already have an electoral system for selecting members of public office;
Article IV - Clarification for Member States lacking an Electoral System
1. Clarifies unambiguously that Articles I~III apply exclusively to member states who have a pre-established electoral system, or if the member state desires to co-operate with the offered transition described in Article III Clause 2.
2. Further clarifies that in accordance with Article IV Clause 1, no member state whose government does not conduct elections for public office shall be bound by Articles I~III.