As some of you may know, previous to our most recent election there was a leak of election results to Commonwealth Party leader ButtsforPM, also known on discord as "Russian Hacker". ButtsforPM has been given a discord ban in an effort for him to divulge the name of the mod who leaked the information to him. An investigation is currently ongoing by members of the mod team outside the Electoral Commission as to how this leak could have taken place and who the culprit is. The Meta Elections Act 2021 states that:

1. The disclosure of confidential AEC documents is punishable by a permanent ban. This includes, but is not limited to:
   

a. AEC spreadsheets used for poll and election calculations;

b. results of elections before their intended disclosure.

As a consequence, the source of the leak inside the Electoral Commission would face an unavoidable permanent ban from AustraliaSim, the worst and most serious punishment our community can hand out. There is a reason for this: How can we trust in our system of simulated elections if their integrity is in question, even to the slightest degree?

In the past few days, there has been much discussion about these leaks and the investigation into them on the AustraliaSim discord server. Electoral Moderator Maaaaaaaadison stepped down immediately during the course of the investigation to avoid any conflict of interests, before resigning fully for unrelated reasons mere minutes ago. Griffonomics, as another member of the Electoral Commission, refused to do this, and proceeded to engage in repeated public discussions concerning the leaks. Over the course of these discussions, Griffonomics repeatedly stated the following:

• That the leaks did not take place, despite clear evidence to the contrary, and that there is "no issue with the EC."
• That despite being a member of the Electoral Commission, his actions are not subject to investigation.

In of themselves, these statements, in addition to Griffonomics refusal to stand aside during the investigation to avoid conflict of interest, represent bias. The investigation should be allowed to proceed in a transparent and open manner without Members of the Electoral Commission muddying the waters and denying the possibility of leaks and corruption offhand in a public forum. As per the Meta Constitution:

(7) Officeholders are to avoid bias while performing their duties.

But even if you think Griffonomics statements do not rise to the level of "bias," there are other clauses of the Meta Constitution to consider. The Meta Constitution states that:

(8) Where bias is inevitable, officeholders should take steps to minimise any bias or perception of bias.

(9) Further, an officeholder may delegate a task or decision to another officeholder—

(a) to avoid bias; and

(b) to avoid the perception of bias.

In of itself, Griffonomics refusal to temporarily step down to avoid a conflict of interest shows that he has not taken steps to minimise any bias or the perception of bias. In addition, his statements undermining the investigation before it has had the opportunity to present its findings at minimum creates a perception of bias that is unbecoming of a Member of the Electoral Commission. We need to know without a doubt that our Electoral Commission has integrity and is without corruption or bias. Through his recent actions, Griffonomics has created a perception of bias around his role in the Electoral Commission, and should consequently be removed.

This is why I am formally moving a vote of no confidence in Griffonomics as a member of the Electoral Commission. I ask for all sensible members of AusSim to do the right thing and make sure that our Electoral Commissioners are trustworthy and non-biased beyond a shadow of a doubt.