#DunesVotes!

Election Dates

As was announced recently, the weekend of November 22-23 will be Dunes Council Elections & the District Referendum. It'll be a busy weekend (with other stuff going on), which is why voting will be open for 2 days.

Want to run for Council?

If you are a resident of the Dunes and an active player, and you want to help the growth and flourishing of our beloved Sand Dunes, we want to hear from you!

Instructions:

Reply to this post and include the following information:

• Start with this as the first line: **Council Candidate**
• (in-game) Name
• Plot address (check the map)
• Real-life timezone (helpful for knowing when people are on)
• Are you able to use Skype for Council chat (no mic required)? Important!
• Council position (one of the following, see this post for descriptions)
  • Council Chair
  • Vice Chair
  • Master of Diplomacy
  • Master of Events
  • Master of Coin General Council
  • Master of Commerce General Council
  • Master of Laws General Council
  • Master of Residence General Council
• Candidate statement (why you think you're a good candidate, what you hope to bring to the position, what you would want to accomplish during your term in office, your vision for the future of the Dunes, that kind of thing)
• Bonus: If you are able to make it to Council meetings on Saturdays at 4pm, that will really help

IMPORTANT ! ! !

The current elected Council has been discussing some role imbalances and has decided that some of the previous positions may not warrant a specific position. Instead, the responsibilities will be distributed to whomever has time and interest, among those who are elected as General Council. Assistantships may also be formed as necessary, to be determined after the elections have been finalized. This will be a benefit as it will allow Council to operate more flexibly should anyone be away.

It is especially important to be aware that all Council positions will require a certain amount of time. If you do not think you can offer much time due to real-life restrictions, consider waiting for a later Council term when you have more time! This is particularly true of the Council Chair and Master of Events positions.

Voting

Voting will probably take place via a Google form because there will be a lot to cover in one go!

Questions?

Submit a comment and we'll update this post, or reply to you there!

Answers!

Q: Will the elections replace the Council meeting?
A: If anything causes the Council Meeting to not take place, it will be the Olympics & UHC events happening that day. Voting will be open during all of Nov 22 and 23.

Q: The ballot is including the barrens dune merge and constitution approval?
A: Yes. The constitution won't be ratified immediately, especially if the ballot shows approval for the district merger, but it will help us understand the will of the people.

Q: Also how will the voting be measured? Will Dunians be able to choose their top 3 candidates per chair?
A: Not 100% certain, but a simple voting model would probably be used, purely for the sake of simplicity (both for voters and for administrators). If there's a simple, clear way to allow a preference-based vote, and if there are enough candidates to warrant it, we can do that. (If you want to push back on this one, please do so!)

Q: And is there a minimum votes for the candidates to be elected?
A: If voter turnout is low, we'll do the best we can. As we recognized at the start of this Council, we would rather there be people to work on building the district and its culture, than wait for there to be enough people to justify it. A bit of a "chicken and the egg" problem in a land like Dong Dank... people move to (and stay active) where there's activity and other people to hang out and do things with. That said, if there are any major surprises in voting results, or a heavily split vote between two candidates, then we would determine a way to respond. Perhaps a debate and a follow-up vote, for example.

Q: Can you be elected with out nominating yourself?
A: Currently, no. It would be complicated to manage write-in votes because one of the things we depend on is whether candidates will be around enough and interested enough to stay involved and committed to their Council responsibilities.
However, if you would like to nominate someone, you may do so here, but then it is up to them to respond with a candidacy statement.