Hi all,

I'm currently traveling/on vacation/visiting family I haven't seen in six months/four years, so this is going to be my only attempt to clean things up, as I'm kind of busy at the moment...

We haven't had this heavily contested elections ever, so it makes sense that this election cycle has been a strain on our system. We have a lot of new and old residents coming together, two very awesome and passionate candidates who really believe in Augusta, and that means emotions are going to run high.

However, this sort of test is exactly what our system needs. Doing the right thing can be difficult, but it is necessary. I've strived to do the right thing over the past ten months here, and I've been aided in that pursuit by all of you, who amaze me every day with your kindness, willingness to help your fellow Augustan, and passion for your city. I've worked in many other cities throughout Civcraft during my tenure as Augustan diplomat, and I mean it when I say those characteristics are uniquely Augustan. Never have I seen such unbridled passion and love for a city and what it represents.

As such, whether it elongates the process or not, we need to have an election that fully follows the constitution. awearyworld was a huge help to me making the new election thread, and it wasn't purposefully against the letter of the Constitution. We've never had a tie in a vote before like this, and it can thus be difficult to know what exactly to do (I sure as hell didn't :))

So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to make two threads. One will be a debate thread and one will be a voting thread. You will be able to look at the candidate platforms, ask them questions, whatever, in the debate thread. That thread will exist for 48 hours after I make it. It will "expire" on Thursday at 1:00pm EET.

I am also going to make a voting thread. It will NOT OPEN UNTIL 1:00pm EET ON THURSDAY. IT WILL BE OPEN FROM 1:00PM EET THURSDAY UNTIL 1:00PM EET SATURDAY. If you don't get your vote in during that time, your vote will not be counted. No exceptions. If you can, post your residence when you vote, it will save time. Don't be offended if someone asks you for residence, as they're just trying to make sure we aren't brigaded by further drama and votes from non-Augustans. I have an idea to improve this system, hopefully we can implement it soon.

This may seem like a lot of extra work, and it is. But it's what is required. We can edit the constitution to fix this later, but for now, we need to abide by it. It's not difficult. Both candidates have come out in great displays saying we need to keep things civil, and I hope they both continue to do so. I'm not going to be able to moderate or make further posts, as I'm, you know, kinda busy. So don't let me down. Be the Augustans I all know you are and help make the city a better place. One the elections are done, they're done. It's only four more days, we can live with that. Four days, that's it and that's all.

I don't like to vote in these things so I can remain neutral. I hope both sides see that I am not attempting to support one candidate over the other, and that I truly and trying to serve as an unbiased arbiter of the Augustan Constitution.

The main reason for this thread is having the election decided in a way that is questionable is setting us up for failure. After this is over, there will be no question who is mayor, legally and constitutionally. It will be done. If it's set up for a tie again, I will cast a vote and break my usual neutrality, because I believe in this process more than my image.

Viva Augusta. Let's do this.