ALMOST DONE!
Senator Gravel Requests Final Critiques
By Elliott Jacobson and Dave Parrish
Arlington, Virginia – April 30, 2002 Former United States Senator Mike Gravel (D. Alaska, 1969-1981) announced today the final draft prior to the completed text of the National Initiative for Democracy. The Senator said "We are now almost ready, after over a decade of research, scholarship, and debate involving constitutional scholars, authors, journalists, political practitioners and hundreds of interested individuals to present to the American people the opportunity to realize the most important change in our government’s structure since 1788, the year our Constitution was ratified." The Senator continued "During the past seven years we have prepared ourselves to inform our fellow citizens about the social and political benefits of a ‘partnership in democracy’, in which the People become lawmakers in a working partnership with their elected representatives. I now call on all of our friends and supporters to weigh in with their final remarks and assessment of the National Initiative prior to our publishing the final text."
Charles Turk, Member of the Board of Directors of The Democracy Foundation and who, along with Senator Gravel has been working on the the final draft of The National Initiative, said "In order to establish this legislative partnership and present it to the American people, we have taken advantage of recent advances in information technology that make such an improvement in the structure of government eminently practical."
With the 140 year old Swiss model in mind, and the experience of the 24 states that have initiative laws, the sponsors have labored on the language, the legality and the political strategy of their approach, culminating in a Symposium held this past February in Williamsburg, Virginia which brought together legal and political science scholars, experts, opinion leaders, activists, journalists, and political practitioners from home and abroad. Formal papers were presented and debated triggering substantial improvements in the National Initiative. The National Initiative for Democracy includes a proposed Democracy Amendment to the United States Constitution and an accompanying Federal statute, the Democracy Act.
The Amendment asserts the right and establishes policies to activate the right of United States citizens to govern themselves as lawmakers using initiatives to:
- Amend the United States Constitution,
- Enact federal statutes,
- Enact or amend state or local government constitutions and charters, and
- Enact laws and ordinances at the state and local levels of government.
The Amendment also ordains establishment of an independent agency, the Electoral Trust, to administer these policies on behalf of the citizens of the United States.
When enacted, the National Initiative will not replace or alter the legislative functioning of the United States Congress, or the legislatures of states, counties and cities; nor does it affect the U.S. judicial system at any level of government. Instead, The National Initiative creates a "Legislature of the People" that permits all American citizens to exercise their lawmaking powers in a uniform manner in parallel with the legislative bodies of representative government in all jurisdictions. In effect, the National Initiative adds an additional Check — the People — to our system of governmental Checks and Balances.
The National Initiative does not alter or replace existing initiative and referendum laws in the states that have them. Instead, under the National Initiative, citizens have the option of filing their initiatives under the procedures of the Democracy Act or under their state’s initiative and referendum laws.
The National Initiative will be submitted to all U.S. citizens in an election conducted on their behalf by Philadelphia II, a nonprofit corporation. The election for the National Initiative is a self-enacting process whereby the election itself is sanctioned, and the Amendment and the Act become the law of the land, when an electoral threshold standard, defined in the Amendment and the Act is reached; a process similar to the self-enacting threshold standard employed to ratify the Constitution under Article VII in 1788.
The Democracy Amendment
May 1, 2002 Draft
Section 1. The sovereign authority and the legislative power of citizens of the United States to enact and modify all policies, laws, charters, and constitutions by local, state and national initiatives shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State.
Section 2. An initiative that modifies a constitution or charter assumes the force of law when it is approved by more than half the registered voters in each of two successive elections conducted by the Electoral Trust. If such initiative is approved in the first election, the second election shall be scheduled to occur no earlier than six months and no later than a year after the first election. An initiative that enacts, modifies or repeals any statute assumes the force of law when approved by more than half the registered voters who participate in an election conducted by the Electoral Trust.
Section 3. Only natural persons who are citizens of the United States may sponsor an initiative, or provide funds, property or services in support of, or in opposition to, any initiative.
Section 4. The people through the initiative process and Congress through legislation shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate laws, the provisions of this article. These powers shall include, but are not limited to, the power to ban contributions by non-natural persons or persons not citizens of the United States and the power to forbid all courts in the United States from enjoining any initiative election except on grounds of fraud.
Section 5. The Electoral Trust shall administer the procedures established in the Democracy Amendment and the Democracy Act. The Board of Trustees, which is the Governing Board of the Electoral Trust, shall be composed of one member elected from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories of the United States, who shall serve a four-year term. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into two classes. The seats of the members of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; the seats of the members of the second Class shall be vacated at the expiration of the fourth year.
Section 6. This Article of Amendment and the Democracy Act shall be inoperative unless, within seven years from the date of submission hereof to the registered voters of the United States, the Amendment shall have been ratified and the Act enacted by the affirmative vote of registered voters greater than half of the total number of votes cast in the presidential election occurring immediately prior to the election’s certification by the President of Philadelphia II to the governments of the United States, each State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Trust Territories, provided that the number of ballots reflecting an affirmative vote exceeds the number of ballots reflecting a negative vote received by Philadelphia II at that time. Citizens may change their votes at any time prior to the date of certification.
The Democracy Act
May 1, 2002 Draft
AN ACT establishing legislative procedures and an administrative agency to permit the citizens of the United States to exercise their legislative power; and adding to the Federal Code.
Be It Enacted By The People Of The United States:
Section 1. TITLE.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Democracy Act.
Section 2. PREAMBLE.
We, the People of the United States inherently possess the sovereign authority, power and responsibility to govern ourselves. We accepted this responsibility and asserted this power in our Declaration of Independence and in the ratification of our Constitution. We, the People, choose now to participate as lawmakers in our local, state and national governments. We, the People, shall exercise our legislative power by initiative, concurrently with the legislative powers we delegated to our elected representatives. THEREFORE, We, the People, enact this Democracy Act, establishing thereby a "Legislature of the People."
Section 3. PROCEDURES.
The essential elements of the initiative process include, but are not limited to, the following:
- A. Sponsor.
Only citizens of the United States who are registered to vote may sponsor an initiative. The Sponsor shall be identified on the initiative, on any petition, and any qualifying poll.
B. Content.
An initiative shall pertain to a matter of public policy relevant to the government jurisdiction to which it is applicable. The Sponsor of the initiative shall determine the language of the Title, the Summary and the text of the initiative. The Title and Summary shall be subject to the approval of the Electoral Trust.
C. Format.
An initiative shall comprise a Title; a Summary; a Preamble that states the purposes and reasons for the initiative; and the complete text of the initiative.
D. Subject.
An initiative shall address only one subject but may include related or mutually dependent parts.
E. Word Limit.
An initiative shall contain no more than five thousand words, exclusive of the Title, Preamble, Summary and language that quotes existing law.
F. Qualification.
An initiative may qualify for election in the relevant government jurisdiction by any one of the following methods:
- 1) Legislative Resolution.
The legislative body of the relevant jurisdiction may, by resolution passed by simple majority, qualify an initiative for election as submitted by its Sponsors. If the initiative proposes to create or alter a constitution or charter, such resolution must pass by a two- thirds majority.
2) Citizen Petition.
An initiative shall qualify for election if it is the subject of a petition signed, manually or electronically, by a number of registered voters, to be specified by the Electoral Trust, within the relevant government jurisdiction. The time period allotted to gather qualifying petition signatures shall be not more than two years, beginning with the date the first signature is collected.
3) Public Opinion Poll.
An initiative that proposes or alter constitutions, charters or laws, or expressions of public policy, shall qualify for election when the subject matter described in the title and summary are approved in a public opinion poll by a number of respondents specified by the Electoral Trust. To qualify by this method, both the polling plan and the entity that will conduct the poll shall be approved by the Electoral Trust.
G. Withdrawal.
The Sponsor of an initiative may withdraw an initiative from further consideration and processing at any time prior to a deadline established by the Electoral Trust.
H. Public Hearing.
After an initiative qualifies for election, the Electoral Trust shall appoint a Hearing Officer to conduct a public hearing. The initiative’s sponsor and representatives of the legislative body of the relevant jurisdiction will participate in the hearing in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Electoral Trust. Testimony on the initiative of citizens, proponents, opponents and experts shall be solicited and their testimony shall be published as the Hearing Record.
I. Deliberative Committee.
The Electoral Trust shall convene a Deliberative Committee after the Public Hearing for each qualified initiative. The Deliberative Committee shall consist of citizens selected at random from the voter registration rolls, maintained by the Electoral Trust, of the relevant jurisdiction. Members of the Deliberative Committee shall be fairly compensated for time spent and expenses incurred in performance of Committee duties. The Electoral Trust shall provide technical support and such additional resources as are necessary for the effective discharge of the Committee’s duties. The Deliberative Committee shall review the Hearing Record, secure expert advice, deliberate the merits of the initiative, and prepare a written report of its deliberations and recommendations. By two-thirds vote, the Committee may alter the Title, Summary and text of the initiative, provided that the changes are consistent with the stated purposes of the initiative.
J. Legislative Advisory Vote.
A qualified initiative, together with its Hearing Record and report of the Deliberative Committee, shall be transmitted to the legislative body of the relevant jurisdiction. The legislative body shall conduct a public vote of its members, recording the yeas and nays on the initiative, within 90 days after its receipt thereof. The vote of the legislative body is non- binding and serves only as an advisory to the citizens.
K. Election.
Upon receipt of the report on an initiative by its Deliberative Committee, the Electoral Trust shall publish a schedule for the election of the initiative and shall conduct an election in accordance with the published schedule. No more than one initiative applicable to any government jurisdiction (Federal, State, County, Municipal) may be included in any single election. Elections may not be held concurrently.
L. Enactment.
An initiative that creates or alters a constitution or charter is enacted and assumes the force of law when approved by simple majorities in two successive elections that are certified by the Electoral Trust. An initiative receiving more than half of the votes in the first election shall be scheduled in a subsequent election to be held no earlier than six months and no later than a year following certification of the first election. An initiative that enacts, modifies or repeals any statute assumes the force of law when approved by a majority of registered voters who participate in a duly sanctioned election.
M. Effective Date.
The effective date of an initiative, if not otherwise specified in the initiative, shall be forty- five days after certification of its enactment by the Electoral Trust.
N. Judicial Review.
No court shall have the power to enjoin any initiative election except on grounds of fraud. After an initiative has been enacted into statute law, courts, when requested, may determine the constitutionality of the law. Courts have no power to adjudicate initiatives that create or amend constitutions or charters.
O. Promotional Communications.
Any communication, regardless of the medium through which conveyed, that promotes or opposes an initiative shall conspicuously identify the person(s) responsible for that communication, in a manner determined by the Electoral Trust.
P. Campaign Financing.
Only United States citizens may contribute funds, services or property in support of, or in opposition to, an initiative. Contributions from corporations, industry groups, political parties, labor unions, political action committees, organized religions and associations are specifically prohibited. Such entities are prohibited from coercing or inducing employees, stockholders, clients, customers, members, or any other associated persons to support or oppose an initiative. Violation of this prohibition is a felony punishable by not more than one year in prison or a fine not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars, or both, per instance, applied to each person found guilty of the violation.
Q. Financial Disclosure.
The Electoral Trust shall establish financial reporting requirements applicable to initiative sponsors, proponents and opponents, with monetary thresholds appropriate to the affected government jurisdiction. The Electoral Trust shall make all financial reports available to the public immediately upon its receipt thereof. Failure of sponsors, proponents or opponents to comply with these reporting requirements shall be a felony punishable by not more than one year in prison or a fine not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars, or both, per instance, applied to each person found guilty of the violation.
Section 4. ELECTORAL TRUST.
The Electoral Trust shall administer the Democracy Act, ensuring that citizens may file and vote on initiatives relevant to any government jurisdiction at any time and from any location. A Board of Trustees and a Director shall govern the Electoral Trust. The activities of the Electoral Trust shall be transparent to the public.
- A. Mission.
The Electoral Trust shall administer the legislative procedures herein so as to facilitate the exercise of the citizens’ legislative power.
B. Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees shall establish policy for and perform oversight of the Electoral Trust.
- 1) Membership.
Except for the initial Board of the Electoral Trust (as set forth in Section 4.B.5 ), the Board of Trustees shall include 53 members: one member elected by the citizens of each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Territories.
2) Term of Office.
Members of the Board of Trustees shall serve a single four year term, except for the Initial Board of Trustees (Section 4.B.5)) and except as follows: Immediately after the first election, the members shall be divided as equally as may be into two classes. The seats of the members of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; the seats of the members of the second class shall be vacated at the expiration of the fourth year.
3) Removal Of Trustees.
Any member of the Board of Trustees may be removed from office upon a three-fourths vote of the full membership of the Board of Trustees.
4) Filling Vacancies on the Board of Trustees.
Vacancies on the Board of Trustees shall be filled by majority vote of the full membership of the Board of Trustees on candidates who shall represent the political jurisdiction of the Trustee whose seat is vacant.
5) Initial Membership of the Board of Trustees.
The initial membership of the Electoral Trust shall be the highest elected official (e.g., Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State) responsible for the conduct of elections from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Trust Territories. The responsibility and authority of this initial Board shall be confined to establishing policy and oversight for the registration of each citizen of the United States eligible to vote on an initiative; and establishing policy and oversight for the election of the members of the Board of Trustees, which election shall commence when the number of voters registered by the Electoral Trust equals or exceeds the number registered to vote in all of the states and territories of the United States at the time of enactment of the Democracy Act.
6) Meetings.
The Board of Trustees shall meet at least annually and at such other times and in such places as it deems appropriate to conduct its business. All meetings of the Board shall be publicized in advance and open to the public, except those meetings devoted to personnel evaluation or selection or contract negotiations. The Electoral Trust shall publish the minutes and video recordings of all meetings of the Board.
C. Director.
The Director of the Electoral Trust is the Chief Executive Officer of the Electoral Trust and is responsible for its day-to-day management and operations, consistent with the policies established by the Board of Trustees.
- 1) Term of Office.
The Director, except for the first director, shall be appointed by majority vote of the Board of Trustees. The Director shall serve for a single full term of six years. A Director who was appointed to complete the unexpired term of a former director who failed to complete the term of office may serve a second, full term as Director. The Board of Directors of Philadelphia II, a nongovernmental and nonprofit corporation, shall appoint the first Director for a six-year term.
2) Removal Of Director.
The Director may be removed from office upon a three-fourths vote of the full membership of the elected Board of Trustees.
3) Filling A Vacancy.
The unexpired term of a Director who does not complete the term of office shall be filled by majority vote of the full membership of the Board of Trustees.
D. Oath or Affirmation of Office.
Each of the Trustees, the Director and each employee of the Electoral Trust shall execute the following oath or affirmation of office as a condition to his or her service: "I, (name), (swear or affirm) that I will, to the best of my ability, defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States and the sovereign authority of the People to exercise their legislative power."
E. Organization and Responsibilities.
The Electoral Trust shall organize itself to fulfill its mission by developing policies, procedures and regulations to continue to register citizens as they become eligible to vote, to process initiatives, administer initiative elections and administer elections of the Electoral Trust’s Board of Trustees. It may select and contract for facilities and services, hire staff, and prescribe their duties and compensation. The Electoral Trust may also apply for and receive funds, and incur debt when necessary, and shall act in a responsible manner as an independent fiduciary agency.
- 1) Existing Law.
In fulfilling its responsibilities and performing its duties, the Electoral Trust shall comply with applicable laws and regulations of every government jurisdiction of the United States in which it operates that do not conflict with its mission defined in Section 4 A. Where laws are in conflict, this Democracy Act shall supersede.
2) Voter Registration.
The Electoral Trust shall develop procedures and requirements for universal lifetime voter registration of adult citizens of the United States, which shall be usable and binding in every government jurisdiction in which the voter is, or may become, a legal resident.
3) Research and Drafting Service.
The Electoral Trust shall establish and operate a legislative research and drafting service to assist citizens in preparing initiatives.
4) Communication.
The Electoral Trust shall establish the means, procedures and regulations to facilitate the communication of timely, complete, balanced, and pertinent information on the subject matter of each initiative, which information shall be conveyed to the citizens of the relevant jurisdiction by various media. At a minimum, this information shall include a balanced analysis prepared by the Electoral Trust of the pros and cons of the initiative, its societal, environmental, and economic implications, costs and benefits, a summary of the Hearing Record, the report of the Deliberative Committee, the results of the Legislative Advisory Vote, and statements prepared by the sponsor, other proponents and opponents. This information shall be provided to the public in at least the following forms:
- a. Pamphlet.
A pamphlet containing the information listed above shall be mailed so as to reach voters at least ten days, but not more than thirty days, prior to the election for the initiative.
b. Web Site.
The Electoral Trust shall publish on an Internet web site, or equivalent electronic media, all the information contained in the aforementioned pamphlet, plus such additional information about the initiative as may be appropriate for communication via such media.
5) Hearings and Deliberative Committees.
The Electoral Trust shall organize a Hearing to receive testimony and shall convene a Deliberative Committee to deliberate on each qualified initiative. The Electoral Trust shall provide professional Hearing Officers and Deliberation Facilitators, technical consultants and support staff and facilities, as needed for the effective conduct of Hearings and Committee activities.
6) Voting Methods.
The Electoral Trust shall take advantage of contemporary technology in developing voting procedures for national, state and local initiative elections, and the elections of the Board of Trustees, to facilitate the elections and validate the decisions of registered voters.
7) Election of Initiatives and Board of Trustees.
The Electoral Trust shall devise and administer policies and procedures to conduct elections of initiatives and the Board of Trustees. The Electoral Trust is prohibited from influencing any election.
F. Budgets.
Budgets covering all elements of the Executive Trust’s operations and activities shall be published at a level of detail consistent with government practices and the public nature of the Electoral Trust’s responsibilities.
Section 5. APPROPRIATIONS.
There are hereby appropriated from the Treasury of the United States, pursuant to Article I, Section 9(7) of the Constitution, funds to enable the Electoral Trust to organize itself, repay debts herein described, and begin the performance of its duties. Debts to be repaid under this Section include those incurred by Philadelphia II, and certified as bona fide by the Electoral Trust prior to repayment, the proceeds of which were used to pay the costs of preparing for and conducting the election for the enactment of the National Initiative for Democracy, which costs shall include, but shall not be limited to, the production cost of ballots, printing, mail, print and electronic communications, including the Internet, and computer services for the election conducted by Philadelphia II, and related costs such as the cost of the legal defense of Philadelphia II’s operations. Hereafter, appropriations shall be made annually to the Electoral Trust as an independent agency of the United States Government.
Section 6. SEVERABILITY.
In the event that any one or more of the provisions of this Act shall for any reason be held to be invalid as a result of judicial action, the remaining provisions of this Act shall be unimpaired.
Section 7. ENACTMENT BY THE PEOPLE.
- A. The Ballot.
Philadelphia II shall present the National Initiative for Democracy to the People for their legislative decision by direct contact, mail, print and electronic media, and other feasible methods. The National Initiative for Democracy may be voted upon by citizens currently registered to vote in existing government jurisdictions by executing a ballot. Regardless of the media through which they are presented and transmitted, all ballots shall contain the following information:
- o The voter’s name.
o The voter’s address, including street, city, postal code, county and state of residence.
o The voter’s telephone number.
o The voter’s e-mail address.
o Acknowledgment of receipt of the text of the National Initiative for Democracy.
o A Yes or No vote on the National Initiative for Democracy.
o Acknowledgment that the voter may withdraw or change his or her vote at any time prior to the date of certification of the election.
o The date the ballot is executed.
o The physical or electronic signature of the voter.
B. Election.
When the number of ballots reflecting a "Yes" vote executed by registered voters and received by Philadelphia II is greater than half of the total number of votes cast in the presidential election occurring immediately prior to certification, the Democracy Amendment shall be ratified and this Act shall become a federal statute effective on the date of certification by the President of Philadelphia II to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Governors of every State and Puerto Rico, the Mayor of the District of Columbia and the Representative of the US Territories, provided that the number of ballots containing a "Yes" vote exceeds the number of "No" votes at that time. Should the National Initiative fail to receive a sufficient number of "Yes" votes within seven years after the date Philadelphia II commences the formal balloting, this election shall be terminated.
Sponsor’s Report
May 1, 2002 Draft
Summary
The National Initiative For Democracy (National Initiative) includes a proposed Democracy Amendment to the United States Constitution and an accompanying Federal statute the Democracy Act.
The Amendment asserts the right and establishes policies to activate the right of United States citizens to govern themselves as lawmakers, using initiatives, to:
- Amend the United States Constitution,
- Enact federal statutes,
- Enact or amend state or local government constitutions and charters, and
- Enact laws and ordinances at the state and local levels of government.
The Amendment also ordains establishment of an independent agency, the Electoral Trust, to administer these policies on behalf of United States citizens.
When enacted, the National Initiative will not replace or alter the legislative functioning of the United States Congress, or the legislatures of states, counties and cities; nor does it affect the U.S. judicial system at any level of government. Instead, the National Initiative creates a "Legislature of the People" that permits all American citizens to exercise their lawmaking powers in a uniform manner in parallel with the legislative bodies of representative government in all jurisdictions. In effect, the National Initiative adds an additional Check — the People — to our system of governmental Checks and Balances.
The National Initiative does not alter or replace existing initiative and referendum laws in the states that have them. Instead, under the National Initiative, citizens have the option of filing their initiatives under the procedures of the Democracy Act or under their state’s initiative and referendum laws.
The National Initiative will be submitted to all U.S. citizens in an election conducted on their behalf by Philadelphia II, a nonprofit corporation. The election for the National Initiative is a self-enacting process whereby the election itself is sanctioned, and the Amendment and the Act become the law of the land, when an electoral threshold standard, defined in the Amendment and the Act is reached; a process similar to the self-enacting threshold standard employed to ratify the Constitution under Article VII in 1788. The standard used to enact the National Initiative more accurately reflects the will of the People since citizens vote directly for the Democracy Amendment and the Democracy Act.
Section 1.
The text makes clear that citizens of the United States have the right to make and change all legal texts in the United States by initiative. The language is devoid of rhetorical flourishes frequently seen in statutes. That is why there are no references to We, the People or First Principles.
Section 2.
The text states the procedures to amend constitutions and charters, and to enact statute laws by initiative. Rules amending constitutions and enacting laws belong in the constitution, the highest form of law in the polity. Similar text is included in the Democracy Act.
Section 3.
The text of this section essentially precludes corporations from engaging in the initiative process. This is specifically included in the Amendment (and repeated in the Act) so that it cannot be subject to any judicial proceeding. This would be only the third instance where the Constitution defines a crime.
Section 4.
The text addresses the legal power of the People and the Congress to implement by law the enforcement of this article, particularly, but not limited to the power to ban contributions by other than natural persons who are citizens of the United States. It also forbids the courts from stopping an initiative in the absence of fraud. It makes clear that the People and the Congress may repeal, modify or supplement the original Democracy Act except for the Electoral Trust, which is locked into the Constitution in Section 5 of the Amendment.
Section 5.
The text makes the Electoral Trust a part of the Constitution, which can only be changed by amendment. It also defines the structure and the election of Trustees of the Electoral Trust and sets up the two classes of Trustee to guarantee continuity on the Board. It also places a constitutional restriction on the temporary Trustees appointed in the Democracy Act.
Section 6.
The text replicates Section 7. B. of the Democracy Act and is inserted in the Constitution to guarantee that the self-enacting nature of the National Initiative and the sanctioning of the non-government election by registered voters cannot be challenged in court.
Section 1. TITLE.
This act is entitled the Democracy Act in recognition of the fact that, together with the Democracy Amendment, it establishes the United States as a true democracy for the first time in its history.
Section 2. PREAMBLE.
The Democracy Amendment and The Democracy Act are founded on the principle that all political power resides in and flows from the People who comprise a society. The People may choose to delegate some of that power to their agents or representatives, as they did in the United States Constitution, which delegates specifically limited powers to the Congress, the President and the Courts. The Democracy Amendment documents what is self-evident, namely that the People never relinquished their sovereign authority to their agents or representatives. The Preamble of the Democracy Act underscores the foundation asserted in the Democracy Amendment and refers to the legislative power of the People being exercised by legislative initiative.
Section 3. PROCEDURES.
The introductory sentence makes explicit the fact that the procedures listed in the following sections are included in, but do not limit, the procedures established by this Act. Specifically, procedures, added or deleted by the People via initiative and/or promulgated by the Electoral Trust will be binding under the terms of this Section. This section is open-ended so that new circumstances or new technology can be accommodated in the future.
- A. Sponsors.
- The Sponsor can withdraw its initiative if it has not reached the deadline imposed by the Electoral Trust.
- The Sponsor can have its disagreement and its reasoning specifically noted for publication in the Deliberative Committee Report and in the Initiative Pamphlet that is sent to all voters.
- The Sponsor can sue the Electoral Trust and let a court of competent jurisdiction adjudicate, among other possibilities, the final language.
- knowledge of the views of the individual legislators that comprise the legislative body may be useful as a cue to many citizens as they reach their own conclusions about the initiative; and
- knowledge of how their individual representatives voted on the initiative may be useful to many citizens as a cue to evaluate their elected legislators when casting their votes, for or against those legislators, in the next election.
This is the first of several places in the Act at which it is made clear that all political power resides in individual human beings ("natural persons"), and not in organizations or groups. Hence, only natural persons, as distinguished from, for example, corporations, may sponsor an initiative. However, two or more individuals may jointly sponsor an initiative provided that they identify themselves by name. In the remainder of this document the term "Sponsor" will be used to refer to the individual or individuals who sponsor an initiative.
This is also the first of several places in which it is made clear that individuals who will be exercising their political power, either as Sponsors or contributors, cannot do so anonymously. Knowledge of the identity of those who promote or oppose an initiative is both relevant and necessary for an informed decision on the part of the citizens who will be being asked to vote on the initiative.
B. Content.
"Matters of public policy" is a broadly inclusive term incorporating policy decisions that may be reflected in a wide variety of documents, such as constitutions, charters, laws, ordinances and resolutions. The governmental jurisdictions covered by this act include federal, state, county and municipal governments or their equivalents (e.g., parish). An initiative must be applicable to one, and only one, of these levels of government jurisdiction. So, for example, a single initiative could, if enacted, establish law at the State level, affecting every City in that state, if that were the desired intent, rather than have a hundred City initiatives. At each governmental level, every law established is applicable in all jurisdictions subordinate to that for which an initiative is written.
In an effort to elevate the quality of initiative texts, Sponsors are encouraged, but will not be required, to avail themselves of the professional capabilities of the Legislative Research and Drafting Service, a staff function of the Electoral Trust. Among other things, the Service will assist Sponsors in drafting the language of their initiatives to eliminate ambiguity and reduce the chance that an initiative, once enacted, can be successfully challenged in court for technical or constitutional reasons.
C. Format.
An initiative has four distinct parts:
- Title. A brief caption that reasonably identifies the subject of the measure.
Summary. A brief paragraph summarizing the initiative’s content.
Preamble. A paragraph outlining the intent of the initiative and the reasons for its introduction.
Text. The full text of the initiative, subject to the word limitation specified in section 3.E.
Before an initiative can be accepted to begin the qualifying process, the Electoral Trust must approve the Title and Summary as submitted by the Sponsor to ensure that the Title and Summary accurately relate to and describe the text of the initiative. The Electoral Trust, at its sole discretion, may determine that either the Title or Summary, or both, do not accurately reflect the content of the initiative. In this case, the Sponsor would have the opportunity to revise and resubmit the initiative. If differences between the Sponsor and the Electoral Trust are not reconciled by negotiation, the Sponsor may sue the Electoral Trust to fulfill its ministerial responsibility to approve the Sponsor’s Title or Summary. In that event the court can decide, among other possibilities, on the language of the Title and Summary.
The Electoral Trust has no authority to change the Title or Summary. However, Section 3.I authorizes the Deliberative Committee to amend the Title, Summary or Text of the initiative.
D. Subject.
An initiative can address only one subject; however it may include other subjects that are dependent parts or so closely related that their absence would impair the completeness of the initiative in dealing with its intent.
E. Word Limit.
The 5,000-word restriction is intended to preclude long and unnecessarily complicated measures that offer the opportunity for Sponsors to slip in legal language that they do not wish to bring to the attention of the voters.
F. Qualification. The Democracy Act strikes a balance between the desire to make it easier and less expensive for ordinary citizens to place an initiative on the ballot, and the desire to screen out initiatives in which an overwhelming majority of voters would have no interest. After receiving approval of the Electoral Trust for the initiative’s Title and Summary, the Sponsor may qualify their initiative for election in any of three ways:
- 1) Legislative Resolution.
The Sponsor may submit an initiative to the legislative body of the relevant government jurisdiction. If that body passes a resolution endorsing the initiative, the initiative is then qualified for election.
2) Citizen Petition.
In order to show that there is reasonable interest among citizens for the possible enactment of an initiative, a petition is circulated to secure the signatures of a specified percentage of registered voters. This practice is followed in states that have initiative laws. The practice is continued, but made considerably easier, in the Democracy Act which permits signatures to be captured electronically as well as manually. The Electoral Trust will specify the form and format to be used to collect manual signatures and the mechanisms through which Sponsors may create on-line petitions. To ensure the integrity of the process, data captured on-line will be stored and managed on information systems under the direct control of the Electoral Trust. The number of signatures required on any petition will be related to the number of voters who voted in the last presidential election, and will be determined by the Electoral Trust for the different levels of government jurisdiction.
3) Public Opinion Poll.
The use of a public opinion poll of registered voters to determine the level of citizen interest in an initiative has, as yet, not been employed by any state. However, it would be an inexpensive, as well as the most accurate, method for ascertaining the level of citizen interest in an initiative. This qualifying method is introduced in the Act. The Electoral Trust must approve the methodology, the questions and the firm conducting the poll in advance. The percentage of affirmative responses in the poll required for qualification is left to the judgment of the Electoral Trust.
G. Withdrawal.
An initiative’s Sponsor may withdraw an initiative from further consideration and processing after it has qualified for election. This option to withdraw the initiative can be exercised by the Sponsor at any time for any reason prior to a deadline established by the Electoral Trust. If more than one individual sponsored the initiative, all of those sponsoring individuals must concur in the withdrawal request.
H. Public Hearing.
The Public Hearing is intended, as in most legislative bodies, to provide an opportunity for members of the general public and expert witnesses to express their views on the merits or shortcomings of an initiative. The Electoral Trust will appoint a professional Hearing Officer who will preside at the hearing, accompanied by the Sponsor and delegates from the legislative body of the relevant government jurisdiction. The hearing will be conducted and supported using technology appropriate to the jurisdiction in question. A Hearing Record will be compiled for publication.
The Public Hearing distinguishes the initiative procedure created by the Democracy Act from those that exist in states that presently permit citizen initiatives. Whereas state initiative laws provide no specific opportunity for public dialog on a qualified initiative, the Democracy Act ensures that information representing all sides of an issue is formally collected and made readily available to the citizens before they vote.
I. Deliberative Committee.
The Deliberative Committee will be made up of a number (determined by the Electoral Trust) of citizens selected at random from the voter registration rolls in much the same manner as judicial juries are selected today. Unlike juries, members of the Deliberative Committee will be compensated at their respective actual rates of remuneration, up to a reasonable limit that will be determined by the Electoral Trust.
The Deliberative Committee fulfills the same deliberative function that committees and subcommittees provide to the legislative bodies of representative government. They provide an opportunity for ordinary citizens to conduct in-depth analyses and discussions of the initiative’s content as well as its actual and potential impact on various segments of society. The Committee will have at its disposal the research staff of the Research and Drafting Service of the Electoral Trust and can call on experts and, under extraordinary circumstances, can commission appropriate studies. The Electoral Trust will determine the number of members and the duration of its deliberations, mindful of the complexities of the initiative and of the government jurisdiction in question.
The Deliberative Committee’s Report will describe the initiative’s advantages and disadvantages, costs and benefits, environmental and societal impact from the viewpoint of ordinary citizens with access to sufficient technical information to make informed judgments. The Deliberative Committee’s Report will, in its recommendations, reflect both the majority and minority views of its members.
If, after due consideration and consultation with the Sponsor, the Committee concludes that the initiative, as originally submitted to the Committee for consideration, is not consistent with the Sponsor’s intent, it may, upon two-thirds vote of its members, make changes to the Title, Summary or text of the initiative.
If the Sponsor finds the changes made by the Deliberative Committee to be unacceptable, the Sponsor has three options:
J. Legislative Advisory Vote.
The legislative body of the relevant government jurisdiction, e.g., Congress, the State Legislature, County Commission or City Council, will be required to conduct a public advisory vote on the initiative within ninety days. The method by which the legislative body chooses to conduct this vote is not under the purview of the Electoral Trust, except that, by law, it must be a publicly recorded vote. This advisory vote serves the citizenry because:
K. Election.
After its receipt of the Deliberative Committee Report, the Electoral Trust will forward that report to the relevant legislative body for its use in preparing for the Legislative Advisory Vote (Section 3.J). At the same time, the Electoral Trust will schedule the initiative for election, which schedule will be published.
By limiting each election to one initiative per level of government (Federal, State, County, Municipal), and requiring that elections not be held concurrently (i.e., there can be only one election in process at any one time), the Democracy Act eliminates the problem presently experienced in some states with initiative laws in which two or more conflicting initiatives on the same subject may both be approved by voters in the at the same time in the same election.
The Electoral Trust will schedule initiatives each election to be held throughout a specified time frame, (e.g., a week) during which voters will be able to vote twenty four hours a day by any of several methods e.g., in person at a kiosk, mail, telephone, internet, etc. The Electoral Trust would announce and certify the results of the initiative election at the end of the time frame. The flexibility provided by the Democracy Act is a dramatic improvement compared to the situation that presently exists in most states, in which voters must all appear at a polling place during a narrow time interval on a single day, once each year.
The Electoral Trust shall develop and publish policies, rules and procedures for the scheduling and conduct of elections. As part of this publication, the Electoral Trust will note any special authority it confers upon itself to address emergency or time-sensitive situations in its scheduling of elections.
L. Enactment.
Following each initiative election conducted by the Electoral Trust; the Trust, directly or through a third party, could conduct a post-election audit to validate the results.
In order for a charter or constitution to be created or amended by initiative, the same initiative must be approved by a majority of voters in two successive elections. This requirement reflects the greater significance of constitutional and charter amendments as compared with statute laws or resolutions, and the fact that constitutional amendments are not subject to review by the Courts. The six-month delay between elections is intended to engender greater reflection on the part of voters before a final decision. In the event that a constitutional or charter amendment fails to secure a majority in the second election, the initiative fails and can only be reconsidered in a de novo submission for qualification to the Electoral Trust.
M. Effective Date.
The text is self-explanatory and comports to normal legislative practice.
N. Judicial Review.
Because of the Separation of Powers Doctrine in the Constitution, courts have no power to interfere with representative legislatures by making determinations regarding the constitutionality of proposed legislation. However, courts presently can and do interfere with the exercise of citizens’ legislative powers, in states that have initiative laws, often denying citizens the right to vote on issues. The Democracy Act makes explicit that the courts will treat the Legislature of the People no differently than they do any existing representative legislative body. It is also makes explicit that the fact that courts cannot adjudicate constitutional amendments enacted by the citizens as is presently the case for amendments made by Congress, state legislatures and conventions under Article V of the Constitution.
O. Promotional Communications.
Knowledge of the identities of the individuals who support or oppose an initiative can, in and of itself, be useful to a voter in determining his or her own views on the issue. Therefore, those who are responsible for a promotional communication, whether conveyed via newspapers, TV, radio, direct mail, the Internet or any other medium, must identify themselves within that communication. These communications must also include the web site address maintained by the Electoral Trust for the initiative. The Electoral Trust will promulgate regulations specifying how this required information will be incorporated in the promotional communication.
P. Campaign Financing.
It is the purpose and effect of the National Initiative to mitigate influence of money within government, at least as it relates to initiatives. Only natural persons can contribute funds in an initiative campaign. In legal parlance a natural person is a de facto person, as distinguished from a de jure or virtual person such as a corporation. The logic is simple: since only a natural person can vote then only a natural person can contribute money.
The effect of money spent in a campaign is mitigated in another respect. Voters have demonstrated uncanny common sense in making political decisions when they have the basic facts surrounding an issue. The Democracy Act is designed in such a way that all pertinent facts about an initiative will be available to voters prior to and throughout the voting period. The effect of this publicly-funded communication process will be to substantially reduce the effectiveness of campaign contributions.
Q. Financial Disclosure.
The Electoral Trust will publish all financial disclosures on the web site (or technological equivalent) it maintains for each initiative. The Electoral Trust will require all those contributing sums above a certain threshold to be identified on the web site. Failure to comply with the contribution and disclosure sections of the law is a felony punishable by imprisonment and a substantial fine. Abuses will occur, but once corporate executives have been jailed for conspiring to falsely contribute funds from a corporation’s treasury the abuses will dramatically decline.
Section 4. ELECTORAL TRUST.
The Electoral Trust will be an independent agency of the Federal Government similar to, for example, the Federal Reserve Board in that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board is not under the authority of the President of the United States or any other government entity. Unlike the Federal Reserve Board, whose members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and unlike all other independent agencies of the federal government, the members of the Board of Trustees of the Electoral Trust will be elected by the citizens of the United States, and not subject to the confirmation of anyone but the voters.
The term transparency in the text of the Act refers to the fact that every aspect of the Electoral Trust’s activities will, to the extent feasible, be open and available to the public. This information will equip the citizens, if they so choose, to make changes, using initiatives, in any element of the Electoral Trust or to impeach any person who holds a position in the Electoral Trust .
- A. Mission.
The Electoral Trust’s mission will be to establish, implement, administer and maintain the policies, procedures, regulations, systems, facilities and other resources required for the effective and deliberative exercise of the citizens’ legislative power, and to enforce the provisions of the Democracy Amendment and the Democracy Act and the policies, procedures and regulations resulting from them. In accomplishing its mission the Electoral Trust will be responsible for at least the actions described herein.
B. Board of Trustees.
The governing board of the Electoral Trust consists of a Board of Trustees, who will be responsible for establishing policy and performing the necessary oversight to determine that the policy is being adhered to or is in need of change.
- 1) Membership.
One person elected from each State, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the Trust Territories (American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands), 53 in all, will comprise the membership of the Board of the Electoral Trust.
2) Term of Office.
In order to provide continuity in the Electoral Trust, twenty-seven of the first elected members of the Board of Trustees, chosen at random, will serve a term of two years. The remainder will serve a term of four years. Thereafter, all members of the Board of Trustees will serve four-year terms.
3) Removal Of Trustees.
If a Trustee violates the oath of office, or for other reasons determined by the Board, that Trustee may be removed if three-fourths of the members of the Board vote for his or her removal.
4) Filling Vacancies on the Board of Trustees.
Vacancies on the Board of Trustees can occur as a result of removal, death, resignation, or incapacity of a member. Vacancies will be filled by majority vote of the total membership of the Board. The Board shall establish procedures for identifying and presenting candidates, from the same constituency with the vacancy, for evaluation by the Board to fill any vacancy in a timely manner.
5) Initial Membership of the Board of Trustees.
At the time the National Initiative is brought before the American voters for enactment, no mechanism will exist for the election of a Board of Trustees to govern the Trust. This shortcoming is addressed in the Democracy Act by appointing to a temporary Board of Trustees the highest elected official responsible for conducting elections in each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Trust Territories. In most states, this position is held either by the Secretary of State or the Lieutenant Governor.
This temporary Board, appointed by law, will have strictly limited powers. Their policy responsibilities will deal only with the conduct of the national registration of citizens of the United States qualified to vote under the Act, and with the conduct of the first national election to elect the members of the Board of Trustees. The election will commence when the Trust has registered as many voters as are registered to vote in the fifty states at the date of enactment of the National Initiative.
6) Meetings.
This "sunshine" or transparency section is intended to ensure that the activities of the Electoral Trust will always remain open to the public. All meetings of the Board will be publicized in advance using various media. All meetings will be recorded and held available for public inspection, and many meetings may be broadcast in real time on radio or TV.
C. Director.
The Director is the Chief Executive Officer of the Electoral Trust and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Trust and the implementation of its policies and regulations. The Act empowers the Director to enter into contracts, hire staff, acquire facilities, and take such additional actions, as he or she deems necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the position.
The position of Director will clearly be of critical importance to the success of the Electoral Trust and ultimately to the success of the Electoral Trust in establishing a Legislature of the People. Members of the temporary Board of Trustees may not be familiar with the concepts embodied in the Democracy Amendment and the Democracy Act, and many may even be opposed to the dilution of their governmental powers as will be the case under the Legislature of the People. Therefore it will be essential that the first Director be a person who has a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the vision embodied in the Amendment and the Act and whose fundamental mission is to empower the People by making them lawmakers.
To address this problem, the Democracy Act assigns the authority to appoint the first Director of the Electoral Trust to the Board of Directors of Philadelphia II, the non-profit corporation conducting, on behalf of the People, the national election for the enactment of the National Initiative.
After the first Director has completed his or her term of office, working with the Board of Trustees to establish a solid foundation for the Electoral Trust and assure its continuing success, all subsequent Directors will be selected by majority vote of the Board of Trustees.
- 1) Term of Office.
The term of office of the Director will be six years. A person may serve not more than one full six-year term in the position. However, a person appointed to complete the term of a prior director who vacated the position before completion of his or her term may serve a second full term as Director.
2) Removal Of Director.
A Director may be removed for cause by three-fourths of the full membership of the elected Board of Trustees.
3) Filling A Vacancy.
If the position of Director is vacated prior to the completion of a full six-year term, a person who receives a majority vote of the total membership of the Board of Trustees will fill the position. The Board of Trustees shall establish procedures for identifying and presenting candidates to fill such vacancy in a timely manner.
D. Oath or Affirmation of Office.
By taking the oath or affirmation of office, all persons responsible in any way for the administration and implementation of the Democracy Amendment and the Democracy Act swear their allegiance both to the Constitution and to the principle that the citizens of the United States are the ultimate governmental authority. Failure to comply with the oath can be cause for removal or discharge, or the subject of an initiative or suit in a federal court.
E. Organization and Responsibilities.
This section simply affirms the authority and responsibilities of the Electoral Trust as an independent agency of the United States government. In this respect, it will be no different from other independent agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board, the National Science Foundation and the National Traffic and Safety Board. Again, what distinguishes the Electoral Trust from these other independent agencies will be that the citizens of the United States appoint the Board of Trustees of the Electoral Trust, whereas the President appoints the Board members of the other agencies.
With respect to applying for and receiving funds and incurring debt, the Electoral Trust will be subject to the same laws and regulations as are other agencies of the federal government.
- 1) Existing Law.
Section 1 of the Democracy Amendment establishes this authority. It specifies that the legislative powers of the citizens, as asserted in the Democracy Amendment and implemented through the Democracy Act, may not be impinged upon by legislation enacted by elected legislatures, or by regulations promulgated by the executive branch at any level of government (federal, state or local) of the United States. In all other respects the Board of Trustees, the Director and the employees of the Electoral Trust are subject to the laws of all governments of the United States.
2) Voter Registration.
The initial registration will be the first task of the Electoral Trust in preparation for the first national election to elect the Board of Trustees. Subsequently, the Electoral Trust will continue to register citizens as they become qualified. The Electoral Trust will devise a registration system to facilitate lifetime registration for qualified citizens of the United States. The Electoral Trust will establish and maintain a database of all registered voters that will permit citizens to exercise their legislative power irrespective of the county, state or municipality in which they reside. Moreover, once registered by the Electoral Trust, a citizen will never have to re-register to vote, regardless of state of residence. A citizen, once registered, shall have his or her voting privileges suspended for the duration of the time he or she is incarcerated as a result of having been convicted of a felony crime or is adjudged by a Court to be incompetent.
3) Research and Drafting Service.
The Electoral Trust, as a public service, will provide a legislative Research and Drafting Service. The research and drafting of legislative proposals by professionals is a service normally provided to members of representative legislative bodies. Such a service assures a uniform legislative practice. Research avoids a redundancy of legislative proposals and shares a compendium of knowledge relevant to all governmental jurisdictions. The use by an initiative’s Sponsor of the Research and Drafting Service will be entirely voluntary.
4) Communication.
Knowledge is the key prerequisite to good legislative deliberation and offers the best opportunity for a commonsense judgment by a lawmaker. The Democracy Act is designed to provide the voter with the most complete and objective information possible so that the voter will have sufficient knowledge about the initiative to render a competent judgment. This information is provided entirely at government expense, as in the case of representative legislative bodies, and will be communicated to the voters in a timely manner using the best available technologies.
The entire initiative process conducted by the Electoral Trust is designed to help an informed voter render a judicious decision on an initiative. The qualifying of an initiative, the Public Hearing, the Report of the Deliberative Committee, the Legislative Advisory Vote, the identification of sponsors, supporters, or opponents, etc., timely delivered by the best communication media, all at government expense, is the essence of the Electoral Trust’s mission to inform the electorate.
- a. Pamphlet.
The voter’s pamphlet, dealing with only one initiative, will be mailed to the home of every registered voter, and made available in such public locations as libraries, post offices, and government buildings in the affected governmental jurisdiction. It will organize and, to the extent necessary, condense what may comprise a huge volume of information into a format that at once accurately, completely and fairly represents the various views on the initiative, without overwhelming the reader.
b. Web Site.
It will often be impractical to include all of the data relevant to an initiative in a printed pamphlet, TV or radio broadcasts or newspaper articles. The Internet’s world wide web is presently the best vehicle available for presenting the potentially vast amount of information associated with an initiative to the public. The information on the web site must be organized and displayed in such a way that the reader can easily find and review information at various levels of detail. The web location or URL (uniform resource locator) at which the information about an initiative can be found will be widely publicized by the Electoral Trust and will be identified on all published materials about the initiative. The Electoral Trust will take full advantage of advances in information and communication technology to inform the public.
5) Hearings and Deliberative Committees.
The Public Hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to observe, provide testimony on and participate in the dialog about an initiative with the Sponsor, representatives of the relevant elected legislative body, proponents and opponents of an initiative. The Electoral Trust will provide a venue for this hearing appropriate to the affected governmental jurisdiction. For example, an issue that affects a small town might be held in city hall or even a school auditorium, whereas initiatives affecting a populous city, a state or the nation as a whole might be conducted via interactive TV on a network operated by the Electoral Trust.
Because the Deliberative Committee will be made up entirely of citizens chosen at random from the voter rolls, many of whom may have little or no experience in such an environment, it will be incumbent on the Electoral Trust to provide both process experts — skilled facilitators — and subject matter experts to assist the Committee members in organizing and conducting their deliberations. The Electoral Trust must also provide administrative and clerical support, facilities and equipment that will permit the Committee to perform and record its work and its findings efficiently and effectively.
6) Voting Methods.
Voting should be made as simple, as convenient, and as efficient as possible for the voter. Citizens should not have to sacrifice their families or their work in order to vote. People who are homebound, people who do not have a permanent mailing address, and people who are unable to read, among others, should not be prevented from voting by virtue of their status. This means that the Electoral Trust must provide many alternative vehicles through which, and many venues at which, people may choose to vote at no cost to themselves. For example, voting by mail, in person or through the Internet will all be accommodated, and in the case, for example, of vote by mail, the Electoral Trust will provide postage-paid envelopes (or equivalent) for the voters’ use in submitting their ballots.
7) Election of Initiatives and Board of Trustees.
The Electoral Trust will be responsible for the design, development, operation and maintenance of the policies, procedures, processes and systems that govern and implement the election of initiatives and election of the Board of Trustees. Special care will be taken to assure the integrity of every election.
F. Budgets.
The text of the Act is self-explanatory.
Section 5. APPROPRIATIONS.
As with all agencies of the Federal Government, the operation of the Electoral Trust will be funded by specific appropriations from the United States Treasury. Whereas appropriations for all other federal agencies are authorized by acts of Congress, the citizens will authorize the funding of the Electoral Trust through this Democracy Act. The Electoral Trust’s use of the appropriated funds will be subject to two levels of audit: first by an independent audit function within the Electoral Trust; secondly, like all other Federal government agencies, by the General Accounting Office.
In preparing for and conducting the election for the National Initiative for Democracy, Philadelphia II, a nonprofit corporation, will rely upon the generosity of donors and/or will borrow the necessary funds to finance facilities, staff, contracts, equipment or other legitimate expenses essential to this election. Inasmuch as the funds from these loans will be used on behalf of the People, affording them the opportunity to empower themselves by enacting the National Initiative, it is appropriate that public funds be used to repay these debts, audited and certified by the Board of the Electoral Trust.
The last sentence of this section requires Congress to appropriate funds on an annual basis to support the operations of the Electoral Trust. The amount of these appropriations will, of course, depend on a combination of factors, including the amount requested by the Electoral Trust in its budget submissions, federal tax receipts and competing priorities.
Section 6. SEVERABILITY.
This section simply ensures that, if any part of the Democracy Act is successfully challenged in Court, only the section specifically invalidated by the Courts will become inoperative; the other sections will remain in full force.
Section 7. ENACTMENT BY THE PEOPLE.
- A. The Ballot.
- If the National Initiative is enacted, the information will be conveyed by Philadelphia II to the Electoral Trust; or
- If the National Initiative is not enacted, the information will, after a brief period necessary to support post-election audits, be permanently destroyed.
- The number of registered voters voting "Yes" in the election for the National Initiative must be greater than one-half the number of registered voters who voted in the most recent presidential election.
- The number of "Yes" votes (in favor of the National Initiative) must exceed the number of "No" votes.
- No more than seven years must have transpired since the date Philadelphia II received the first vote from a registered voter.
The ballot for the National Initiative for Democracy contains sufficient information to permit Philadelphia II, and appropriate auditing entities (such as the Carter Center, for example), to verify that the persons submitting ballots are who they say they are, to verify that they are in fact United States citizens registered to vote, and to permit Philadelphia II to contact them to confirm that their votes were properly and accurately recorded. The information in these ballots will remain the property of Philadelphia II until the election for the National Initiative has been concluded, at which point:
Clearly, not all voters will be able or required to provide all of the information requested on the ballot. For example, some voters do not have an e-mail address. Others may not have a permanent street address or a telephone. As long as the ballot provides sufficient information for Philadelphia II to contact and verify the identity and registration status of the voter, and provides that the submitted ballot contains a "Yes" or "No" vote and the signature and date of execution of the ballot, it will be counted in the election.
Except for verification and auditing purposes, the information captured on a voter’s ballot will be accessible only by that voter so that the voter may confirm that his or her vote was correctly recorded.
Unlike elections conducted by government agencies, the election for the National Initiative will provide an opportunity for voters to change their votes at any time, as many times as they like, until the election is certified. This provides unprecedented flexibility for voters, permitting them to update their votes when, for example, they receive additional information, or simply have a change of heart.
B. Election.
In order for the National Initiative to be enacted, all of the following three things must occur:
When all of these conditions have been met the Democracy Amendment and the Democracy Act assume the force of law on the date that the President of Philadelphia II certifies the election to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, and the Governors of every State.
Opinion
DON KEMNER
Sponsor’s Report
"Unquestionably, a significant improvement of the May 1, 2002 draft of the NI4D is the creation of the companion document, called the ‘Sponsors’ Report.’ Not only is it the appropriate venue for offering explanations of document provisions but it has cleared the way for a crisper legal expression in the document provisions."
DAVE PARRISH
The Current Jurisdictions
"If it (The National Initiative) empowers people to amend the U.S. Constitution it will be a magnificent achievement. If, as it is currently written, it even gives people the right to make law at the federal, state, county and municipal levels, it will have done more than enough."
CHRISTA SLATON
Problems In Initiative Process Better Addressed
"The new draft of the National Initiative for Democracy goes even further than previous iterations in addressing and correcting the flaws that have afflicted the initiative process. Bravo!!"
DWAYNE HUNN
Simple and Direct
"The authors have succeeded in tempering the complexities of what could have been the Rubic’s Cube of legislation. They have accomplished the not inconsiderable feat of simplifying without diluting or "dumbing down" a document that stands to make history."
CHARLES TURK
Toward a Mature Citizenry
"Exciting days are ahead. The National Initiative is driving the People s Business on the road to full democracy and the new version is accelerating progress. The promise is that a fully refined means for solving the problems of the People and our Society will soon be placed in the hands of the People."