How the Election
System Works

The council and its terms

There are seven council seats. A full term lasts two years, and elections are held every year. That combination is deliberate: two-year terms give members enough time to actually accomplish something, while yearly elections mean the council is never far from being held to account.

The terms are staggered, so the entire council is never replaced all at once. Because seven is an odd number, the turnover alternates: four seats are up for election one year, three seats the next, then four again, and so on. At any given moment, roughly half the council is experienced and carrying ongoing work forward, while the other half has just been freshly chosen. This is what keeps the party both stable and accountable: there is always continuity, and there is always an election on the horizon.

Junior and Senior members

Every council member spends their first year as a Junior Council Member and their second year as a Senior Council Member. Each year, a new group of Juniors is elected as that year's Seniors finish their terms and leave, and the previous year's Juniors automatically step up to become Seniors.

Running for a seat

Anyone may run, and anyone may run again. Tenure earns you nothing on its own: it is competence and the trust of the members that decide who holds a seat. A member who finishes their two-year term is free to stand again in the next election and ask the members to renew their mandate.

Midterms: the confidence vote

Six months after each yearly council election, party members hold a confidence vote on every sitting council member: a simple judgement on whether that person is doing right by the party.

A midterm is best understood as a wake-up call. If a council member loses their midterm, they do not simply carry on unchallenged. They are not removed immediately, but they must stand for re-election at the next yearly council elections, competing openly against any challenger who steps forward. The members then decide whether to renew their mandate or replace them.

The two-strike rule

Midterms also guard against a specific kind of dishonesty: the member who governs badly, puts on a convincing act long enough to survive a vote, then slips right back into bad habits.

The rule is simple: lose two midterms over your time on the council, and you are permanently barred from running again. One bad stretch can be a genuine mistake that you recover from. Two failures of confidence prove a pattern; the door closes for good.

Impeachment

Beyond the regular rhythm of midterms, a council member can be removed through impeachment. Either the party members or fellow council members can move to start an impeachment trial. Every impeachment is then decided by a full trial in which the party members themselves serve as the judges, not the council, not an insider panel.

Filling empty seats

If a seat falls vacant early, through impeachment, the two-strike rule, resignation for cause, or any other reason, the council does not shrink, and the seat is not left sitting empty. An emergency election is held to fill it. Whoever wins serves out the remainder of that seat's term, so the careful staggering of the council stays intact and the rhythm of four-and-three is not thrown off.

Equal votes

Council members are still party members, and they may vote in party decisions like anyone else. But when they do, their status as council members is ignored: their vote counts exactly the same as any other member's. Holding a seat gives you the responsibility to govern; it does not give your voice extra weight. Power on the council is for serving, not for tipping the scales.

How party decisions are made

Not all decisions are equal, and not all decisions are made the same way. The joint voting system applies to general policy votes as well as constitutional changes.

The joint voting system

For general policy votes and Definition changes alike, the vote is not decided by members alone. Both party members and the council must each independently reach over 50% Yes. If either side falls short, the vote fails, regardless of how strongly the other side voted in favour.

The 80% member override

There is one exception to the joint requirement. If party members reach 80% Yes, they can override the council's opposing vote and pass the change without council approval. This override applies to Definition changes; it does not apply to Core Constitution or Council Rules changes, which always require 80% to pass.

What each tier requires

Each of the three constitutional tiers has its own threshold:

• Core Constitution 80% approval vote required to alter. This is the hardest thing to change, by design.
• Definitions and Policies Both party members and the council must each independently reach over 50% Yes. Party members can override the council if they reach 80% Yes.
• Council Rules 80% Yes vote required to override. The rules that govern power itself are the most protected.