UDS Election Rules

Election Rules

Per the Constitution and Union law, the Electoral Commission is empowered with the control of elections and the official behavior of candidates. Because rigorous elections are the hallmark of a healthy constitutional republic, rules are necessary to ensure that elections are thoughtful, campaign processes are consistent and understandable, and spam is minimized. Although not required, candidates are encouraged to post campaign threads within Liberty Square on the regional forum to provide a designated place for dialogue between campaigns and the voters. Voters are encouraged to engage with each candidate through designated campaign threads and discussion within these and all campaign spaces is expected to be thoughtful. Finally, the Commission considers ballot quality and security as top priorities. We ask for your patience when handling elections. Any questions concerning the election process or this document in particular can be directed to the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Kade; or, alternatively, Chief Justice Khevo or Deputy Electoral Commissioner Phoenix.

General Rules

1. The NationStation Rules, Discord Terms of Service, Proboards Terms of Service, UDS Administrative Team Rules, and regional law must be obeyed at all times.

2. All campaign messages are expected to be thoughtful. Spam, or the posting of multiple repetitive messages is prohibited. Spam of images and elementary phrases such as “Vote for Testlandia” will not be tolerated.

3. The Electoral Commission is the sole authority on the interpretation and enforcement of these rules. Should an action come close to but not necessarily violate the text of these rules, the Electoral Commission may determine wrongdoing.

4. The Electoral Commission may amend these rules at any time without warning. Candidates and voters are expected to familiarize themselves with these rules.

5. Violation of these rules may result in action taken against the offender, including the possibility of removal from the ballot.

On-site Rules

1. Regional Officers (ROs) are forbidden from using their permissions to influence the outcome of an election. No RO with the “communications” permission may send a region-wide telegram supporting a campaign. No RO with the “appearance” permission may promote a campaign on the world factbook entry.

2. Telegrams concerning a campaign must be limited to one recipient at a time. The use of the regional API or stamps for the dissemination of telegrams concerning a campaign are prohibited.

3. Candidates are permitted to make one small to medium-sized RMB post concerning their campaign wherein they may cite their forum campaign thread but may not post their platform in full. Such posts must include the following message at the bottom:

“[b][u]Attention[/u]: This is an RMB campaign post concerning an ongoing election. As not to accumulate spam, please do not respond here to this post and familiarize with our regional Election Rules. Please direct any responses to Liberty Square on the regional forum.[/b]”
Forum Rules

1. All forum campaigning must be limited to the Liberty Square sub-forum under Union Center.

2. Campaigns must limit their primary promotional activities to one clearly marked campaign thread.

3. All players are welcome to respond and discuss candidate-related matters in a candidate’s campaign thread.

Discord Rules

1. All Discord campaigning must be limited to the #campaign-channel on the main UDS Discord server.

2. The use of images shall be prohibited.