ARTICLE V: GOVERNMENT
Section 1. ELECTIONS
1. Elections shall be conducted by the Prime Minister, except
a. When the Prime Minister is involved as a candidate,
b. In the case of the Prime Minister elections, in which case elections shall be conducted by the Guildmaster of Reeves,
c. The Board of Directors shall conduct its own elections for the positions of Secretary, Treasurer, President, and Vice President.
2. The winner of any election requires a simple plurality vote. A plurality vote is one in which the winner is determined by receiving more votes than the next highest person/item on the ballot.
3. In cases where a candidate is running unopposed, the candidate must pass a vote of confidence in order to win the election.
a. If a candidate loses a vote of confidence, anyone who qualified during Crown Qualifications may declare their intent to run for that office. A second election shall be held in one (1) week by the Prime Minister.
b. If no one is qualified to run for office, an Althing shall be held to appoint pro-tem officers.
i. All pro-tem officers must have passed a reeves and open book corpora test.
ii. The order of precedence for pro-tem positions shall be as follows:
1. Those that entered Crown Qualifications and have passed a Reeve and open book Corpora test
2. Those that have passed a Reeve and open book Corpora test.
3. Anyone who wishes to run for the position.
4. Only voting members may vote in an election.
5. Proxy votes are allowed provided that:
a. The vote is in a sealed and signed envelope with the voter’s name on the outside,
b. The vote is submitted prior to the closing of the polls.
c. Proxy votes may be e-mailed to the Prime Minister no later than twenty-four hours before the closing of the polls, or a predefined time set at least one (1) week earlier by the person running the election.
d. If a person is present for an election, any and all proxy votes submitted from that person are considered null and void.
6. For Kingdom-wide votes, the person running the election of each sponsored chapter is responsible for collecting the votes of their group and reporting the results to the appropriate Kingdom official in charge of the election.
a. Each land will conduct the voting in the same week.
b. The Kingdom official in charge of the election will do the following:
i. Determine the week of the election in conjunction with the Kingdom Monarchy.
ii. Determine the appropriate deadline for votes submitted from each land.
iii. Contact all other chapter officers by e-mail or phone.
iv. Post the final results within three days of the deadline to submit votes.
7. Write-in candidates are not permitted.
8. All candidates for office may appoint a representative to witness the counting of votes.
9. The Monarch shall have the power to break ties as detailed under the powers of the Monarch.
Section 2. IMPEACHMENT
1. Officers of the Kingdom may be removed from office (“impeached”) for criminal actions or dereliction of duty.
2. An officer of the Kingdom may be impeached by presenting a petition signed by at least 20% of the voting members of the chapter to the Althing and a 3/4 vote of an Althing.
Section 3. THE ALTHING
1. The Althing is a public meeting open to all members of the Kingdom (or local land in the case of regular local Althings) in which issues are discussed and voted upon.
2. All votes of the Althing, require a quorum of at least 51% of all voting members.
3. Types of issues discussed and voted on by voting members include:
a. Revising and updating the Corpora with a 2/3 majority
b. Expenditures of the treasury, other than the 10% per month allowed to the Monarch and Prime Minister, with a simple majority.
c. Vote on approving the adoption and promotion of sponsored chapters with a simple majority
d. Vote to change the status of a sponsored land with a 2/3 majority
e. Vote on restoring the membership status of a terminated member with a 2/3 majority
3. Abstentions never count towards a vote outcome except to meet quorum.
4. An Althing shall be scheduled and held (“called”) at least once a month on the first weekend of the month, but may be canceled by the Monarch.
a. The Althing may not be canceled if a petition for impeachment is being presented.
b. The Althing can be rescheduled if it falls on a special event or holiday.
5. The Monarch shall preside over and call all Althings.
a. If the Monarch cannot attend, the Regent may preside over an Althing with the permission of the Monarch.
b. If a petition to impeach the Monarch is being presented, another member of the Monarchy shall preside over the Althing according to the Order of Precedence.
6. Anyone may attend and take part in discussions, but only voting members may vote.
7. Althing rules of order may be set down by the Monarch.
8. Althing votes shall be held as an election.
9. Althing items must be scheduled at least four (4) weeks in advance, including, but not limited to changes of the Corpora.
a. If the four (4) week minimum cannot be met, items may still be added to an Althing agenda, provided an option for moving that item to a later date is given along with a yes or no option.
Section 4. DUES AND POLICIES OF THE TREASURY
1. The Kingdom and each individual chapter shall maintain their own separate treasury.
2. Dues are paid to each chapter’s individual Prime Minister.
3. Dues are $10.00 every six (6) months for Core Chapters, and $6.00 every six (6) months for Non-core Chapters.
a. Receipts given for paying dues shall display the time period covered by the dues.
b. When a dues-paid member of a land sponsored by Westmarch transfers membership to another land sponsored by Westmarch, their voting status does not change, but no portion of the monies paid for dues transfer between lands.
4. Receipts shall be maintained for all income and expenditures.
5. The Monarch and the Prime Minister may each spend up to 10% of the treasury each month in order to run the Kingdom or local chapter. They still must provide receipts for all expenditures.
6. Larger expenditures require the approval of an Althing vote.
7. Core Chapters, are required to send $5.00 per dues-paid member (“tithe”) to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom.
a. This tithe shall be collected one (1) month after the Prime Minster election of the chapter.
b. A list of all dues-paid members shall accompany this tithe.
c. Chapters which have not tithed within three (3) months of a Kingdom Prime Minister election cannot submit a vote tally for Kingdom-wide elections or Althings until this has been resolved.