It's almost that time again!
Yes, it's time for the Senate Race, in which you, the citizens of Whyville, get to run for elected office. The cycle continues, with one Senator stepping down and a new one joining our illustrious triumvirate (there's a pair of good SAT words for ya!).
As you may know, a hustle and bustle accompanied the last election, leading to all kinds of rumors and potential scandals. Some annoying folks went around 911-reporting every single platform that was created, which meant those people couldn't receive votes until the City Workers could check them all. That ended up being more than 600 reports to sort through!
Fortunately, everything worked out, and we now have a very capable Senator in sk87. Meanwhile, the CWs have racked their brains for a solution to the little problem, and here's what they've decided... (keep an eye peeled on this article for updates from City Hall, which may come later this week!)...
Like in real life, you have to be a certain age to be able to run for public office. In Whyville, we've decided to make three months the age requirement for running for Senator. That means your account must be three months old before it can submit a platform.
Also in real life, you must pay a bunch of filing fees in order to get put on the ballot. In Whyville, the fee to submit your platform will start at 500 clams. Depending on how things go, this could go up, down or stay the same for the next election. (Ditto for the age requirement.)
Additionally, in real life there is often a set date when you must submit your paperwork. To simplify things, Whyville will give you three days to turn in your platforms. Those three days will start on Tuesday this week, and end on Thursday, May 12.
City Workers will go over all the submitted platforms and publish them together sometime in the following week. When we get the scheduling straightened out in future elections, this will go more smoothly than it probably will this first time, so please be patient.
And finally, only Whyville Senators, Y-mail Helpers and City Workers themselves will be able to 911 report the platforms, and only for inappropriate language. Disagreeing with a platform is not enough cause to report it, and these folks understand that.
Well! Enough changes? We think they'll really improve the Senate Race, and encourage more of our citizens to take this exercize in democracy seriously. You're choosing your voice in our community right now. Be sure you're heard!
Design your platforms, review and compare everything, and help us decide who can best represent you. What can the candidates really accomplish? What are good characteristics of a Whyville Senator? Try to find an answer to these questions, not only within yourselves but amongst your fellow citizens, friends and otherwise. We're all in this together!
The above topics would make for great Times articles, by the way....
If you want to be an official candidate, post your platform using the Platforms Tool starting this TUESDAY, MAY 10. You probably won't be able to post any earlier, but just in case, remember that early platforms won't be accepted for the election.
To learn about what you should write in your platform, and how you might want to run your candidacy, read this article by City Hall, from last year. Lots of informative links in there!
When the platforms are posted for votes, remember that you can only vote on one platform, not many, so pick the BEST ONE!
After about a week and a half, the candidates with the best platforms will be published in the Whyville Times, probably on May 22. These individuals will hold an official Whyville debate, hosted by City Hall during the week or two following May 22. The final voting will start afterward.
Remember, when the official votes happen, you'll only be able to pick one person to vote for!
The winner of the election will be announced in June, and the inauguration will happen soon afterward. In the future, we hope to get back to holding all inaugurations in the first week of the month.
Every Senator has a six-month term, which means they become an "ordinary" citizen again after half a year, though there are no rules against them running for office again.
We've elected nine Senators over the past year or so. They've all done a great job of representing their fellow Whyvillians, and we have even bigger and better hopes for the future. Thanks to all these folks!
Current Senators = PUNKnPIE, Rebok, sk87
Retiring Senator = PUNKnPIE
Former Senators = Giggler01, OrEoBaBy, Sonner, DivaSis, softbll12, hotboi764
Keeping you up-to-date,
Times Editor
