The Second Constitutional Draft is in!

Just a moment ago, I posted the promised second draft for the U4Prez Constitution. I took the essence of the first draft written by Faustus and Lucky, took as many of the issues we brainstormed a couple weekends ago to heart, and finished this up this morning. I am aware it is not a perfect piece, and some will find loopholes in it that have to be closed, or items that either should be added or deleted. In any case, it is a draft from which to work with, and I am delighted it's done and can now go onto a committee for a critique.

Anyone interested in being in the committee, contact me.

And anyone interested in criticizing without getting involved, I would love to hear and all remarks you have on the subject, good or bad. Mind you, I am more inclined to go through the committee for amending it, but I will take all ideas into consideration.


U4PREZ CONSTITUTION
(Second Draft)

PREAMBLE
It is in the spirit and celebration of America, democracy, and the tradition of American-style politics, that we, candidates and moderators alike, come together to enforce this Constitution for the website U4Prez.com. With this document, we hope to create an experience whereby all candidates can freely conduct their campaigns, secure in the fact that every vote is legitimate, every election is above reproach, every grievance will be handled with the utmost urgency, every system can be easily explained, every notice will be clearly posted, and every alteration made is done in such a way as to minimize confusion, reduce negligence, eliminate apathy, and, most importantly, install faith in whatever changes are deemed necessary to move U4Prez forward.

ARTICLE I (The Moderators)

SECTION I: By definition, a moderator is anyone employed specifically to maintain the server for U4Prez, and is responsible for the upkeep of the website.

SECTION II: The creator of U4Prez, or any other person of like authority, is considered a moderator. The moderators are entitled to name one of their own for the sake of various votes and negotiations.

SECTION III: The moderator must keep all functions pertaining to U4Prez interactivity in working order, or explain in a clear and obvious manner as to why this cannot be done.

SECTION IV: The moderator must maintain lists and pages for all processes within U4Prez in an obvious location. The moderator must also maintain a calendar of upcoming events, schedules, run-offs, and monthly primaries, in an obvious location.

SECTION V: Any changes in processes concerning the interface or server must be explained to the U4Prez population in a clear and concise manner, and it will be posted in an obvious location. This notification should be made before the changes are made, and sufficient time must be allowed between notification and action.

SECTION VI: The moderator will make every effort to adequately satisfy any inquiry made by any candidate pertaining to the functions of the site.

SECTION VII: The moderator will be responsible for carrying out any sentence against any candidate put forth by the Board of Canvassers.

SECTION VIII: The moderator must make available to the Board of Canvassers all necessary materials needed to settle a contested election, upon the demand of the Board, in a timely and urgent manner.

SECTION IX: The moderator reserves the right to suspend any candidate for any reason pertaining to the User Agreement. However, the suspension must be immediately reported to the Board of Canvassers for proper sentencing. The moderator must also make all grievances made by candidates known to the Board in an immediate manner. Although there is officially no penalty of termination at U4Prez, should the moderators feel it necessary to terminate a candidate for violations of the User Agreement, the moderators must submit an explanation to the Board of Canvassers in a timely, clear, and obvious manner.

ARTICLE II (The Candidates)

SECTION I: A candidate is defined as any user at the U4Prez website. Said candidate must not have direct access to the U4Prez server. Validation of email address is prerequisite to any actions within the U4Prez website.

SECTION II: A candidate is free to choose whatever party to belong to, or, if choosing no party affiliation, the candidate can choose to be part of the Independent group. A candidate may change party affiliation at any time, but must give up any responsibilities or primary wins gained in duration with previous party. Candidates may be held responsible for any actions within their chosen party according to their bylaws.

SECTION III: A candidate is free to conduct a campaign of his or her own choosing, provided that no part of said campaign is in violation of the User Agreement or this Constitution.

SECTION IV: A candidate is entitled to consult with a moderator at any time concerning the website itself and to register complaints pertaining to the conduct of other candidates.

SECTION V: A candidate, upon validation, may vote for any candidate or caucus as (s)he wishes. However, the candidate must have been a member of U4Prez no less than twenty days prior to the general election in order to vote therein.

ARTICLE III (The Parties)

SECTION I: A party is any organization seeking to put forth candidates for run-offs, primaries, and general elections.

SECTION II: There are two kinds of parties. Major parties are sanctioned by U4Prez and have met criteria for legitimacy. Such criteria include membership of no less than twenty candidates upon application, a spokesman, and formal recognition of the U4Prez Constitution. Minor parties are groups actively seeking major party status but have not met all criteria.

SECTION III: Upon the ratification of this Constitution, the Republican and Democratic Parties will be recognized as major parties.

SECTION IV: The Independent group will be considered a major party by definition, as it will have the ability to create its own leadership and bylaws. It will also retain all minor parties until they achieve major party status, as well as all candidates not seeking party affiliation. The Independent group must assist minor groups in achieving major party status, regardless of platform, core issues and principles, or placement on the political spectrum.

SECTION V: All powers not specifically delegated to the moderators, the President, or the Board of Canvassers, are hereby delegated to the major parties, the Independent group, or the candidates. No bylaw created by the major parties, however, may violate any part of this Constitution. The major parties have the power to construct their own organization, draft their own laws of conduct, and offer names of candidates for primary competition and the Board of Canvassers.

SECTION VI: The major parties, by their own means, must choose a leader. The party leader serves a three-month term, with term limits to be decided within the party. Terms begin on the tenth day of December, March, June, and September.

SECTION VIII: Each major party must choose three candidates to participate in the Board of Canvassers, and the Independent group must choose two candidates. Each Canvasser will serve a term of one month, the terms of which to be decided within each party.

SECTION IX: No newly-formed major party may compete in the primaries immediately following the granting of major-party status, but may compete the following month.

SECTION X: Each major party, including the Independent group, may offer up to six candidate positions each month for competing in that month’s primary. No candidate in the position of Canvasser may compete in a primary, but will be given first consideration for a position in the primary the month after his term as Canvasser is done.

SECTION XI: A major party may not prevent a candidate from joining the party, nor may it coerce a candidate into leaving the party. However, a major party has the right to install whatever restrictions it wishes to on its members pertaining to primary qualification, Canvasser qualification, or leadership positions.

SECTION XII: A major party may be dissolved if its membership drops below ten candidates, the members formally declare the party void, or if the party leader is found guilty of systematic vote manipulation or of concealing any knowledge of such vote manipulation within the party.

ARTICLE IV (The Election Processes)

SECTION I: The selection of Canvassers and major party leaders will be left to the major parties and the Independent group themselves.

SECTION II: Daily run-offs are at the discretion of the moderators.

SECTION III: Concerning monthly primaries, each major party and the Independent group will receive six slots for candidates to compete against one another. The selection of these candidates will be determined within the major parties and the Independent group themselves. Among these six selections will include any qualified automatic primary bids gained by candidates rewarded for their service with the Board of Canvassers.

SECTION IV: For each monthly primary, per major party and the Independent group, the candidates participating will be engaged in three round of competition. In the first round, the candidates will be paired up in run-off fashion. The four candidates with the highest raw scores will move onto the second round, where the highest-scoring candidate will be paired with candidate #4, and candidate #2 with candidate #3. The winners of these head-to-head pairings will move onto a primary final. The winner of this final pairing wins their party’s primary for that month.

SECTION V: A primary win is the ONLY means by which a candidate is guaranteed to compete in the major party conventions and the general election. Primary wins are non-transferable. A candidate who chooses to switch parties must give up any primary wins from his previous party. A primary win may not be given to another candidate if the recipient quits U4Prez, or, for whatever reason, cannot compete in the conventions and general election. Primary wins confiscated by the Board of Canvassers due to discipline, especially if said discipline comes from the actions of a third-level crime, cannot be returned upon reinstatement of candidate.

SECTION VI: All primary winners will compete in their party’s convention, to be scheduled approximately 3 to 6 weeks prior to the general election. They will follow the same format as the monthly primaries, with candidates competing in run-offs, and the candidates with the four highest raw scores competing in the second round and the final. Candidates with multiple primary wins can only gain one position in the second round. If, for whatever reason, less than four candidates qualify for the second round, the candidate with the highest raw score will receive a “bye”. The winners will represent their given major parties and the Independent group in the general election.

SECTION VII: The general election will take place during the first full week of November, with voting taking place on Wednesday through Friday. Nominees from every qualifying major party and the Independent group will be placed on the ballot.

SECTION VIII: The general election is the only election where write-in campaigns are welcome, and a place for write-ins will be placed in an obvious place within the ballot.

SECTION IX: In the event where no majority is achieved by a single candidate, the three candidates with the highest vote counts will compete in a run-off. At this point, the candidate with the most votes wins and becomes President. During the general election, if a write-in candidate appears to be one of the top three candidates in terms of vote count, that candidate will be allowed in the run-off.

SECTION X: In the case where an election is decided by less than five percent, any candidate who is involved may notify the Board of Canvassers of their intention to challenge the results. A candidate may also notify the Board of Canvassers if they have reason to suspect a third-level crime was committed. In the event where an election is decided by less than two percent, the Board of Canvassers will automatically challenge the results.

SECTION XI: No primary election or general election will be considered valid and legitimate without the Board of Canvassers’ approval.

ARTICLE V (The Office of the Executive)

SECTION I: The President of U4Prez, shall be voted on by the eligible population of U4Prez, as deemed in a predetermined fashion, to serve a one-year term. So long as (s)he is legitimately voted to the position, there is no term limit.

SECTION II: The President is the chief negotiator on behalf of the candidates of U4Prez concerning the moderators. Aside from interface problems, candidates should work with the chief executive concerning matters for moderators where the server, vote processes, and any other systemic issues come up.

SECTION III: The President shall appoint his own staff at his own discretion, within the confines of this Constitution.

SECTION IV: Upon taking office, the President must appoint a Vice President, who is to serve concurrently with the President who appointed him. The Vice President can be removed from his office, either by the President alone or through the impeachment process. The Vice President represents the executive in the Board of Canvassers, voting within the Board only to break a tie.

SECTION V: The President shall appoint within his staff at least one candidate with computer expertise.

SECTION VI: The President may not serve in any other office during his term.

SECTION VII: The President, at the commencement of major party conventions, will be granted an automatic primary win, and must compete with other primary winners within said party for the nomination. The President is exempt from the primary process and will not compete in any election until the party conventions. No other formally sitting President has this honor.

ARTICLE VI (The Board of Canvassers)

SECTION I: A Board of Canvassers will be maintained, consisting of three representatives from each major party, two representatives from the Independent group, and the Vice President.

SECTION II: The duties of the Board of Canvassers include election oversight and validation, judging candidates for their conduct and administering consequences accordingly, and voting on other various issues as they arise.

SECTION III: The Vice President shall chair the Board of Canvassers, bringing matters to its attention. The Vice President may only vote within the Board to break a tie.

SECTION IV: Except for the Vice President (who serves at the leisure of the executive), Canvassers serve one-month terms without limits, in accordance to the bylaws of their given parties.

SECTION V: To preserve the integrity of the election process, no Canvasser may run in a primary so long as he is in the position of Canvasser. Upon leaving the position, the former Canvasser will be granted an automatic primary position for the subsequent primary, taking one of the six positions guaranteed to each major party and the Independent group.

SECTION VI: No primary election or general election will be considered valid and legitimate without the Board of Canvassers’ approval.

ARTICLE VII (Justice)

SECTION I: There are three levels of crime within U4Prez. It is incumbent on the Board of Canvasses to conduct an adequate investigation pertaining to any accusations made against any candidate, to categorize said crime, to list any sentence to be carried out, and to consult the moderators concerning enforcement.

SECTION II: The first level of crime pertains to a single episode which violates the User Agreement, either in practice or in spirit. Such events include, but are not limited to, excessive swearing, over-aggressive abuse against another candidate, and posting vulgar or pornographic material on one’s profile. The penalty for such actions will be a suspension of no less than 72 hours for a first offense, with the Board of Canvassers given the right to lengthen the suspension for repeat offenses.

SECTION III: The second level of crime pertains to repeated episodes which violate the User Agreement. Such events include, but are not limited to, spamming and repeated abuses of another candidate, because of their repetitive nature. Also, any candidate who repeatedly commits a first-level offense may be sentenced as a second-level offense, having committed the offense no less than three previous times. The penalty for second-level offenses will be a suspension of no less than one week, with the Board of Canvassers given the right to lengthen the suspension according to the repetition and severity of the offense.

SECTION IV: The third level of crime pertains to tampering and manipulation of any processes having to do with U4Prez servers and software. Such events include, but are not limited to, manipulation of another candidate’s profile, hacking into the U4Prez server, and vote tampering. Since these offenses affect the integrity of the website, they are considered the most severe and should be sentenced accordingly. The penalty for third-level offenses will be a suspension of no less than thirty days, as well as the termination of any responsibilities granted and any primary wins.

SECTION V: If the moderator finds it necessary to immediately suspend a candidate for any reason, the moderator must immediately consult the Board of Canvassers for proper sentencing.

SECTION VI: At the end of a suspension, the candidate in question must apply for reinstatement with the Board of Canvassers. The Board may not deter any candidate from reinstatement and must approve all applications, provided the sentence is completed. No candidate may ask for a reinstatement of primary wins.

SECTION VII: The article concerning justice at U4Prez is limited to conduct as a candidate on the U4Prez website only. No judicial action may be taken against a candidate because of conduct in real life or elsewhere on the Internet. The exception to this rule is any action that leads to a third-level crime.

SECTION VIII: The Board of Canvasser’s has no authority to sentence a candidate to termination. Should the moderators feel it necessary to terminate a candidate for violation of the User Agreement, the Board is entitled to a detailed explanation, and this should be posted in a clear and obvious manner.

SECTION IX: Any violation of this Constitution, which is not rectified in a timely manner, may be considered a second-level crime, with subsequent violations rendering them third-level status.

ARTICLE VIII (Impeachment, Ratification& Amendment Processes)

SECTION I: Any candidate may inquire upon the Board of Canvassers to move to impeach the sitting President and/or Vice President and seek to remove him from office, provided the accused has evidence against him to initiate an investigation of his guilt of a third-level crime. Upon a vote of 2/3 of Canvassers and 2/3 of all major party leaders (including the Independent group), the inquiry shall be put up on petition for the U4Prez population. The petition must collect no less than thirty confirmable candidate signatures within thirty days. If these criteria are met, the President will be removed from office, with all rights, responsibilities, and privileges going to the Vice President, or to whoever the President has previously designated as a successor. If no successor is named, the Board of Canvassers will convene and decide among all major party leaders, naming the new President from among them. If the criteria is not met, another impeachment proceeding may not commence for sixty days thereafter.

SECTION II: Major parties and the Independent group may initiate their own impeachment processes for the removal of their own leadership or Canvassers. The only reason an entity outside the party may remove a leader or Canvasser is in the case of a third-level crime, having been judged by the Board of Canvassers and sentenced accordingly.

SECTION III: This Constitution will take effect upon the unanimous approval of leadership among the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as the Independent group, as well the President, a spokesman for the moderators, and the signing of no less than thirty candidates not currently in a leadership position.

SECTION IV: Any amendment to this Constitution must be approved by no less than 2/3 of the Board of Canvassers, 2/3 of major party leadership (including the Independent group), the President, and a spokesman for the moderators. Upon this, the amendment will go into affect upon the signing of thirty candidates not in any of the previously mentioned positions at the time of amendment approval. If these criteria are not met within thirty days, the proposed amendment must wait thirty days before commencing the process again from the beginning.

With the assistance of over two dozen U4Prez candidates, I humbly submit this draft for the population of U4Prez to criticize, dissect, re-write, and re-submit.

Second Constitutional Draft composed by Olivia Cortez (aka Olivia2008).
November 22, 2007

Voting for the Best Of U4Prez 2007 Starts Now!

The election is over, and although I strongly encourage every candidate to take part in creating the U4Prez Constitution (second draft due this coming week), from now until January 1, there's not much going on in terms of campaigning. There's always time to debate and bitch, but in terms of revamping our platforms, of renovating our profiles, of posturing and peering and prying and and getting ourselves in position to contend in 2008, this is the time of year to take a break, recharge our batteries, enjoy the holidays, and just chill.

This is a perfect opportunity to send 2007 off with a bang, to remember the year that was, and back in June, I thought a year-in-review would be a fantastic way to congratulate the candidates that made the effort to get here every day and duke it out. This is where the readers of K&T can give kudos to their favorite candidates, and show them your appreciation for fighting the good fight this year.

Originally, this was going to be a Best & Worst Of, but I got to thinking, there has been a lot of negativity at U4Prez, and it's one thing when it's the heat of battle, and feathers get ruffled. This is limbo, the dead part of the year, this should be a joyous time. We bag on each other all the time, and I'll be the first to admit, I give as good as I get. I started thinking of categories like Biggest Douchebag, Biggest Cunt, and I know I can be opinionated, vicious, even cruel, but that crosses the line, even for me. We have the rest of the year to wallow in our schadenfreude. to put others down, to make one another look bad. Let's have one event, where everyone can participate, something to get everyone talking about last year in a good way, without someone necessarily having to be the goat.

HERE ARE THE RULES
1--The Kiss & Tell Best Of U4Prez Awards 2007 is not sanctioned by U4Prez.com or its creator, Eric Gurr. U4Prez.com is not responsible for any remarks made by Kiss & Tell concerning any candidate. Kiss & Tell is solely responsible for the content of these rewards, and complaints should be registered directly to Olivia, by any means necessary.

2--Consider this a sort of People's Choice Awards, or better yet, voting for Prom King or Most Likely To Succeed in high school. It is designed to celebrate the candidates of U4Prez in a lighthearted way.

3--Any U4Prez candidate who can prove her candidacy is eligible to vote and to be voted for. Votes can be made by sending your vote list to Olivia, either through a comment here at K&T, a comment or private message at U4Prez.com (profile: Olivia2008), email (irresistibleolivia@hotmail.com), or a comment or private message at MySpace (myspace.com/irresistibleolivia). Simply list the categories below, and add the name of the candidate you want to win to that category. Vote for as many categories as you wish. One vote per voter. All votes made privately will remain private, and no identities will be made public if their votes are cast in private.

4--Olivia cannot vote for anything having to do with Olivia or Kiss & Tell. Anything I said and did and made, I cannot vote for. However, if I am the subject of someone else's work, then yes, I can. If my name is mentioned by someone else on their video or talk show, you can't blame me for that one.

5--The deadline for getting your ballot to Olivia is Sunday, December 16, 2007 (and I won't be so cutthroat as to put an exact time).

6--Winners will be announced in the Sunday, December 23, 2007 edition of Kiss & Tell. Consider it my Christmas present to U4Prez!

7--All winners will receive the validation of the U4Prez world. They will be able to puff out their chests for the entire next year and say they were the best at something around here. They will also receive a dumb but cute little avatar as a kind of trophy to paste onto their profiles, or, if they're really proud of it, blow it up to poster size, print it, and paste it on their bedroom walls.

8--In the event of a tie, all candidates in that tie will be declared winners and given awards.

HERE ARE THE CATEGORIES (26 total)
PRESENTATION (11)
Best Avatar
Best Banner
Best Blog
Best Caucus / Organization
Best Jukebox
Best Photoshop Pic
Best Platform
Best Profile
Best Sound Bite
Best Talk Show
Best Video

PERSONALITY (9)
Candidate I’d Most Like to Have a Beer With
Candidate who Made the Biggest Impact
Most Controversial Candidate
Most Creative Candidate
Most Diplomatic Candidate
Most Entertaining Candidate
Most Improved Candidate
Most Intelligent Candidate
Most Professional Candidate

PERFORMANCE (6)
Best Liberal Candidate
Best Conservative Candidate
Best Centrist Candidate
Best Candidate NOT to Win a Primary
Best Leader
Most Likely to Actually Become President of the United States

If you wish to know who I am voting for, I will post my votes in the comments section of this article later today.

You have a month to mull this one over, to argue over it, to think who is deserving.

I will advertize these awards in my own way, but remember, these are OUR awards, voted on by the candidates, for the candidates.

Love, Olivia. XXX