MajoritySay's voting parameters can be calibrated to start the system gently, or later changed by an elected party to play a more major role in government. It makes sense to start MajoritySay on the issues which affect citizens most on a daily basis, and which elicit the highest contention. The initial voting parameters with suggested values might be:
National petition threshold: | 1 million sign-ups | Local petition threshold: | 100,000 average, adjusted for shire pop | Petition deposit: | National: £1,000 Local: £500 | Petition timeout: | 12 months | Voting days per year: | 2 (changeable) | Voting slots per period: | 30 | Slot allocation: | Government 10, Pers/Corporate 10, Media 10 | Majority required: | 70% | Extraordinary Majority required: | 80% |
Voting Majorities
Extraordinary Majorities (higher) might be desirable for certain votes to pass - policies, for example, requiring 'extraordinary' expenditure or social upheaval in order to implement. Examples of such initiatives might be:
- A major national finance commitment (The Olympic Games!)
- Amendment(s) to the Constitution
- The scrapping of the monarchy
- Declaration of war
- A general election
General Majorities apply to all other initiatives. A sliding scale of majorities could be considered to fine-tune the system. These would need to be declared in advance by a party running for General Election.
National voting slots
Up to 30 national issues might be presented to the public at any given vote. The government may fill up to 10 of these with policies they are proposing. A further ten slots can be allocated for private sector petitions (personal or corporate), leaving 10 for the media.
It might be desirable to limit the number of slots any sector can fill to avoid monopoly abuse. Government issues may go to the vote following a majority vote in Parliament. Personal, corporate or media petitions require a threshold to be reached (say, 1 million sign-ups) before the measure goes to ballot. The outcome of MajoritySay relies on the fairest allocation of voting slots for each sector depending on demand. The petition threshold (sign-ups) can be changed to fine-tune the system. A higher threshold will compel an initiative to get more grass-roots support, while a lower threshold will cause a surfeit of policies to qualify.
Local voting slots
Local issues can petitioned and voted on in the same way to control local government. The voting districts might initially be set at county (shire) level. The MajoritySay petition breakpoints will be lower than national, say 100,000 or 500,000 depending on the shire's population. Local MS voting will ensure major local government policy must be passed by the citizen before it can be implemented. Where there is a conflict of interest between a local and national MajoritySay decision, the national vote stands.
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