Join the new world

Having reviewed the comments from my previous two articles, I believe there is a need to apologize for any confusion that these articles may be causing. As with any project it is critical to identify the problem(s) that the solution(s) seeks to address, or is may be perceived as just promoting change for the sake of change without the benefit of measurable results. These articles are my effort to introduce both the nature and scope of the problems, but I am making the effort to continually weave a proposed solution so that the article series does not come off as just a rant about the perceived inequities of the status quo.

I appreciate your patience and comments as I detail the problem, and assure you that I will be using the “problem statement” articles to flesh out, not just the details of what an eNational Primary System might look like, but also what the measurable benefits are for implementation. Plus I didn’t think a 3500-4000 word essay would be nearly as effective in promoting discussion.

Therefore, I would ask your patience while I “paint the whole picture” of the problems before we leap into a critical analysis of the solution, because frankly, if you don’t agree that any of the items I am outlining are problems, then no solution offered will be of value.

In Part 1 of this series, eNational Primary System - Part 1 - Land of Opportunity, I introduced my first line of reasoning for the development and implementation of an eNational Primary System:

The eNational Primary System being developed will allow for everyone, regardless of party affiliation, to be provided the opportunity to run for office.

I believe that the system is a critical leap in the direction of a more egalitarian culture of opportunity for congressional candidates of all parties of all sizes regardless of ideology.

In Part 2 of this series, eNational Primary System: Pre-empting eUS Political Vulnerability , I introduced my first line of reasoning for the development and implementation of an eNational Primary System:

(The eNational Primary System) preempts the takeover attempt, effectively neutralizing it by allowing the eUS voters to decide their representation from among qualified, good faith, eUS candidates from all political parties prior to the in-game congressional election mechanism.

I believe the system can provide a solution to the “default candidacy”, and therefore eUS vulnerability, to domestic PTO attempts; while, at the same time, provide a voter selected slate of talented and engaged congressional representatives.

Part 3: Of Shenanigans and Snipers

It’s 11:15pm eRep System Time (Pacific) on Congressional Election Day. Intermittently, throughout the day, you have been refreshing the elections page through and organization so that you will not be compelled to vote before you are ready by logging into your user account. You and a handful of other players that have been reserving their vote for when the greatest impact can be realized are sequestered in a private channel of IRC arguing about the best application of the all powerful unregistered votes. The ebb and flow of the voting during the day has dovetailed into the following choices:

Do you move to Colorado to vote for the inactive candidate that is down by a vote to the candidate with the Hungarian accent in his articles?

Do you move to New Hampshire to vote for your shared friend that is leading by one vote but in danger of last minute sniping as evidenced by the rapid population increase in the region of citizens that share the same political party as your friend’s top opponent?

Do you move to Georgia and support the candidate who, although not sharing party affiliation, is well-known for being a solid legislator and matches up closely with your personal ideology, but is down by 3 votes to a candidate who’s only claim to fame is an article which received a ton of votes by paying for subscriptions?

Do you remain in New Jersey or Florida and cast you vote for a contest that is already decided and save the moving ticket that you purchased for the event?

You curse your fates for only having four votes to distribute between you and your IRC channel mates and, with time running out you all decide to move to New Hampshire to help your friend, who is now tied in the contest. At 11:50pm System Time (Pacific), the entire group casts their votes for your friend, the candidate in New Hampshire..and then…BAM…the system resets. On the other side of the reset the results are as follows:

The contests in New Jersey and Florida remain decided.

The contest in Colorado goes to the suspicious Hungarian.

The contest in Georgia goes to the Media Mogul Medal purchaser.

And, the contest in New Hampshire, for which all your votes went to help your candidate friend, goes to the opposition candidate, because somewhere sequestered in a different private IRC channel there was another group of voters seeking the opposite results as your group…and, unfortunately for you, they had five votes to your four.

Sound familiar? It should, it happens every single congressional election. Sure, there are those that deny participation in such shenanigans and sniping, but you would be hard pressed to identify a single congressman, current or past, that has not been the beneficiary or victim of the process. And I would seriously question the credibility of those who say they haven’t played such a role occasionally, if not every month.

While I readily admit that the last hour of the every congressional election tend to be the most frenetic and exciting times in eRepublik, the great challenge presented is that the election process does not match the expectation, nor does it nearly emulate the ideal exercise of civics. Being an idealist, I have constantly reinforced the criticality of positive, issues-based, and regional campaigns (which I am confident have some measure of influence on the results) in the run up to election. The problem is that, while the shenanigans and sniping that occurs is not only legal and can be thinly veiled as a “Get Out The Vote” campaign, the final results are very often more reflective of the communication and organization of the snipers than the quality, integrity and engagement of the candidate. The sad part is that a handful of organized voters that are willing to move will nearly always beat a great campaign by a quality candidate regardless of the will of the constituents in the region.

Obviously, the last paragraph begs the question: “If you don’t think the current process is fair, then why participate in the election night antics?” I admit that it took some time to come to peace with the process as it is certainly nowhere near my ideals of how an election should take place. However, that being said, it is one of the few in-game and legal defenses against the “default candidacy” mechanism and the many other vote moving operations implemented by conflicting ideologies. While I hate to rest my hat on the excuse that “everybody else is doing it so I have to”, the reality is that until a system is put into place that provides for parity and fair elections the status quo of vote moving will remain unchanged. Mark it down as another reason that I believe a solution, like the eNational Primary System, is in order (if nothing more than relieving those of us that embrace the ideal from the guilt of complicity in compromising those same ideals in the name of “electoral fairness”).

One of the other critical issues that must be addressed is the generation of multis by candidates to win elections. While I must applaud the eRepublik admins for their increased enforcement of the rules banning players using multis…the timing of the enforcement leads to the victimization of voter’s by marginalizing the value of valid votes. For instance, if a cheater that creates multiple player profiles for the purpose of voting themselves in a congressional election wins that election, it is most common that the perma0ban received if discovered will not take place until after the completion of the elections, therefore any bonafide votes for the non-cheating candidates become a worthless exercise in eRepublik civics because the second place candidate does not receive the position of congressional representative when the cheater is removed. So, while enforcement of eRepublik rules pertaining to the use of multis is imperative…once the deed is done and not discovered and punished by banning until after reset, the regional constituents and the authentic winning candidate are all disenfranchised from the electoral process.

And that is reason #3 that I am a strong advocate of an eNational Primary System. Through a primary system which certifies the voting for the candidates several days before reset, the determination of cheater and the enforcement of eRepublik banning can be administrated prior to the disenfranchisement of both qualified, non-cheating candidates and, more importantly, the eUS citizens that have invested their vote in the non-cheating candidate. Also, through a primary system, every voter in the eUS can vote for a candidate of their choice without moving and the vote remains unpublished until the final certified vote is published following the closure of the “polls”. The key here being that while the “Get Out The Vote” campaigns remain unchanged and the campaign efforts can be in full swing, the efficacy of shenanigans and sniping are generally eliminated as there is not opportunity for planning of that sort based on a secret ballot. This might even be the initiator of a journalism explosion of exit polling.

It is my opinion, while there are many different opinions and motivations for dissent, that, by working together and setting aside partisanship for the greater good of the nation, we CAN construct feasible solutions as a nation to mitigate the impact of shenanigans, snipers and the use of multi’s which are the greatest barriers to seeking the ideal of fair elections; but first, we must, as a nation, unite in our resolve that the traditional way of doing things is no longer the accepted course going forward.

My fellow Americans, let’s stop just pursuing the ideal system and begin actually building it.

I appreciate your votes, subscriptions and comments!

Next installment: The Vote, mightier than the Sword

Thank you for your time,

Ananias - Congressman for Florida
Party President, United States Workers Party