TRMN:Parliament:Running
Running for Member of Parliament
ELIGIBILITY
To ensure that the House of Commons can achieve its goal of offering a broad range of input from active members throughout the organization, potential candidates must meet the following criteria to stand for election to the House of Commons.
General Criteria
• TRMN member for at least one year.
• Completed at least one BuTrain course.
• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Have not been censured by the Royal Council in the previous 12 months.
Hat Rule
MP positions count as 0.5 hats, per the Membership Policy, and the Speaker of the House counts as 1 full hat.
Leadership Prohibition
TRMN members participating in the following leadership roles and designated positions already have the opportunity to influence the direction of, and make a significant impact on, TRMN as an organization. They are, therefore, prohibited from serving in the House of Commons:
- Peer
- Board Director
- Head of a Service or Branch
- Space Lord or Deputy Space Lord
- Fleet/Army/Station Commanding Officer or Deputy Commanding Officer"
ELECTION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
House of Commons elections will follow a standard, three-step process:
• Nomination
• Campaigning
• Voting
Nominations
Any TRMN member may submit a nomination for election to the House of Commons. Nominations are limited to members of the Fleet or Station to which the nominee is assigned. Self-nominations are permitted.
Nominations are collected by the JAG Ombudsman for the Fleet/Station, who will verify eligibility of both the nominee and nominator. The JAG Ombudsman will also confirm the willingness of the nominee to stand for election.
Campaigns
Once nominations are closed, confirmed candidates may campaign for a period of two weeks. Campaigning will be accomplished via the Forums in a sub-forum for each Fleet. Candidates may also make their campaign statements via relevant Fleet, Station, or Chapter Facebook pages, if such pages exist. Campaigns will be moderated by the Fleet JAG Ombusman. After two weeks of campaigning, voting will occur for a period of one week.
Voting
Ballots for House of Commons elections will be tallied using a preferential ranked system, where voters rate all candidates on the ballot. Voters complete the ballot by rating each candidate in order of preference, beginning with 1 as the most preferred, 2 for the next, 3 for the next, and so forth.
The JAG Ombudsman will use a Multi-Winner Ranked Choice Voting methodology to determine the winner(s). If a tie occurs at any point during the tabulation, the candidate who joined TRMN first will prevail.
TRMN members may vote in elections even if they are not eligible to serve in the House of Commons. Any non-eligible members for the House of Commons are not allowed to campaign for or influence the election through endorsement, promotion or otherwise putting one Candidate ahead of another. Violations of this clause will be forwarded to the Royal Council by the JAG Ombudsman for determination of disciplinary actions.
By-Elections
The Speaker of the House of Commons may, with the concurrence of the Royal Council, call for a by-election under the following circumstances:
• If an MP resigns their seat in the House of Commons before completing their full term of office.
• If an MP is no longer able to fulfill the duties of office due to injury, incapacitation/serious illness, or the death of one's self, partner, or family member.
• If an election fails to fill all of the seats in a Fleet or Station.
MPs elevated to a peerage during their term of office will not take their seat in the House of Lords until their membership in the House of Commons is concluded. These MPs may choose either to serve the remainder of their current term or resign their seat in the House of Commons.