When a citizen becomes dissatisfied with the performance or representation of
one of their settlement's elected Magistrates, they may wish to challenge that
Magistrate's authority. This can be done using CITY CHALLENGE <magistrate>.
Starting an Election
When a Magistrate is challenged, an election will begin. The first two Mystavarian
months (two real world days) of an election are consider the "Campaigning" period.
During this time, other citizens may also challenge the Magistrate in question
(using CITY CHALLENGE <magistrate>) to submit themselves as a candidate in
the forthcoming election. During this time, candidates are encouraged to share
their goals and aspirations for the settlement with other citizens in order to
spread awareness and gain support.
After the campaigning period closes, all citizens of the settlement have
three Mystavarian months (three real world days) to cast their vote for the
candidate of their choice (see HELP VOTING). At the end of this time, the
candidate with the most votes will be declared victorious.
NOTE: it is only possible for a settlement to have an election ongoing for
one Magistrate position at a time.
Tie-Breakers
In the event of a tie, the former Magistrate is given preference and will
maintain their seat in the government if they are one of the tied candidates.
In the case of an election with multiple candidates in a tie and the former
Magistrate is NOT one of the contenders, the Magistrate will be removed from
the position and a run-off election will ensue between the remaining tied
candidates.
In most cases, a run-off election will be enough to break the tie and determine
a winner, however if that is not the case, another run-off election will take
place and will do so until a victor is finally determined.
Challenging a Vacant Position
At times, a settlement may be left with a vacant Magistrate position. In
this case, citizens who wish to take the seat may instead use CITY CHALLENGE
VACANCY. The remainder of the election process is much the same, with other
citizens interested in the position able to CITY CHALLENGE VACANCY to
submit themselves as a candidate during the Campaigning period.
It is recommended to read HELP ELECTIONS, HELP VOTING, and HELP
MAGISTRATES to further learn and understand about the government and
overall election process.