FORT COLINS, MANARA – Earlier today on the floor of the Manara Senate, a large debate had broken out. For weeks the Manara Party, leader of the Government Coalition with the Conservative Party, has been advocating for reforming the electoral system. State Senator David Gorbold (M-Trinity Co 1) brought up to the floor that “in the upcoming election, there is a possibility that a party with the least amount of votes in the general [election] can win [the Governorship]”, referring to the Liberal Party, who are two votes away from holding a majority in the Senate and are the leader of the Government Coalition in the House. Senator Marlon Cross (L-Colins Co 2), the frontrunner in the Liberal Party primaries around 45 points ahead of his competition, claimed that “[Gorbold] is just mad that it looks like his party may not win in 2021!”. The Manara Party holds the Governorship at the time under Governor John Korr, and his Lieutenant Governor is the frontrunner for the Manara Party primaries by 45 points. At that point the Senate splintered into a heated debate, with Senator Terrell Gautier (C-Indigenous) notably calling Senator Cross a “corrupt politician”, daring him to “vote for yourself in the Senate next May”. Lt. Governor Smith had to end the debate when Senators Gorbold and Emilia Toft (M-Trinity Co 2) had stormed out of the room to begin drafting an electoral reform bill.
As it currently stands, the state of Manara practices a first past the post (FPTP) electoral system, where if any singular candidate passes 50%, they get the office for Governor. If no candidate receives 50%, which has happened for every election cycle bar the 1941 Manara Gubernatorial Election, when Smith-Rivera received 60% of the popular vote as a Conservative Candidate for his 3rd term, then the vote moves on to the current House and Senate, who eliminate the worst candidate from the Gubernatorial Election, oftentimes an independent, and vote for who they deem best, removing a candidate every time until one candidate receives 50% of the vote or more. This leads to controversy, as the Congressmen generally go down party or alliance lines. There was a notable example in 1993, after disaster struck the Chad Boone campaign, he only garnered 7% of the popular votes. However, because the Congress at the time was a Liberal-Conservative coalition, Chad Boone won the gubernatorial election despite 93% of voters going against him. In 1994, Chad Boone was assassinated due to the Boonegate Scandal, paving the way to Ezekiel Linton’s governorship, lasting a total of 15 years across two nonconsecutive runs.
Another thing that the Manara Party want to change is the actual election system. Rather than doing a FPTP practice, the Manara Party leadership has advocated for Approval Voting, a system where voters say “Yes” and “No” for each candidate, allowing people to express their liking for multiple candidates. The approval ratings are then calculated, and the candidate with the most “Yes” percentage wins the Governorship. This could help all parties but the Liberal Party for the time being, according to Political Science Professor Corrine Weekes at MSU Emmerson. “Due to the nature of the approval of Liberal Party politicians, and the collective liking of everybody other party, this change could definitely harm the Liberal Party”, she said.
On the topic of elections, the first Liberal Party debates are being held on Monday the 30th. The debates will feature Senator Marlon Cross, Mayor Brennan Wickham, and Senator Savannah Pierson, who was absent for the Electoral Reform Senate Debate earlier today as she was campaigning. Questions about electoral reform will be in the debate, says AFN-44 anchor and host of the debate for Monday Théodore Sudworth.
Floyd Dickman, Manara Party candidate for Governor and current Secretary of Education, had stated that he is “ready to debate [Smith] when he wants to”. As Smith enjoys a 44 point lead, many think it is unlikely for him to debate Dickman. When inquired by Presses Généraux, Smith declined to respond. Professor Weekes told us that “due to [his] lead, he won’t want to debate. With every debate there is a chance that he could say something stupid, or that he can’t say [expletive] at all! If that were to happen, he could waste away that 44 point lead, and with that lead there’s a low chance that Dickman can garner enough support by May to win the primary on the 5th. The only way Dickman can win at this point, with this 72-28 lead, is with a debate or two.”
As the election cycle starts to creep up, Presses Généraux will keep the world informed.
