Tally of the Votes

Overview

At each summit the Bourse selects citizens to fill most national positions through the Tally of the Votes. The Tally applies to the majority of Bourse titles that are national positions; the Imperial seats and two League national positions are elected by Auction of the Seats.

Participation in the Tally of the Votes is open to all Imperial citizens who have an eligible resource.

Schedule

Under normal circumstances, voting opens place on Saturday morning and closes Saturday afternoon around 4pm, shortly after the Auction of the Seats is completed. If circumstances force a change in timing or location, then the civil service update the event schedule published before the summit begins.

To register their vote, citizens need to find an Agent of the Bourse in the civil service Hub near the centre of the Anvil. If there is no Agent available, another civil servant may be able to assist. The Agents have records of every eligible citizen who is attending Anvil for the summit that states how many votes the citizen receives. Votes may be cast for any eligible citizen, candidates do not need to be nominated in advance.

The major Bourse seats operate to a schedule dictated by the materials produced. For example, all titles associated with the production of white granite are elected at the same summit each year

• Weirwood seats are re-elected at the Winter Solstice.
• Ilium seats and the Master of the Imperial Mint are re-elected at the Spring Equinox.
• White granite seats are re-elected at the Summer Solstice.
• Mithril seats are re-elected at the Autumn Equinox.

A list of seats to be appointed at the upcoming event can be found on the recent history page and on notices around Anvil. Once appointed, the new seat holders are announced via the Bourse noticeboard in the Hub.

Selection

An Imperial citizen must be a member of the appropriate nation to hold a national Bourse seat and it must be the only Imperial title they control.

All national titles elected through the bourse are re-elected annually. If the title is elected at the normal summit each year then the chosen citizen serves for one year until the start of the equivalent summit one year later.

If an national Bourse seat becomes vacant outside the normal election cycle (due to death, resignation, or excommunication of the title holder) then the seat is elected at the following summit. In this case, the winning citizen will only serve for the remaining term. The title becomes vacant again at the normal point in the election cycle.

Voting

Determining the votes

In each case, voting for a national bourse position depends on ownership of a specific personal resource. A personal resource provides 10 votes, plus an extra 2 votes for each time it has been upgraded for each season during the previous year that the resource was active. Only the actual rank of the military unit counts in this calculation. Enchantments, curses, penalties or bonuses for downtime effects and so on have no effect. When the senator is elected, the number of votes they have accrued over the previous year is tallied.

Characters new to the nation who have the appropriate personal resource are assumed to have had that resource for the previous year (and taken the appropriate action in the case of the Imperial Orcs and Brass Coast). Likewise, players with the resource who have missed an event similarly receive votes for events they did not attend. We've made this rule for game balance reasons - so that new characters and players unable to attend every event are not unfairly penalised.

The Bourse appoints national positions by vote of members of that nation who hold the resources traditional for that nation. For example, a League position in the Bourse is usually elected by vote of League business owners. Each citizen who owns the right resource receives a number of votes proportional to the size of their resource which they can cast for a single candidate of their choice whenever the position is elected. To be eligible to vote the required resources are:

• The Brass Coast - fleets engaging in privateering during the previous year
• Dawn - Military unit
• Highguard - Congregation
• Imperial Orcs - Military unit supporting an Imperial army during the previous year.
• Navarr - Herb garden
• The League - Business
• The Marches - Farm
• Urizen - Mana site
• Varushka - Mine and Forest owners
• Wintermark - Military unit

Removal

The Bourse is explicitly protected from interference from the Imperial Synod in the Imperial Constitution. Because of this, it is not possible to revoke a Bourse seat holder to remove them from their position. They serve until the title is reelected or until they die or step down.

Core Brief

• Auction of the Seats
• Tally of the Votes
• Public Auction

Further Reading

• Agent of the Bourse
• Imperial treasury
• Ilium
• Mithril
• White Granite
• Weirwood