R2I | Amendment | Act[]
AN ACT establishing the methods of recall and referendum, and establishing legislative procedures to permit the citizens of the United States to exercise their legislative power; and adding to the Federal Code.
Be It Enacted By The People Of The United States:
Section 1 TITLE.[]
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Act.
Section 2 VERSION.[]
version 0.2.3
Section 3 SUMMARY.[]
This Act shall be the law instituting the procedures of Recall, Referendum, and Inititiative as envisioned in Amendment 28 of the United States constitution hereinafter referred to as the Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Amendment.
Section 4 SPONSOR(S).[]
John Francis Lee
Section 5 PREAMBLE.[]
We, the People of the United States, inherently possess the sovereign authority and power to govern ourselves.
We declared this power in our Declaration of Independence and in the ratification of our Constitution.
We, the People, choose now to participate as lawmakers in our national government, by initiating law ourselves and by granting or withholding our agreement to laws passed by our representatives, and by recalling those we have chosen to represent us in the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of our government as we see fit.
We, the People, shall exercise our legislative powers of initiative and referendum concurrently with the legislative powers we delegated to our elected representatives.
THEREFORE,
We, the People, enact this Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Act.
Section 7 APPROPRIATIONS.[]
The People hereby authorize the appropriation of funds from the Treasury of the United States, pursuant to Article I, Section 9(7) of the United States Constitution, to enable the Registrars of voters to perform their duties as described in subsection F above.
Section 8 SEVERABILITY.[]
In the event that any one or more of the provisions of this Act shall for any reason be held to be invalid as a result of judicial action, the remaining provisions of this Act shall be unimpaired. Initiatives undertaken hereafter shall separately state whether their provisions are severable, or they shall not be in the absence of such an explicit statement.
Section 9 DEFINITIONS.[]
Ballot[]
A document listing alternatives to be voted on or questions to be answered, along with other pertinent information. In this context, the ballot requests a simple "Yes" or "No" vote on the National Initiative for Democracy, plus information allowing verification of the voter's registration status together with data that can be used to contact the voter to confirm that his or her vote was accurately recorded.
Campaign[]
An operation or related set of operations pursued to accomplish a political purpose. In this context it refers to all of the activities conducted by any citizen or group of citizens together with all the resources applied by them to the goal of enacting or defeating an initiative.
Citizen[]
A person entitled by birth or naturalization to the protection of a state or nation; in particular, one entitled to vote and enjoy other privileges.
Election[]
In this context, the entire process, and the infrastructure supporting that process, by which votes are cast and tabulated to determine whether or not an initiative has been approved or rejected by the voters.
File (an initiative)[]
An initiative is filed when the Sponsor(s) submit(s) the initiative to the people for its perfection and approval.
Government (national, or federal)[]
The governing body that is defined by and draws its authority from the Constitution of the United States.
Initiative[]
The legislative instrument chosen by the voting citizens of the United States to exercise their inherent power to enact or modify any governmental policy, law, charter, or constitution; as set forth in the Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Legislation[]
A legislative resolution or statute law produced by a legislature.
People of the United States[]
The introductory phrase of the Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Act begins with the phrase "Be It Enacted By The People Of The United States." In this context the term "People of the United States" is used for consistency with our Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
Qualify (a Recall, Referendum, or Initiative)[]
To qualify for a General Election, that is to begin the process of the Recall, Referendum, or Initiative that leads to its enactment or defeat in a General Election by the people, a Recall, Referendum, or Initiative must meet criteria established above by this Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Act.
Recall[]
The instrument chosen by the voting citizens of the United States to exercise their inherent power to Recall governmental officers and/or their appointees; as set forth in the Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Referendum[]
The instrument chosen by the voting citizens of the United States to exercise their inherent power to repeal legislation enacted by their representatives; as set forth in the Recall, Referendum, and Initiative Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Recall, Referendum, or Initiative Process[]
Infrastructure and procedures by which a Recall, Referendum, or Initiative may be introduced and enacted directly by the people.
Registrar[]
The official charged with registering voters an their Recalls, Referenda, and Initiatives, typically the County Clerk of the county within which a voter resides.
Signature, Electronic[]
"Electronic signature" is a generic, technology-neutral term that refers to the result of any of the various methods by which one can "sign" an electronic document. Examples of electronic signatures include: a digitized image of a handwritten signature, a secret code or personal identification number (PIN) (such as are used with ATM cards and credit cards) or a unique biometrics-based identifier, such as a fingerprint or a retinal scan. A separate act must specify and/or implement electronic signature technology to be used by voters who choose to submit ballots signed electronically before they may do so.
Signature, Manual[]
A person's name or equivalent mark written in the person's own handwriting.
Sovereign[]
When used as a noun: one who, singly or in company with others, possesses supreme authority in a nation or other governmental unit. When used as an adjective: self-governing; independent; possessing highest authority and jurisdiction.
Sponsor[]
A person, or a group of individually identified people, responsible for the submission of an initiative to the Electoral Trust for qualification and processing.
Voter[]
In this context, any citizen of the United States who is at least 18 years old, who is not imprisoned for a felony, and who has not been classified as "incompetent" by a court, provided that he or she has not renounced or otherwise given up United States citizenship.
contact[]
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at jfl@28amen.org