Elections in the Kingdom of Sierra
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Elections in Sierra are held periodically for the federal, provincial, state, areal, territorial, and local levels. Generally, similar practices and procedures are followed across all jurisdictions, although the timing and electoral methods vary. There are five electoral systems currently employed throughout Sierra, including: the single member plurality (first-past-the-post), plurality at-large, mixed-member proportional representation, the single transferable vote, and instant-runoff voting. All members of the House of Commons are directly elected by popular vote, while nearly two-thirds of senators are also elected by popular vote (the other third are known as commissioned senators, who are generally appointed by provincial governments instead of elected). Elections at the federal level are held whenever Parliament is dissolved by the Crown, and usually involves the election of House members and some senators. If an election only features senators, it is known as a senate election, whereas if an election only features House members, it is still referred to as a federal election. Whenever there is a vacancy in an electable Senate seat or House seat in between federal elections, it is known as a by-election or special election.
In provinces, states, and areas which utilize the Anglo-American model of government, the executive officials and members of the legislature are elected separately. At the federal level and provinces, states, and areas which follow the true or modified version of the Westminster system, generally only members of the legislature are elected (some judges are also elected by popular vote in some PSAs using this system). Municipal and county elections are also held for city and county governments respectively.
Nationwide, all Sierran citizens may vote and participate in elections aged 18 or older (certain restrictions may apply, mainly due to criminal status or residency issues). In addition to federal electoral laws and regulations, each PSA establishes its own electoral laws and requirements. Electoral campaigning, campaign financing, and political advertising is mainly handled by the federal government, whereas voter eligibility and voter registration are handled primarily by the PSAs.
In addition to national and local elections, Sierra, as a member of the Conference of American States, participates in elections to the American Parliament.
Voting
Elections are most commonly held using the first-past-the-post system in single-member constituencies. This is the case for the majority of electable seats at the federal level in Parliament, with the exception of the 26 seats in the House that uses party-list proportional representation. The combination of both systems within the House is an example of mixed-member voting. At the provincial, state, and areal level, the first-past-the-post system is also the primary electoral method although some are supplemented with two-round system or jungle primary. The aforementioned systems are more common in PSAs which operate under the Anglo-American system of government whereas instant runoff vote or single transferable vote is more common in PSAs with Westminster systems.
