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Debate extended. Hopefully we can sort this out.

Hmm, I was also under the impression that suspension meant only for bills and not elections. What would be the point of preventing someone (a "criminal") from voting for officers? It's not like officers have the power to give pardons and lift voting suspensions.

I suppose we could give the Speaker some sort of pardon power, but I think that's something that Wintermoot alone should have, personally.  And we don't really have any provisions for disenfranchisement, other than a whole Underhusen vote...

So we know how Laurentus and....is it Robin or Saruman? We know how they stand. And we know how I stand. What about Barnes and Gerrick?

I thought suspension was for elections as well. That way those who are potentially suspended don't end up being vengeful and trying to vote out the Officers who presided over the vote, or try and vote for someone who they see as more favourable only to get a pardon. Which is why we need to leave pardoning to the Monarch if we allow stripped voters to vote in elections. If we don't allow those with stripped voting rights to vote in elections, Speaker pardons are fine. Ultimately the concept of pardons are @Wintermoot's decision as to whether he will grant enough autonomy to the Speaker for that.

Listen, if a Speaker abuses his power like that, I'm pretty sure he'll get his ass recalled.

EDIT: I think we definitely need something to recall a Speaker even when the last 21 days have been reached. An election might not cut it, so perhaps the Speaker PT immediately takes over during those last 21 days if the Speaker has been recalled, in addition to the Speaker PT having to be appointed by the Monarch, so as to avoid circular arguments?

EDIT 2: Actually, the more I think about, the more I realise allowing pardons is just a terrible idea.

Since I am outvoted l will not fight for tying election rights to voting rights. However, I maintain my opinion that voting rights should be tied to election rights.

Yeah, I don't think we should allow the Speaker or any officers to give pardons as it would give too much power to them. I guess Wintermoot could be given the ability to pardon, but I don't see any situation in which he would use it, so if it were up to me I wouldn't give it to him. If someone has voting rights suspended, then they should just wait for at least the minimum sentence, which is currently three months. If this proves to be too long a time, then it can always be amended to be shorter.

I also think that everyone should be allowed to vote for officers. If someone gets their voting rights suspended, they should still get a say in who is going to lead the Storting as their suspension may end during the newly elected officers' term. If they are going to be vengeful and vote against the person who sentenced them, that's their right. If the suspension included voting in elections, they'd most likely hold that vengeance after their suspension was lifted to vote against that person anyway. However, if you guys think that the suspension should include elections as well, then I'm pretty sure the wording should be changed so that suspension is from membership in the Storting rather than just voting.

I also agree with Laurentus that officers should be able to be recalled even with fewer than 21 days -- there just wouldn't be a recall election if there are fewer than 21 days. 3 weeks can be pretty long with someone in office that everyone wants to get rid of. And Laurentus, what do you mean by:

in addition to the Speaker PT having to be appointed by the Monarch, so as to avoid circular arguments?

That was while I was still considering the issue of pardons. Obviously, you wouldn't want the person who abused such power to appoint a Speaker PT, since nothing prevents that person from abusing such power too. That's why, if we were to allow pardons, we would want the Speaker Pro Tempore appointed instead of elected.

But as I later went on to say, pardons are just a terrible idea.

I hadn't considered the fact that the suspension would potentially expire during someone's else term. So will we have no pardons or a Monarch's pardon only?

And if we don't have a recall election in the final 21 days, and the Speaker becomes recalled, who serves as the new Speaker? We have not yet necessitated the creation of a Speaker pro tempore post, and I'm not sure that it's our responsibility, either; it might only be part of the new Storting procedural rules.

I don't think we should give anyone the right to pardon.

And fair point about the Speaker recall thing best being discussed when this passes.

Yeah, pardons are a bit of a dumb idea.  I think that we should just have a Speaker PT also elected at the same time as the Speaker, and they can take over in the event that the Speaker falls inactive or gets recalled. 

So the election of the Speaker pro tem can happen one of two ways:

• being chosen as a Speaker's running mate (like the Vice President of the United States)
• giving Speaker pro tem to the candidate with the second-most votes

Which is more preferable?

I kind-of want to go with the second, mostly because that was how it was originally in the United States, but I think that the former would probably result in a more cooperative system than the latter, unfortunately...

We are a meritocratic region, and as such, I like the second idea more.