Section 6

A. The Senate

A.1. Qualifications and Term

To serve in the Senate, a Citizen must be at least thirty years old, have been a Citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and reside in the State they represent at the time of election. A Senator must maintain their primary residence in their State for the duration of their term. Senators serve six-year terms. Approximately one-third (⅓) of Senators begin their term in each odd-numbered year.

A.2. Allocation, Elections, and Vacancies of Senators

a. Allocation

Each State has two Senators, elected at large by the Citizens of their State in free, fair, and secure elections.. No Territory may have a Senator or advisor in the Senate, nor any recognized Sovereign Tribal lands.

b. Declaration of Candidacy

To declare candidacy, a Person must submit a petition signed by at least twenty thousand registered voters from their State, no later than one hundred twenty days before the next national election. A registered voter may sign petitions for more than one candidate.

c. Election Procedure

No nominating contests, party caucuses, or primary elections shall be used to determine eligibility for the ballot. All elections for the Senate shall be conducted using ranked-choice voting.

d. Vacancy

If a seat becomes vacant, a special election shall be held in the State within one hundred eighty days, unless a regular national election is scheduled within that time. No appointment may be used to fill a vacancy in the Senate.

A.3. Leadership Selection and Duties

At the start of each new Congress, the Senate elects a Leader and Deputy Leader. The Leader is chosen first.

To run for either role, a Senator must meet the rules for serving in the House and be eligible to serve as President or Vice President, in case they are ever needed in the line of succession.

The Senate sets the procedures for the election, but the vote itself must be conducted by secret ballot.

The Leader of the Senate presides over the Senate and sets the legislative agenda. They also assign committees and committee chairs. The Deputy Leader assists the Leader and assumes their duties in their absence or if they are incapacitated.

A.4. Senate Procedures

a. Legislative Procedure

The Senate can set its own rules for debate and changes to bills, but no rule can block Senators from seeing or suggesting changes to the full text, nor may the rules circumvent any limitations set forth in this Charter.

b. Deliberative Nature of the Senate

The Senate is a more deliberative body than the House of Representatives. Each Senator is entitled to speak a single time on any bill, the duration of their address limited only by their physical ability to remain at the podium (or reasonable accommodation thereof in cases of disability) without taking breaks for biological necessity or rest. Procedural rules, with the sole exception of the one-minute adjournment between 12:00 a.m. and 12:01 a.m. to limit the extent of the legislative day, cannot be used to interrupt this address and permit, intentionally or otherwise, a means to circumvent the intent of this limitation. There is no filibuster.

c. Requirement to Vote

Once all Senators have spoken or waived their right to do so, there must be a vote on the bill within twenty-four hours or ad the end of seven days from being made public, whichever is later.

d. Introduction of Bills, Timeframe for Votes, Transparency

Any Senator can introduce a bill. Once a bill is introduced, the full text must be made public right away.

No bill can be voted on until it has been public for at least seven days, unless the Leader and Deputy Leader both agree there is a real emergency.

All final votes must be recorded and shared with the public, along with a short summary of what the bill does.

No Senator may place a hold on a bill for more than forty-eight (48) hours. This provision does not require the Leader of the Senate to bring a bill to the floor for debate.

e. Public Access and District Accountability

Each Senator must hold at least four public town halls or community meetings in their State every year. These meetings must be announced beforehand and open to everyone in the district.

Senators must keep an office in their State’s Capital with staff who can answer questions, help people with government services, and listen to public concerns. In large States, the Senator may, with approval from the Senate Leader serving at the time of the request, establish other branch offices throughout their State for the same purpose.

Each Senator must also post their schedule, how they vote, and any public statements online in a way that is easy for people to find and understand.

f. Impeachment Procedures

Once the Speaker of the House delivers to the Leader of the Senate a vote affirming impeachment, all other business of the Senate ceases. Every Senator will swear or affirm the following:

“I, (full legal name), solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will be an impartial judge in the matter of the trial for impeachment of (full legal name of the person being impeached) on the charge(s) of (basis of impeachment). I positively affirm that I understand the People of the United States have vested in me the authority to ensure our Republic's integrity. I will faithfully listen to the evidence and vote in the way the evidence and the laws require.”

The Leader of the Senate will administer this Oath to all other Senators, and then the Deputy Leader will administer this Oath to the Leader.

If the President of the United States is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside. In all other trials, the Leader of the Senate will preside unless they recuse themselves for a publicly disclosed cause, in which case, the Deputy Leader will preside. If the Deputy Leader similarly recuses themselves, the Senators will hold a secret ballot and choose a Presiding Officer for the trial.

An impeachment trial is a somber and solemn exercise of oversight. However, only the most foolish would also consider it a non-political endeavor. The Senate will choose the rules of evidence to be used in the trial in the open, with all votes public, and the Parliamentarian will judge whether those rules are applicable as evidence and testimony are presented. Any Senator may ask for clarification on the rules.

The threshold of conviction is two-thirds of Senators voting. Votes and deliberations are conducted by secret ballot, but the Secretary of the Senate will record the votes and publicly disclose them on the fifth anniversary of the verdict's announcement.

A "guilty " verdict will result in the convicted person being immediately removed from office, but will not incur any criminal penalty. Nothing in this Charter prevents the Person in question from facing criminal prosecution once removed.

d. Miscellaneous Provisions

The Senate may vote to expel one of its Members for serious misconduct, but only with a two-thirds vote of all current Members.

No Senator shall receive special treatment, privileges, or titles unavailable to others. All Senators are equal under the rules.

The Senate may not create any rule or practice that goes against the text or purpose of this Charter.