Key Words

The following key words are found Italicized throughout the documentation and have the special meanings. These concepts are defined briefly in situ and here.

• Δ Coalition
  • The group of people responsible for developing, maintaining, and promoting the Liminal State as a better form of democracy, now and for the future.
• 80% Rule
  • Laws within the Liminal State must pass by 80%. If an Empathy Test is used to determine the Eligible Voters, then that means that 80% of the population are eligible to vote and 80% of them must approve a law for it to pass. This method assumes that there will always be at least 10% at the extremes of either side of an issue, so if 80% are in agreement, then the law has enough support to warrant its application for all within that Political Boundary.
• Alternate
  • All Leadership Groups, with the exception of Departments, have a backup in case one official member vacates their seat. The Alternate serves for four years until the next Election Cycle when a new Alternate is picked.
• Ambassador Units
  • An Ambassador Unit is assigned to each outside state and serves as representatives of the Liminal State to them. Every unit is composed of three people selected by the International Affairs Branch Officials. All decisions made by the Ambassador Units are decided by majority vote among the three, though in matters that impact the Liminal State, they serve the Executive Group to educate them on all relevant issues so the Executive Group can decide what action, if any will happen.
• Appointed Personnel
  • Any Leadership Group member that is selected by the Branch Officials from among the eligible, qualified, and willing candidates interested in the position using Proportional-Rank Choice Voting, rather than as seat winners of an election by those Eligible Voters with Standing.
  • Appointed Personnel specifically refers to Ambassador Unit and Delegate Team members.
• Aggregated Vote
  • This is a standard voting process to determine simple majority among a collection of Leadership Groups, where each group first votes and then that result equals one vote towards the final tally.
  • Whenever there is an Aggregate Vote as illustrated below, none of the individual voters are aware of anyone else's vote until all votes have been cast, and none of the groups will know the outcome of their groups own result, nor the Aggregate Vote results of the other groups until all votes have been cast.

For example, if Group A votes (yes, no, yes) = YES, and Group B votes (yes, no, yes) = YES, and Group C votes (no, no, no) = NO, then the final vote is YES.

This method of tabulation is critical because if the total votes had been simply tabulated, it would have resulted in 4 votes for yes and 5 votes for no, with the final vote being NO, which is not accurate.

• Branch
  • The functional divisions of those specialized areas of expertise required for the functioning of a government, each lead by three Branch Officials that have risen up from within the ranks of that Branch, and overtly guided by the Executive Group. Their singular purpose is to ensure that the Citizens, now and into the future, are the primary beneficiaries when the government, businesses, Citizens, and foreign interests operate and interact within their area of expertise.
• Branch Elections
  • All the different kinds of elections that can take place within a Branch, including those to elect Department Heads and the Branch Officials.
• Branch Members
  • All Emancipated Citizens that work directly for a Branch, excluding Contract Workers, are considered Branch Members. All Permanent Hires that have completed the Probationary Employee stage can vote in Branch Elections.
• Branch Officials
  • Every Branch, whether Intrinsic or Lateral, is headed up by the three Branch Officials, each who serve 12 year terms, staggered every four years. They guide their Branch using a majority vote among the three, and these officials are elected into their positions by the Branch Members themselves.
• Branch Primary Election
  • A special election within a Branch to select that Branch's candidate for the position of a new Executive Group member. Only Branch Members are permitted to vote in this election and it is held no less than one year prior to the General Election.
• Briefs
  • The Branch Officials are tasked with keeping the Executive Group apprised of all the important events transpiring within their Branch, and do this by providing regular Briefs. Through practical experience the frequency and depth should be determined and codified, even if this turns out to be unique among the different Branches.
  • Ambassador Units are obligated to present Briefs directly to the Executive Group as well as the Branch Officials of the International Affairs Branch for urgent issues requiring immediate attention.
• Charging Departments
  • In the unique situation where at least two Departments within a Branch are unhappy with the leadership of their Branch Officials, they may call for a No-Confidence Vote, in which those Departments heading up this effort are referred to Charging Departments.
• Charging Documentation
  • The relevant evidence each Charging Department compiles for the basis of holding a No-Confidence Vote.
• Citizens
  • Those people born or graduating from Provisional Citizenship into the Liminal State.
• Citizen Initiatives
  • Even Emancipated Citizens that do not work within a Branch of the Liminal State have the ability to affect their government directly using Citizen Initiatives. Any Emancipated Citizen or group of Emancipated Citizen that are able to gather 10% or more Citizen Signatures within that Political Boundary will have that issue be added to the ballot of that Political Boundary for the General Election.
  • To ensure it meets the minimum legal threshold of the Liminal State, the initiative must first go through a Justice Branch Screening and get final approval before signatures can be gathered.
  • Only Emancipated Citizen within that Political Boundary may participate and gather Citizen Signatures within that Political Boundary. There can be no payments for signature gathering process or promotion of the issue - it requires true Citizen initiative and work, and does not allow for outside money or interests to interfere in this process.
  • Any Emancipated Citizen within the Political Boundary may sign, as the initiative process does not require the approval of Eligible Voters.
• Citizen Jury
  • A Citizen Jury is the nomenclature describing the process that Citizens with Standing use to force a vote to decide the fate of a regulation enacted by a Branch or to investigate any issues that the Citizens feel are not being addressed properly.
  • The same approach is used as the Citizen Initiative in that signatures are collected from the Emancipated Citizens. The success of that effort does two things:
    • If the jury is convened in regards to a regulation, then the regulation being scrutinized is automatically added to the ballot for the next election so those Eligible Voters may vote to keep or end the regulation, otherwise:
    • If the jury is convened in regards to an issue the Citizens believe is not being addressed within their community, then the jury will ultimately provide the wording used on the ballot that the Eligible Voters will be deciding in regards to the issue being investigated.
    • A Citizen Jury is convened, made up of 99 randomly selected Emancipated Citizens within the Political Boundary impacted by the regulation or issue.
      • If a regulation is in question, then the jury will hear from the experts within the Branch that enacted the regulation to present their reasoning and facts that justified the regulation and to hear from those Citizens against the regulation, who may provide their own reasoning, facts and expert witnesses.
      • If the jury is convened regarding an issue, then the jury will have investigatory and subpoena powers to call witnesses, gather information from the Liminal State, utilize the most appropriate Enforcement Agency to investigate, etc. Their abilities to collect and study information will not be limited.
  • In both cases, the 99 random members of the Citizen Jury may ask their own questions, request additional witnesses, and debate amongst themselves concerning their thoughts.
  • All activities of the Citizen Jury are recorded and made available to the public so the Eligible Voters with Standing can make educated decisions regarding their vote for or against the regulation or issue on the next ballot.
• Citizen Signatures
  • Citizen Initiatives requires the pre-approval of the Emancipated Citizen within a Political Boundary to get an initiative on the ballot. To prove there is adequate interest, the Emancipated Citizens must "sign" the petition. This can be a real signature (officially matched to the signature on file prior to counting), or the Emancipated Citizens can sign electronically. The mechanism for this will be resolved by the Progress Branch to ensure security, legality, and authentication.
• Contract Workers
  • The temporary personnel and companies that may be hired by the Liminal State for a specific period of time or to complete a specific project. They are not to be considered Government Personnel, do not gain any additional voting rights, are not restricted from outside income (unless contractually stipulated), and do not necessarily get paid above-average wages. Contract Workers include Contracted Companies, the employees of Contracted Companies and Temporary Employees.
• Contracted Companies
  • Any business or company that works with the Liminal State through a contract and are not to be considered a part of the Liminal State, nor are their employees to be considered employees of the Liminal State.
• Decision Basis
  • Every member of a Leadership Group is required to provide a detailed analysis of their reasoning behind their choice in a Decision Vote. This information is used to ensure voting diligence, provide insight into that vote, allow public consumption and judgement, and for posterity.
• Decision Votes
  • The votes that Leadership Groups make to determine a decision. The issue must be able to be determined with a "Yes" or "No" answer, and the majority vote of that group decides.
• Defense Branch
  • A specialized Intrinsic Branch that manages the defense above the Liminal State and at the borders of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
  • All the different military arms, for example the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy within the US, are guided by the Defense Branch, and are prohibited by law from being used as any kind of police force within the Liminal State or to operate internationally.
  • The technology used by the Defense Branch will always work towards perfecting non-lethal means of defense and disengagement. This is a critical and required Branch in the Liminal State.
• Delegate Team
  • A group of three selected by the Branch Officials of an Intrinsic Branch, from within that Branch, to represent their interests to a Lateral Branch or in domestic Embassies.
• Delegate Vote Method
  • In Lateral Branch votes, the Delegate Teams from each associated Intrinsic Branch and the Branch Officials of that Lateral Branch all vote on decisions using the Aggregate Vote Method.
  • This is not to be confused with the Justice Delegate Vote Method.
• Departments
  • Branches use Departments to do the real work needed for the Liminal State. Departments can be Permanent or Temporary, depending on the project and need. They can also be created as Independent Departments, meaning they are guided by their mission and expertise alone, not by Branch Officials.
  • Enforcement Agencies are special Independent Departments within every Intrinsic Branch and some Lateral Branches.
  • Each Department is directed by three Department Heads.
• Department Heads
  • The three leaders of a Department, each serves a 12 year term, staggered every four years.
• Election Cycle
  • The four year period between elections. Leadership Teams are elected on a four year cycle, and within four years all the different Leadership Teams will have had the senior member depart, a new junior member join, and a new Alternate selected (if applicable). The Election Cycle of of each Leadership Team also happens in different years, allowing for natural upper movement of the best.
• Eligible Voters
  • This is the group of people within the Liminal State that have the right to vote. In the case where the Liminal State uses the Empathy Test, Eligible Voters only include those that have passed the Empathy Test.
  • Most elections within a Branch allow all Government Personnel of that Branch to vote, whether they have passed the Empathy Test or not. But if the iteration of Liminal State requires the passing of the Empathy Test to vote and a Branch election explicitly specifies Eligible Voters, that means that that election is restricted to only those personnel within that Branch that have passed the Empathy Test.
• Emancipated Citizens
  • Emancipated Citizens are the group that we would currently call adults, and they would have all the rights and freedoms afforded adults, including complete bodily autonomy. Instead of an arbitrary age used to define an adult, Citizens of the Liminal State would take an Emancipation Test when they are ready to demonstrate their ability to make adult decisions and handle adult responsibilities.
• Emancipation Test
  • Citizens take the Emancipation Test when they are ready to demonstrate that they have gained the basic capabilities expected of Emancipated Citizens, such as basic reading and math skills, the ability to manage a budget, social, emotional, media, and online intelligence, demonstrable practical skills like changing a tire or taking care of a pet, and understanding their relationship with other Citizens and the Liminal State.
• Embassies
  • Embassies are used internationally and domestically to provide a direct point of contact between the people and the Liminal State.
  • International Embassies are used by the Ambassador Units and their staff to conduct business and maintain relationships with those foreign states.
  • Domestic Embassies are placed strategically throughout the Liminal State and house Delegate Teams from every Branch to provide direct access for the Citizens that require in-person services, including Justice Branch Screenings of Citizen Initiatives, the administration of Emancipation Tests and Empathy Tests, business complaints, etc.
• Empathy Test
  • The test that Emancipated Citizens can take every four years, which gains the top 80% most empathetic the privilege of voting.
• Employable Citizens
  • This group of people includes all who have become Emancipated Citizens or have passed an Employment Screening.
• Employment Screening
  • A specialized test that anyone who has yet to become an Emancipated Citizen can take to be allowed to work. This screening wouldn't test job-related skills, but rather ensures the individual is capable of performing the eventual tasks required and meet other minimum conditions. This group would mostly include young adults, some people with an intellectual disabilities, and Provisional Citizens.
• Enforcement Agency
  • A specialized Department that every Intrinsic Branch and some Lateral Branches have to investigate and enforce the laws and regulations pertaining to the expertise of that Branch. Some Branches may have more than one.
• Executive Group
  • A five-member group, each of which have demonstrable expertise and leadership abilities, that directs the Liminal State as a whole, elected into their positions by the Eligible Voters for 20 year terms, staggered every four years.
• For Cause
  • Any one of the valid reasons for removing Government Personnel, including criminal activity, improper use of position, profiting from office, unlawful outside income, etc.
• General Elections
  • The election held every four years where the Eligible Voters decide the next Executive Group member, grade the performance of existing Executive Group members, and vote on the matters of law on the ballot.
• Global Justice Branch Vote
  • The Justice Branch is special in that all personnel that hold Leadership Group positions within the Justice Branch vote on the big decisions facing the Liminal State through Judicial Branch Screenings. The outcome is decided using a simple majority from among all eligible personnel voting, rather than using the Aggregate Vote Method.
  • This takes the power away from the few at the top, how it is with the US Supreme Court now, and gives it to all the experts within that Branch. This would be the equivalent of having all decisions facing the Supreme Court being decided by every judge working within the entire Judiciary Branch.
• Government Personnel
  • Those individuals that work directly within the Liminal State, and in any capacity, from lowest level employee through the Executive Group.
  • Government Personnel are paid a premium to attract the very best and because they must sacrifice additional sources of income during their employ. Those that work within a Branch also have additional voting privileges.
  • Contract Workers are excluded from this classification.
• Impromptu Vote
  • With the creation of a new Department or Branch, or in the very rare circumstance where there is more than one Leadership Group seat within a Branch needing to be filled or there isn't an available Alternate to fill a single seat, a Branch or Department can hold an Impromptu Vote to fill multiple seats and select a new Alternate, if necessary, at the same time. An Impromptu Vote will use the Year 0 Rules to fill each open seat with the appropriate candidate, and each successful candidate winning a seat will serve an abbreviated term so the Election Cycle is not altered.
• Independent Branch
  • A Branch that works independently of oversight and direction from the Executive Group so as to not be influenced by politics.
• Independent Departments
  • A Department within a Branch that works independently of oversight and direction from the Branch Officials (and therefore the Executive Group) so as to not be influenced by politics.
• Independent Investigation
  • An investigational body spawned by an Enforcement Agency that operates independently of oversight and direction from that Enforcement Agency or it's Branch so as to not be influenced by politics.
• Informed Vote Archive
  • These are specific, encrypted online archives, only accessible by those with the specific right to vote on a decision, that contains all the requisite information necessary to make an informed decision. Regularly used by the Executive Group, Branch Officials, Department Heads, etc., but even used by the Eligible Voters when it comes to General Elections and for decisions on laws.
• Intrinsic Branch
  • One of the two basic Branch types within the Liminal State, specializing in one fundamental aspect of governance among all those required for a functional government. The Liminal State proposes 13 Intrinsic Branches, but the needs of state may require others or fewer.
• Justice Branch
  • A specialized Intrinsic Branch that operates independently of Executive Group direction and is the final word on the legality of proposed directions, laws, and regulations. This is a critical and required Branch in the Liminal State.
• Judicial Branch Screening
  • All Orders or Requests or potential laws or regulations should always be first vetted by the Justice Branch to ensure the legality of that request, which is called a Justice Branch Screening. This should be common practice and is a Protected Action. Judicial Branch Screenings require a decision through a Global Justice Branch Vote.
• Justice Delegate Vote Method
  • When there is a decision, regulation, or law being drafted by any Branch, the Executive Group, or Citizen Initiative and advice is needed to it's initial lawfulness, the Justice Branch Delegate Teams from a minimum of two Lateral Branches with Standing, along with the Branch Officials of the Justice Branch, all vote using the Aggregate Vote Method.
  • This is not to be confused with the Delegate Vote Method.
• Lateral Branch
  • One of the two basic Branch types within the Liminal State, and which work in the area directly between the expertise of two Intrinsic Branches.
• Leadership Groups
  • This is a general term for the different Leadership Groups that include Branch Officials, Delegate Teams, Department Heads, Ambassador Units, and the Executive Group. These groups are comprised of three or five members.
• Neighborhood
  • A thought experiment used by the Liminal State to describe complex situations in a simple way, while using the idea of a neighborhood community and those interactions as a model.
• No-Confidence Vote
  • A special kind of vote that subordinates or subordinate Leadership Groups use to remove superior Leadership Group members, following an official process.
• Non-Citizens
  • All people that are not Citizens or Provisional Citizens.
• Orders or Requests
  • Any directions given by a superior to a subordinate that is expected to be followed. This could be from a Government Personnel to another Government Personnel, or from Government Personnel to a Contract Worker, and is required to be lawful.
• Permanent Department
  • Unless otherwise instantiated, Departments are Permanent Departments. This means they will always continue to exist once started. These contrast with Temporary Departments, which are created for a specific purpose and no longer exist once that purpose has been fulfilled or a certain amount of time has passed.
• Permanent Hires
  • Unless specifically hired as a Contract Worker, all employees of the Liminal State are Permanent Hires. This means that after completing the Probationary Employee stage, they can only be removed For Cause.
• Political Boundary
  • The different imaginary delineated areas within the Liminal State within which Eligible Voters can make decisions. These might be a local community, town, city, district, state/province, or even national boundary (when considering an international instantiation of the Liminal State).
• Probationary Employee
  • All Permanent Hires of the Liminal State are considered Probationary Employees during their first year, regardless of role, which allows for easier removal of problematic employees. Probationary Employees are not permitted to vote in Branch Elections, even if a Eligible Voters.
• Professional Objection
  • A Professional Objection is a special Record filed to ask the Justice Branch to review the legality of an Order or Request made within the Liminal State. The Government Personnel or Contract Worker filing a Professional Objection are indemnified of any penalties for not following that Order or Request until the review has been completed, and the act of filing a Professional Objection is a Protected Action.
• Proportional-Rank Choice Voting
  • In this system, also referred to as Single Transferable Vote (STV), a person casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot, where candidates are optionally ordered from highest priority to lowest. At the conclusion of the initial count, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and all those that voted for this person then have their vote reassigned to the next candidate on their list. Any additional votes received by a candidate that reaches the electoral quota are also reassigned to that voter's next candidate, meaning that no votes are wasted. This mechanism is repeated over and over internally until the candidates are ranked in the most fair and logical way.
• Protected Action
  • Anything that is fundamentally protected speech or action within the Liminal State, and for which there can never be retribution, discipline, or other action, overt or covert, that would dissuade a person's desire to do that action.
• Protected Citizens
  • All Citizens that have yet to pass the test to become Emancipated Citizens. This group includes children, some people with an intellectually disability, and by default, holders of a Provisional Citizenship.
• Provisional Citizen
  • All people wishing for amnesty or naturalization into the Liminal State are first considered Provisional Citizens following initial approval. This status lasts for a period of three years, after which point they officially become Citizens. This temporary status is used to ensure all new potential citizens are willing and able to accumulate into the Liminal State and be productive participants of society.
  • Provisional Citizens may take the Employment Test and/or the Emancipation Test, though as Provisional Citizens they will not be permitted to vote.
• Record
  • With every vote and at other times Government Personnel of the Liminal State must provide justifications or supporting factors and documentation concerning a decision for the Record. The action of inputting this information into the Liminal State official database is to Record, and that information then becomes a Record.
• Removal Paths
  • Any one of the various ways that Leadership Group members can be officially removed from their seats.
• Restitution
  • The repayment to a Citizen or group for a violation of law by the one violating the law, which may be monetary, a time commitment, or whatever is deemed appropriate to make the Citizen or group suffering the violation of law whole.
• Review Vote
  • Laws that are passed by the Citizens remain in effect for eight years and automatically renew by default unless the Citizens vote at the conclusion of the eight years using the 80% Rule to repeal the law. This review of a law prior to automatic renewal is called a Review Vote.
• Sentient Life/Being
  • All self-aware and intelligent individuals that extol empathy, patience, wisdom, and non-violence. Currently this only includes humans, but in the future may also include self-aware general A.I, other intelligent organic life to arise on Earth, or life created or arising not of Earth. For simplicity, this documentation will use the term "people" when referring to Sentient Life.
• Special Projects
  • Every Executive Group member is elected on their leadership abilities, expertise, and two or three Special Projects that they wish to complete during their 20 year term. These should be projects that are within the expertise of that candidate, important to the candidate and the people, are possible to complete within the 20 year term (or an important part of a bigger issue), and ideally are likely to not be accomplished unless spearheaded by an Executive Group member.
• Standing
  • Those with with a direct and demonstrable interest in a specific issue have Standing.
• Temporary Department
  • Anytime there is a special situation or a special project that requires the effort of a new full Department, the Branch Officials may create a Temporary Department to serve until a project is completed or for a specific amount of time. The Department Heads of Temporary Departments are initially selected by the Branch Officials using Proportional-Rank Choice Voting and Year 0 Rules to place the qualified and willing candidates into the appropriate seats, with the initial amount of time served being truncated to match the regular Election Cycle. After instantiation, the initial Department Heads will be individually replaced like normal with each new Election Cycle by the members of that Temporary Department.
• Temporary Employees
  • Temporary Employees are those specifically hired to help with Special Projects, Temporary Departments, and certain other tasks or situations within the Liminal State that may require outside staffing for a limited amount of time. Temporary Employees are categorized as Contract Workers and are not considered Government Personnel.
• Voter Decision
  • Any issue or law before the voters is considered a Voter Decision, and all Eligible Voters within the Political Boundary of that election are eligible to vote.
• Year 0 Rules
  • Special election rules used to replace multiple seats in a Leadership Group as if initially starting and having to fill all at once. Instead of the top candidate filling a seat vacated by a senior member, the Year 0 Rules seat the winning candidates as they are ranked using Proportional-Rank Choice Voting, where the top winner fills the junior seat and serves a full term, but is considered the senior member, with the next filling the next seat, with an abbreviated term and considered the middle member, and the third winner filling the last seat and only serving until the next Election Cycle while being considered the junior member.
  • Using this method, several seats and an Alternative can be selected in a single election, with specific rules used to determine where each winning candidate sits and their seniority, depending on their rank in the vote.

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