New Alexandrian national service referendum, 1761
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Should every citizen of the Federation complete one year of national service between the ages of 18 and 25, in a military, civil, or cultural corps of their choosing? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voting system | Simple majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Outcome | Rejected | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by Region, shaded by Yes-vote share. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voting was open for seventy-two hours and closed on 1.III.1761 AN. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The New Alexandrian national service referendum, 1761 was a national referendum in Nouvelle Alexandrie on whether every citizen should serve the Federation for one year in a military, civil, or cultural corps. The question was announced on 20.I.1761 AN, and voting was open for seventy-two hours from 22.II.1761 AN until it closed on 1.III.1761 AN. The proposal was rejected, 78.0 percent to 22.0 percent on a turnout of 41.5 percent, and it failed in all thirteen Regions.[1] The final Institute of Public Opinion (IOP)/NBC News poll before voting had shown Yes and No level at 41 percent each. The vote also reversed the regional pattern of the two earlier referendums: the Federal Humanist Party's strongest Regions came closest to approving the question, and the Regions that had returned the highest Yes shares in 1757 AN and 1758 AN returned the lowest. The result left the existing arrangements unchanged, including an all-volunteer Federal Forces and the registration requirement.
The question returns to a policy the Federal Humanist Party put before the Federal Assembly in 1726 AN. That bill, the National Service Act, 1726, would have required every national to complete two years of national service between the ages of 18 and 40, and the Assembly defeated it in 1729 AN.[2]
Background
Military conscription is permitted under the Proclamation of Punta Santiago but has never been activated, and the Federal Forces rely on voluntary enlistment. Citizens and legal residents aged 18 to 30 must register for potential emergency mobilization, and civilian national service programs, among them the National Civil Preparedness Program, operate alongside the registration requirement.[3][4]
The 1726 bill
The National Service Act, 1726 was introduced in the 7th Cortes Federales by the government of Paolo Antonio Aguilar of the Federal Humanist Party, following the 1723 general election and the 1725 Constancian crisis. It defined national service as active or reserve duty in the Federal Forces, the Gendarmerie, emergency management, the civil service, or cultural programs, and required every national to complete two years of it between the ages of 18 and 40, with severe penalties for evasion. As introduced, the bill let conscientious objectors serve outside the Federal Forces and the Gendarmerie. Amendments made in the Assembly in 1729 AN required an objector to satisfy a court of inquiry and then serve in a non-combat role within the Federal Forces. A National Service Secretariat within the Department for National Mobilisation was to run the scheme.[5] The bill sat in the Federal Assembly from 1726 AN and was defeated in 1729 AN by 356 votes to 332, with no abstentions, a loss for the Federal Humanist Party minority government ahead of that year's general election.[2][6] IOP/NBC News polling during that campaign showed the Federal Consensus Party moving ahead of the Federal Humanist Party, a rise NBC News attributed to its opposition to the bill.[7]
Later proposals
In 1745 AN the Federal Humanist Party government of Juan Pablo Jimenez pledged "a full revamp of national service programs" under which "the unemployed will be put to useful work," and the National Service Revitalization Act, 1745 was introduced in the 11th Cortes Federales.[8][9] The reform proposed mandatory participation for unemployed citizens, and opposition parties and civil society groups raised concerns about the expansion of national service requirements.[9] The bill lapsed without a final vote when the 11th Cortes ended in 1749 AN.[10]
Proposal
The question put to voters was:
- "Should every citizen of the Federation complete one year of national service between the ages of 18 and 25, in a military, civil, or cultural corps of their choosing?"
The announcement set out these terms:
- every citizen completes one year of service between the ages of 18 and 25;
- the citizen chooses the corps:
- the military corps, serving in the Federal Forces;
- the civil corps, serving in disaster response, care, and reconstruction; or
- the cultural corps, serving in heritage, languages, and teaching;
- no citizen is placed in the military corps against their conscience, and service in the civil or cultural corps counts in full toward the year of service;
- service is paid;
- illness, disability, and caregiving duties exempt a citizen, and study may defer service; and
- the existing registration for emergency mobilization serves as the enrollment roll.
The Cortes Federales would have legislated the details, including rates of pay, the date service would begin, enforcement, and the department responsible. Compared with the 1726 AN bill, the proposal would have shortened service from two years to one, narrowed the age window from between 18 and 40 to between 18 and 25, and let the citizen choose the corps.[5]
Voting
The referendum was a single national vote, answered Yes or No and decided by a simple majority of valid votes cast.[11] It was open to citizens of the Federation under the national electoral system administered by the Federal Elections Commission.[11] Voting ran for seventy-two hours from 22.II.1761 AN and closed on 1.III.1761 AN. The result was binding rather than advisory.[12]
Results
The proposal was rejected. Of 138,556,000 valid votes cast on a turnout of 41.5 percent, 30,482,000 (22.0 percent) were in favor and 108,074,000 (78.0 percent) against, a majority against of 77,592,000.[1]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 30,482,000 | 22.0 | |
| No | 108,074,000 | 78.0 | |
| Valid votes | 138,556,000 | 100.0 | |
| Turnout: 41.5% | |||
| Source: NBC Newsfeed | |||
The margin was the widest of the three referendums held since 1757 AN. The National Resilience Fund had carried by 51.4 percent to 48.6, and premiership term limits had been rejected by 64.0 percent to 36.0.[12][11] The final IOP/NBC News poll, conducted 19 to 20.II, days before voting opened, had put Yes and No at 41 percent each, with 18 percent undecided.[13]
Results by Region
The proposal was rejected in all thirteen Regions. It came closest to carrying on the Federal Humanist Party's strongest ground, three of the four Regions where the final poll had shown Yes ahead: North Lyrica rejected it by 53.2 percent to 46.8, New Caputia by 54.4 percent to 45.6, and the Isles of Caputia by 58.8 percent to 41.2.[1][13] The fourth, the Wechua Nation, where the poll had put Yes ahead by 44 to 38, rejected it by 76.7 percent to 23.3.[1]
The regional pattern reversed that of the two earlier referendums. Boriquén and Valencia, which had returned the two highest Yes shares in both 1757 AN and 1758 AN, gave national service its two lowest, 8.9 percent and 10.4 percent. North Lyrica, New Caputia, and the Isles of Caputia, which had returned the three lowest Yes shares in both of those votes, gave it its three highest.[12][11][1]
Alduria, the Region with the largest electorate, rejected the proposal by 82.0 percent to 18.0. Oportia returned the highest turnout in the Federation, 74.9 percent, and rejected it by 86.8 percent to 13.2.[1]
| Region | Electorate | Turnout | Votes | Yes | No | Yes % | No % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Lyrica | 26,395,627 | 36.9% | 9,751,652 | 4,567,889 | 5,183,763 | 46.8% | 53.2% | No |
| New Caputia | 12,259,034 | 37.4% | 4,585,935 | 2,090,110 | 2,495,825 | 45.6% | 54.4% | No |
| Isles of Caputia | 26,868,152 | 37.3% | 10,015,906 | 4,122,398 | 5,893,508 | 41.2% | 58.8% | No |
| Wechua Nation | 60,637,356 | 40.2% | 24,374,024 | 5,678,600 | 18,695,424 | 23.3% | 76.7% | No |
| Santander | 43,739,315 | 40.4% | 17,677,459 | 3,410,432 | 14,267,027 | 19.3% | 80.7% | No |
| Alduria | 63,961,055 | 42.2% | 26,977,657 | 4,859,831 | 22,117,826 | 18.0% | 82.0% | No |
| Islas de la Libertad | 6,429,146 | 38.8% | 2,497,190 | 438,901 | 2,058,289 | 17.6% | 82.4% | No |
| New Luthoria | 5,653,773 | 37.7% | 2,134,128 | 321,361 | 1,812,767 | 15.1% | 84.9% | No |
| South Lyrica | 37,046,028 | 39.2% | 14,535,304 | 2,041,638 | 12,493,666 | 14.0% | 86.0% | No |
| Cárdenas (FCD) | 932,580 | 40.0% | 372,745 | 52,114 | 320,631 | 14.0% | 86.0% | No |
| Oportia | 16,489,795 | 74.9% | 12,350,275 | 1,626,306 | 10,723,969 | 13.2% | 86.8% | No |
| Valencia | 15,923,291 | 38.4% | 6,119,609 | 635,016 | 5,484,593 | 10.4% | 89.6% | No |
| Boriquén | 17,536,790 | 40.9% | 7,164,116 | 637,404 | 6,526,712 | 8.9% | 91.1% | No |
| Federation | 333,871,942 | 41.5% | 138,556,000 | 30,482,000 | 108,074,000 | 22.0% | 78.0% | No |
Aftermath
The No majority left national service policy where it stood before the vote. As of 1761 AN, the Federal Forces remain all-volunteer, and citizens and legal residents aged 18 to 30 continue to register for potential emergency mobilization.[4][1]
See also
- National service in Nouvelle Alexandrie
- National Service Act, 1726
- Elections and referenda in Nouvelle Alexandrie
- New Alexandrian National Resilience Fund referendum, 1757
- New Alexandrian premiership term limits referendum, 1758
- Referendums in Nouvelle Alexandrie
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Voters reject national service in all thirteen Regions, 78.0 to 22.0", NBC Newsfeed, 1.III.1761 AN.
- ^ a b "National Service Act, 1726 defeated in Federal Assembly: a blow to FHP minority government", NBC Newsfeed, 3.VI.1729 AN.
- ^ National service in Nouvelle Alexandrie
- ^ a b Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie
- ^ a b National Service Act, 1726
- ^ 7th Cortes Federales
- ^ "Shifting political winds: FCP takes the lead in latest IOP/NBC News polls", NBC Newsfeed, 5.V.1729 AN.
- ^ "Jimenez throne speech promises 'a great society' built on security, service, and sacrifice", NBC Newsfeed, 8.I.1745 AN.
- ^ a b 11th Cortes Federales
- ^ National Service Revitalization Act, 1745
- ^ a b c d New Alexandrian premiership term limits referendum, 1758
- ^ a b c New Alexandrian National Resilience Fund referendum, 1757
- ^ a b IOP/NBC News final national service referendum poll, NBC News, conducted 19 to 20.II.1761 AN; margin of error plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
