NAU 2143 presidential election

A presidential election was held on 31 March 2143 to elect the President of the North American Union. The incumbent, Madeleine Clarke, was running for a second term. This was the first election in which voting by Identity Chip was mandatory

There were three candidates in the running, and the election was won by Madeleine Clarke, who comfortably beat Julian Matthews and Perry Epp.

Candidates
The three candidates ran separate campaigns until 18 February 2143, when Matthews offered Epp a Co-Chief Executive position on the Privacy Party ticket. Describing it "the only realistic choice" Epp accepted the offer and the Realist Party withdrew from the election race.

Campaign
The election campaign ran from September 2142 until March 2143 and the candidates' positions on a number of key issues emerged over the months.

Universal Identification Law
Matthews condemned the Universal Identification Law on 25 September 2142 as an invasion of privacy by CenBank, but Clarke claimed the NAU was following in the footsteps of the other Combines and that "governments have a fundamental right to know." On 9 October, Matthews vowed to take his protest to the streets of Chicago during the Unified Party convention, and reaffirmed his stance on 17 March 2143 when he promised to revoke the Law if elected.

Habitat Mars
In October 2142, Matthews denounced Habitat Mars as "a scientific boondoggle which would bankrupt the NAU" and "a waste of resources" better spent restoring Earth's ecology. Hitting back, Clarke claimed that Matthews was "out of sync with the future". On 15 October, she revealed that there had been a breakthrough at the base which would allow atmosphere processing to begin within a year. Matthews described this surprise announcement as "a sham perpetrated by the government and CenBank" and claimed that the North American Union was "so deep in debt that CenBank literally hold the mortgage on Mars".

In December 2142, Clarke refused to bow to pressure both from Matthews and from the other Combine leaders to make the colony an international venture -- claiming in January 2143 that Habitat Mars would be the NAU's "biggest success" in the new year. Following the sabotage of Habitat Mars at the end of January, Clarke reiterated her support for an NAU-run Martian colony. Matthews insisted that the crippled colony be abandoned, or opened up to foreign investment. In his final campaign appearance on 25 March, Matthews described the project as Clarke's "pipe dream".

Virtual Reality
Originally standing as the Realist candidate, Epp began his campaign on 12 October 2142 by describing VR addiction as "a worldwide problem contributing to low worker productivity and the disintegration of family values." He also strongly opposed the licensing of BioMerge in January 2143, claiming its introduction was a tax windfall scheme to offset the rising deficit. "It will only worsen our epidemic of VR addiction, unemployment and declining family values."

Clone Rights
Clarke ended the Unified Party convention in December 2142 by reaffirming her stance that "clones are property, not people". On 3 December Matthews stated his support for a Clone Bill of Rights and his campaign was immediately endorsed by Pamela Corvino of the Clone Rights movement. Epp declined to support the Clone Rights campaign.

Other issues
Perry Epp used his campaign platform to speak out against the use of biomorphing and cloning. He blasted as "unnatural" the artwork Lifeform by Edna Moreau, which was awarded a grant by the North American Union Endowment for the Arts on 17 December 2142. On 19 January 2143, he criticised DNA Wonders for its new collector's edition of fifty extinct and endangered animals, and he was pictured eating a two-pound homegrown tomato on 12 March while his running mate Matthews ate a textured fungal protein burger at a local TFP's.

In February 2143, Clarke claimed that revelations about her son's clone-sex scandal were part of a dirty tricks campaign. Both Matthews and Epp denied any involvement.

In their final appearances on the campaign trail, both Matthews and Clarke hit out at their opponent. Matthews said: "The NAU can't stand five more years of Clarke's arrogant stupidity!" In response, Clarke commented: "Matthews is a slick lawyer who panders for votes. Epp is a naïve do-gooder with no experience. They're no dream team for the NAU -- they're a nightmare!"

Opinion Polls
From the beginning of the campaign, Clarke led in the opinion polls, with analysts suggesting that a sudden surge of support for the Unified Party on 21 October 2142 was due to President Clarke's surprise announcement of a breakthrough at Habitat Mars.

In November 2142, the gap between Clarke and her main rival, Julian Matthews, began to widen due to Matthews' hardline opposition to CenBank and Habitat Mars. Following the terrorist attack by "R" on Moonbase Noriega support shifted away from the Privacy Party to the Unified Party despite Matthews' condemnation of the terrorists' tactics.

Clarke's commanding lead was maintained throughout 8 December 2142, but there was a sharp drop in support for the Unified Party in February 2143 in the wake of the Habitat Mars disaster and the revelations about the clone-sex scandal involving Clarke's son.

When Matthews and Epp agreed to run together, a flash poll on 19 February showed that the joint Matthews-Epp ticket could defeat Clarke. A similar poll on 11 March showed the Unified Party tied with the Privacy Party.

Voting
Voting took place on 31 March 2143. In accordance with CommLink regulations, the Virtual Reality Net was closed for the election, and citizens were directed to the Compulsory Plebiscite Channel to cast their vote.

Two weeks before the election, the Compulsory Election Board stepped up its campaign to remind all NAU citizens that failure to vote is a crime and that they were required to use their Identity Chip to cast their ballot. Any adult who did not vote could be subject to a fine, psycho-rehab and one year's continuous jury duty.

Result
The election result was announced on 1 April. Madeleine Clarke was the clear winner, giving her a second term as President. The Privacy Party won a majority in the legislature, however, and all three candidates met behind closed doors to work out a power-sharing coalition.

The new administration was announced on 5 April and saw Clarke confirmed as President, Matthews as Attorney General (replacing Clarke's disgraced son, Bryan) and Epp in the newly-created role of Secretary of Reality.

On 6 April, Matthews launched a criminal investigation into Cenbank's role in the sabotage at Habitat Mars. Epp announced a series of public hearings on VR addiction, Clone Rights and the Virtual Reality Presence. Clarke also heeded Epp's calls for an immediate ban on BioMerge before leaving for a week-long holiday at Camp Asimov -- the Presidential Retreat above Devils Tower.