Wiltshire Flag Referendums

The **Wiltshire Flag Referendums** were a series of polls scheduled to be held between July 20 and July 30, 3019. These three separate polls decided which flag will represent Wiltshire going forward. These referendums are also important aspects of the Wiltshire Independence Referendum (which will be held two weeks later on August 25) because if Wiltshire votes for independence, then their flag will represent a new, independent, city. The final round decided that Wiltshire would change their flag to one of the proposed ones. (see below)

The current flag was selected back in 3011 by Prime Minister Edward Jellico. Prior to this, Wiltshire did not have a national flag. They had a seal (which represented the government of Wiltshire). Then, in an open process (where the public were permitted to submit recommendations), the government selected the flag to represent the country. However, this came with massive criticism. Many believed the flag was simply not a good design and most believed that the flag didn't represent Wiltshire's national identity. Calls for a change in the flag came in 3015, 3017 and 3019 when both Conservative and Socialist Prime Ministers said the flag was "inept".

The decision to hold these referendums was made by the National Coalition, led by Fillmore Grey, in an attempt to grow national identity. The process started with a similar open process. Anyone could submit a proposal.

The deadline for submissions was July 17. Then the Flag Select Committee is set to release a shortlist of 10 flags. These flags will be narrowed down to a further 5 flags following the first poll on July 28. Then, these remaining 5 flags will be whittled down to a final contender (on August 4) which will go head to head with the incumbent flag on August 11.

## Process and Referendums

The shortlist will consist of 10 designs. 5 of which will feature a fern (the National Symbol of Wiltshire) and 5 will not. These 10 designs will then be split in half following the first referendum, which will be held with a first-past-the-post direct popular vote.

### **Referendum 1**

The first referendum asked the question:

> Should the new Wiltshire Flag feature a fern?
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The results of this first referendum split the final 10 into a final 5 (as 5 of the options will be eliminated). These 5 flags will go forward in the second referendum. The result of the first referendum was:

### **Referendum 2**

The second referendum will be held on August 4 and will pit the 5 remaining contenders (With the fern, as decided in the first referendum) against each other as voters will decide which alternative flag should go up against the incumbent flag in the third referendum. This referendum will be conducted by mail and will use a system of ranked-choice voting. This means that voters will have the opportunity to rank the contenders in order of preference. The winner (after counting using a system of instant runoff voting) will go against the incumbent in a third referendum on August 11.

### **Referendum 3**

The third referendum, being held on June 30, will put the incumbent flag of Wiltshire to the test and as the question:

> Which of the following should be the national flag of Wiltshire?
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This will be held in the same way as the first referendum, with the winner becoming the new national flag of Wiltshire.