Republics of Omerica

Omerica is a of twenty-six republics. As the descendants of formerly s, the republics retain a degree of sovereignty and and maintain administrative independence from the Union government, including independent s, s and judiciaries.

Under the Basic Laws, certain policy areas, such as foreign affairs and defence, are the exclusive prerogative of the Federal Diet, while others fall under shared authority; the republics retain all other powers not assigned to the Union or expressly denied to them by the federal constitution. Republics therefore have power and responsibility over, social welfare, , , job training and promotion of the arts and sciences.

Republics form the basis for apportioning the House of Representatives and their legislatures designate the members of the House of Plenipotentiaries. Additionally, in areas under the republics’ legislative authority, republics have the power to enter into compacts among each other and, subject to parliamentary approval, treaties with foreign states.

Constitution
All republics are constitutionally required to have a democratic and an system of government, but otherwise, the republics remain free to organise their individual constitutions as they see fit. All republics are governed by a similar to the federal government, though there is wide variation in its implementation from republic to republic.

Admission of new republics
With the exception of Port-des-Saints, all new republics admitted since Federation have been formed by secession from other existing republics. Since the end of the Omerican Civil War, all republics possess full voting rights regardless of the circumstances of their establishment and any new republics enter the federation on equal standing with existing members.

The admission of new republics requires a referendum among the affected population, though they are only constitutionally mandated when “major changes” would be made to existing republic boundaries. The merger of multiple republics requires a majority in each republic to be merged, while the splitting of a republic requires either a simple majority on of the new border or a two-thirds  in the seceding territory. In contrast, the accession of a republic from outside Omerica or of a federal territory within Omerica only requires a simple majority to pass.