Going to your point about voting and the village not being a democracy, the gist then is that cabals inductions *should* reflect more the political/philosophical ideal of that cabal.

To that end, perhaps the true solution is to vary the ways people can be inducted into different cabals.

The voting thing would go perfect for Nexus. Empire already hads automated induction. But what of the rest?

I think the 'designate' idea I had would work perfectly in Battle because once inducted (in theory) every villager is equal. Any Villager can (in theory) challenge the Commander for leadership (only seen one person do this and I think it was one of Jerry's characters). So giving the Battle leaders the option to choose a backup Villager doesn't really tread on their RP at all.

Scion should remain as is because its supposed to be hard to get in and if there is an extreme absence of leadership that should be something overseen by the scion imms.

Fortress like Empire should be automated induction imho because they like empire aren't terribly choosy (do you embrace the light? Yes? Your In!) but with four leaders to do inductions, perhaps not all that necessary (assuming all four leaders can induct? Only had one short-lived maran ever)

Outlanders could also benefit from the voting system, it fits their RP especially if you limit the voting based on which branch the applicant is applying for.