Vote, run, govern
Every in-game month the island picks a governor. Anyone can vote, anyone with the fee can run — and the winner sets the taxes.
Find the Election Office
Upstairs in the town hall, in the room next to the Job Office and the Ticket Office (map 1118, 1978). Talk to the clerk and pick Election Office.
The Election Office clerk in the town hall Check the calendar
The top of the window shows the phase, the days left and who is governor now. One in-game day is 6 real hours, so one election takes about a real week.
In-game days Phase Day 1 → 8 days before the month ends Registration — candidates sign up (about 3 weeks) Last 7 days Voting — everyone votes Day 1 of the next month Result — the new governor takes over, the next election starts Run for governor (registration)
Have the candidate fee in cash on you — $100,000 unless the governor has changed it (anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000,000; the Tax Office shows the current fee). Press Register as candidate. The fee goes to the island treasury and is not refunded, even if you withdraw or lose. You can withdraw only while registration is open.
Registration phase: the fee and the register button Vote (last week of the month)
Come back during the voting week, press Vote next to a candidate and confirm. You get one vote per election and cannot change it. You can vote for yourself. Votes are counted live — the ballot shows how many each candidate has.
Confirm — the vote is final 
Your vote is marked on the ballot The result
On day 1 of the next month the candidate with the most votes becomes governor — on a tie, whoever registered first. Everyone online gets a message. If nobody ran or nobody voted, the current governor stays. The new governor gets the Government app on the phone straight away; the old one loses it at the same moment. The Last election box shows the result until the next one closes.
Govern: taxes and prices
Open the phone → Government → Taxes. Set property tax and vehicle tax (share of the price, billed every 7 days), sales tax (added to every shop item), income tax (taken when players sell to shops), every DMV licence price, and the next election's candidate fee. Players see the current numbers at the Tax Office → Tax rates, and shop, realty and vehicle-shop windows show prices with tax included.
Governor: Taxes tab 
What players see at the Tax Office Govern: imports
Water, milk, clothes, medical and police gear and other things nobody on the island makes can only be restocked by the governor. Shops tab → pick a shop → pick an item → order. It costs the treasury 2× the base price plus the courier fees. The goods land at the Import Office in the airbase hangar and a courier contract appears on the board at once.
Ordering: goods, courier fees and the total 
Imports tab: which crates are on the road 
The Import Office — couriers pick up the crates here Govern: police and EMS
Personnel tab: set the police rank (Recruit → Chief of Police, 10 levels) and EMS rank (EMT, Paramedic, Chief of EMS) of anyone online. Their Police or Medic phone app appears or disappears immediately. The top ranks — Chief of Police and Chief of EMS — run their own department from the phone's Duty app: ranks below chief, hourly salaries, the budget. Fund them in the Budgets tab, and appoint up to 3 ministers with chosen rights in the Cabinet tab. The Treasury tab shows the balance and every payment in and out. Details: Knowledge → Government.
Personnel tab 
Treasury tab and ledger
Screens show example values. Full rules and default numbers: Knowledge → Government & elections.