During elections, the primary or election phase (depending on the number of candidates and open spots) begins immediately after the nominations phase closes. One consequence of this is that comments under posts on the nomination page are locked immediately upon phase change.
Sometimes, a user posts a nomination at the last minute/second. This prevents any kind of discussion about the candidate's qualifications, experience, or potential/planned moderator style, should they be elected. This is especially jarring when the user posts a nomination that may seem 'phoned-in' (doesn't include much detail about themselves as a moderator candidate), or that does not provide any answers to the community-determined moderator Q&A. It seems like a major flaw in the process to allow candidates to evade this direct "discussion/debate period", if you will, from the broader community before an election occurs. Stack Exchange sites may not be the "real" world, but in most elections, the deadline for nominations for an elected position is well before the date/time when voting begins.
Thus, I would like to request that we include a waiting period between the nomination phase ending and the subsequent voting phase beginning, where nominations are closed but existing nomination posts can be commented on.
This waiting period would allow users to read all candidates' nominations and ask any clarifying questions (or share any relevant concerns) they may have about the candidates themselves or the contents of their nomination post. Neither of these are things that can be addressed/foreseen in the community-curated moderator Q&A list.
This waiting period would not need to be particularly long, I think... a single day would probably be sufficient.
