UBCSUO Nominations and Elections Policy 2009 -2010 1. 2. This Policy may be referred to as the Elections Policy.

For the purpose of this policy: candidate means any individual whose nomination is accepted under this policy; campaign means any planned or organised act by or on behalf of any individual candidate or slate which is calculate to gain support for their election; campaigning refers to any planned or organised act by or on behalf of any candidate or slate, which has the intent of garnering support for said candidate or slates bid for office; pre-campaigning means public lobbying in support of any candidate or slate during the nomination period and prior to the commencement of the campaign period; campaign expense means any and all expenditures by or on a candidates behalf for election advertising, equipment, or other expenditures associated with the campaign; committee means the group of four (4) people convened to rule on an appeal; Board of Directors means all voting members of the Students Union Board of Directors as stated in the By-Laws of the Students Unions Constitution; executive means the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the University of British Columbia Students Union Okanagan; C.R.O. means the Chief Returning Officer of the Students Union ; D.R.O. means a Deputy Returning Officer of the Students Union; member means a full or associate member of the Students Union as set out in the By-laws of the Constitution, unless stated otherwise; slate means two or more candidates who are members of a single campaign; Students Union refers to the University of British Columbia Students Union Okanagan; joke slate refers to a candidate or a slate who choose not to use their given name, or a reasonable derivative of their given name, or whose platform is deemed to be patently absurd by the Chief Returning Officer; poll clerk means someone tasked to oversee voting.

General Election 3. 4. There shall be an annual general election for the Students Union during the winter term of the academic year. A Chief Returning officer shall be selected by Board of Directors, or where Board of Directors is unable, by the Executive, no less than three (3) weeks prior to the intended date of the election. a) The Board of Directors, or where Board of Directors is unable, by the Executive shall also nominate a minimum of three (3) D.R.O.s.

5. 6.

Offices contested in the General Election are those which constitute the Students Union Board of Directors and Executive. Every Member of the Students Union shall be eligible to vote for these positions except the Chief Returning officer, who shall vote only in the event that two (2) or more candidates receive an equality of votes.

Opening of Nominations and Qualifications 7. 8. 9. Subject to section 3, the deadline for nominations shall be 1600 hours on the Friday before the week of the campaign period. The Chief Returning Officer shall be responsible for advertising the opening of nominations for those positions to be contested in the General Election. (1) No less than two (2) weeks prior to the election, notice of the opening of nominations shall be prominently displayed on 11 x 17 posters at no less than fifteen (15) locations on campus. Each poster shall include the following information: a) the dates of the election; b) a list of the positions vacant; c) the dates for the opening and closing of nominations; d) a brief description of the nomination process; e) a list of locations where nominating forms can be obtained, and f) the name of the CRO. (2) Publication dates allowing, advertising in the Phoenix newspaper shall begin prior to the opening of nominations. 10. Where the requirements of section 9 have not or can not be met, the C.R.O. shall first determine if other forms of advertising can reasonably inform Members of the opening of nominations, and where the answer is affirmative shall use those other forms of advertising. A person who is nominated for a position must be a Students Union member.

11.

Nomination Procedures 12. Nomination of candidates shall be in writing, and shall contain: a) the signature and student identification number of at least ten (10) nominators who shall each be members of the Students Union; b) a signed document indicating the name which they wish to appear on the ballot; c) prior to the close of nomination, the candidate must submit proof from the Registrar attesting that the candidate is a registered student in good standing, as defined by UBCO. No individual may nominate more than one (1) candidate for the same position, and where a nominator has done so all of their nominations for that position shall

13.

be declared void. There shall be an exception for the positions of Director at Large, in which an individual may nominate a maximum of two (2) candidates 14. 15. No individual may simultaneously contest more than one (1) of the positions listed in section 5 of this policy. Complete nominations, containing all material described in section 21, must be received no later than 1600 hours on the last day of Nomination Week at the Students Union office. It is the sole responsibility of nominees to ensure the completeness and accuracy of their nominations. Where, at the deadline for nominations, a nomination fails to fully comply with any part of section 12, the nomination shall be summarily rejected. Where, within three (3) days following the deadline for nominations, a nomination is found by the C.R.O. to fail to comply with section 12 (a), the nomination of that individual shall be summarily rejected.

16. 17.

End of Nomination Week 18. 19. The CRO shall hold a meeting for all candidates immediately after the closing of the nomination period. All candidates shall attend the candidates orientation session. The C.R.O. may exempt individuals from attendance under extenuating circumstances, but only if the individual requesting an exemption does so prior to the meeting, or informs the C.R.O. of an emergency for which no notice could be given. Candidates not able to attend should arrange for a representative of his/her campaign to be present at the meeting. Where a candidate fails to comply with section 19, the candidate shall be disqualified by the C.R.O. At the candidates meeting the C.R.O. shall: a) review elections policy, rules and regulations, and respond to questions about the same; b) announce the time and date of the forum (if there is to be one); c) review specific policy relating to campaign material, table bookings, complaints and appeals. d) clearly state her/his penalty structure for any campaign violations. Candidates may run together as a slate by informing the C.R.O. of their intention to do so on their nomination forms. Slates shall be permitted to identify themselves using a Slate Name, which may appear on campaign materials. An abbreviation of the Slate Name shall appear on the ballot following the candidates name. Slates may request a particular abbreviation, but the C.R.O. shall choose what name appears on the ballot.

20. 21.

22. 23. 24.

25.

No slate shall choose a name that is the same as that of a registered federal or provincial political party, UBCSUO or any of its affiliates. Where two (2) or more similar names are submitted to appear on the ballot for a candidate or slate, the C.R.O. shall choose which names appear on the ballot. Following the close of the nominations, and no less than one (1) week prior to the date of the election, the following information shall be displayed on 11 x 17 posters at no less than fifteen (15) locations at each UBCSUO campus: a) the dates of the election; b) a list of candidates nominated, including the legal names of all candidates and the names which will appear on the ballot, displayed alphabetically by position nominated for; c) operating hours and locations of polling stations; d) a brief description of the elections process, and; e) the name of the C.R.O. and D.R.O.s. Following the close of nominations, and no less than one (1) week prior to the date of the election, an advertisement shall be placed in the student newspaper (publication dates permitting) containing the information specified in section 26, and a suitable number of like advertisements shall be aired over the student radio station (if in operation). If the Phoenix publication date does not correspond with the election times the CRO make seek applicable advertising space elsewhere.

26.

27.

Pre-Campaigning 28. 29. No Member shall campaign prior to the opening of campaigning. Notwithstanding section 28, an individual seeking nomination, or a candidate, may: a) solicit nominations from no more than twenty-five (25) students; b) consult privately with other members regarding their campaign; c) consult with the C.R.O. or D.R.O.s; d) consult with any official, employee or executive member of the Students Union or the Institution; e) privately prepare draft campaign materials; f) privately prepare campaign materials; and, g) make any booking or arrangement approved by the C.R.O.

Campaigning 30. Subject to section 3(a), campaigning shall begin at 0900 hours on a day selected by the CRO following Nomination period and shall conclude at the end of the polling period. Each individual candidate and/or slate is required to act reasonably, responsibly and in good faith, and specifically is required to: a) ensure that all candidates and their volunteers are aware of, and comply with, all policies, rules, and regulations;

31.

b) c) d) e) 32.

be responsible to the C.R.O. for the conduct of its volunteers; report any breach of policy, rule or regulation; comply with all Institution regulations, including those of Physical Plant and Institution residences; and, communicate with Institution officials only through, or with the approval of, the C.R.O.

No official student group (i.e. clubs and course unions registered with the Students Union) shall provide any campaign with the resources of their group. Where a student group violates this section, the campaign that benefits from their violation shall be penalised. a) Board of Directors and Executive members are not permitted to actively support any candidate in any UBCSUO space, including but not limited to the Students Union Offices, Resource Centres, the Student Pub, the Student Lounge, or Boardroom.

33. 34.

Notwithstanding section 51, no member of the Board of Directors shall provide any campaign with the resources of the Students Union. No campaign shall collude with another campaign, whether prior to, during or following the campaign period, with the exception of individuals registered as a slate, who may coordinate campaigns within the same slate Where property belonging to the Institution, the Students Union, or any third party is damaged by any candidate or volunteer of a candidates campaign, the candidate(s) from that campaign shall be personally liable for that damage. No individual may campaign: a) in a business or service owned or operated by the Students Union; b) off-campus; c) or in a classroom during a class period without first obtaining the permission of the instructor. Any candidate and/or slate campaigning during polling shall adhere to the following guidelines: a) Candidates must remain ten (10) meters away from polling stations during all polling hours. b) Campaign materials can only be posted and/or distributed at least ten (10) meters away from polling stations during all polling hours c) If candidates and materials are out of the line of sight the space restriction shall be 5 meters rather than 10 meters. All individuals, including candidates and volunteers, campaigning or attending a forum are required to act in a reasonable and responsible manner, and specifically no one shall: a) prevent a candidate from speaking to another member of the Association by interrupting the conversation or invading the candidates personal space;

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36.

37.

38.

b) c)

threaten the safety of another individual, including a candidate; or make any public statement which deliberately misrepresents facts, or is libellous, slanderous, obscene, or patently unfair to a candidate, slate, and/or campaign.

39.

Candidates may participate in forums organised by other campus groups, but no candidate shall participate in a forum unless all candidates for a given position have received an invitation to attend and participate. At the discretion of the CRO, penalties levied against electors can be extended to include their slate, and their slate in any concurrent student election. All campaign materials must be approved in form, content and cost by the C.R.O. before they may be used in a campaign. The C.R.O. shall normally approve campaign material in the form of posters, pamphlets, electronic or web-based materials, ribbons, and buttons. Only those posters approved by the CRO may be displayed on campus grounds. The C.R.O. shall not approve campaign materials which: a) contain libel or slander; b) are factually incorrect; or c) violate any federal or provincial statute. Where the C.R.O. determines that campaign material which has not been approved under section 39 of this policy is being distributed, displayed or used by a candidate, slate, and/or campaign, then the C.R.O. will order the material immediately withdrawn or removed and shall confiscate the material from the candidate, slate, and/or campaign for a period of not less than 24 hours. Each candidate shall be allowed to photocopy or manufacture fifteen (15) 11 x 17 posters free of charge through the facilities of the Students Union. a) b) No poster manufactured for poster boards may be larger than 11 x 17; The acceptance of all other campaign materials shall be decided upon by the C.R.O.

40. 41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

Election posters shall only be displayed on UBCSUO and the Institutions bulletin boards, or in such locations as may be decided upon by Board of Directors at time of the election call. a) Candidates are responsible for seeking the permission from specific clubs, course unions or departments on campus to post campaign materials on bulletin boards pre-designated to these groups on campus. No candidate or volunteer shall cover, remove, alter or deface any campaign poster belonging to any other campaign. All campaign materials must be removed by 1600 hours on the last day of voting.

46. 47.

48. 49. 50.

Campaigning expenditures shall not exceed seventy-five (75) dollars per candidate. Each candidate shall fully disclose his/her campaign finances to the C.R.O. prior to the final day of campaigning. The Students Union will reimburse each candidate or campaign for up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) dollars per individual providing that individual completes the election and pending submission of receipts of campaign expenses. All campaign expenses must be validated by the C.R.O. and/or UBCSUO Executive member prior to reimbursement.

Voting 51. Each member of the Students Union shall be allowed to cast one (1) secret, nontransferable ballot, and the ballot will entitle each voter to make one (1) choice for each position, with the exception of the positions where each voter can choose multiple candidates. Advanced polling stations shall be established in Students Union space. Voting shall be conducted at locations and times determined by the C.R.O., and the C.R.O. shall advertise the same. There shall not be more than one voters list at one poll at one time, unless the C.R.O. determines otherwise. At each poll there shall be two (2) Poll Clerks in attendance at all times. When, for any reason, only one (1) Poll Clerk is in attendance, balloting shall cease. Poll Clerks shall not be volunteers or campaign representatives for any participating candidate, slate, and/or campaign. a) A list of Poll Clerks must be submitted in writing to UBCSUO no less than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the established voting days. 57. 58. A candidate shall be declared elected if they receive the most votes for that position. If there is only one (1) candidate standing in for a given position, or if there are four (4) or fewer candidates standing for a Member at Large or Advocacy position, the electors shall be offered a yes/no choice. The candidate(s) shall be considered elected if, abstentions ignored, they have achieved a simple majority in the yes/no vote. The C.R.O. shall provide for the secure handling and transportation of ballots. During voting days, candidates may campaign. Candidates shall only be present at a polling station for the purposes of voting.

52. 53. 54. 55. 56.

59. 60.

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a) If a candidate, contesting on election as a joke slate, is elected, that position will be contested in the event of a by-election. b) If a by-election does not take place, the said position will be appointed by the Union.

Ballot Counting and Recounts 62. Each campaign is permitted to have one (1) scrutineer present at the counting of ballots, provided that once they have entered the room where the counting will take place, they may not leave the facility until the completion of counting. The C.R.O. or at least one (1) designated D.R.O. shall supervise the ballot counting process, and shall: a) post election results within forty-eight (48) hours of all complaints and appeals having been resolved; b) seal ballot boxes until all complaints and appeals have been resolved; c) store the ballots in a locked container or room for a period of at least one (1) week after the last recount has been completed; d) ensure the ballot counting process be completed the same day it is begun. A request for a recount shall be granted where: a) the request is in writing and signed by a candidate who is contesting the particular position; and, b) the request is submitted to the C.R.O. three (3) days of the posting of the election results, weekends and statutory holidays excluded; c) the difference between the candidates for any one position is less than three percent (3%) of the total votes cast for the position; and; d) the C.R.O. deems it necessary. The C.R.O. may initiate a recount independently. a) Breach of Policy 66. 67. The C.R.O. is empowered to investigate and rule upon any breach of this policy. Any Member may allege a breach of this policy, or any other policy, rule, regulation or order related to elections. A member wishing to submit a complaint must do so in person. The complaint must be printed and signed, and the complainant must bring proof of membership in the Students Union. Any complainant who is deemed by the CRO and / or the elections committee to have submitted a complaint that is without merit and intended to bring the elections process into disrepute is subject to penalty, at the discretion of the CRO and / or Elections Committee. Upon the decision by the C.R.O. to hold a recount, the C.R.O. must immediately inform all candidates that a recount will occur.

63.

64.

65.

68.

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A candidate who is deemed by the CRO and / or the Elections Committee to have submitted a complaint that is without merit and intended to bring the elections process into disrepute is subject to being barred from the elections process at the discretion of the CRO, in addition to any penalties levied under section 66. The C.R.O. shall be responsible for preparing and making available any forms or information pertaining to policy breaches. No complaint shall be considered by the C.R.O. unless it is in writing and is received within twenty-four (24) hours of the discovery of the alleged breach and shall include all of the following: a) the name and student identification number of the complainant; b) the specific section number that has been breached; c) the specific campaign or individual, including the C.R.O., that is alleged to be in breach; d) the specific facts which constitute the alleged breach; e) the evidence for these facts. Where a complaint is received and found to be complete, the C.R.O. shall investigate the facts, and shall rule on the complaint in writing within twenty-four (24) hours upon the receipt of the complaint. a) All allegations of policy violations or misconduct on the part of a candidate or campaign must be received within two (2) working days of the closing of the polls.

70. 71.

72.

73.

Any ruling of the C.R.O. shall be posted outside the Students Union office and shall contain: a) a summary of the allegation; b) a summary of the parties to the complaint; c) where the C.R.O. fails to possess jurisdiction, a summary of the reasons for this finding; d) a listing of all applicable policies, rules, regulations, or orders that apply; e) a finding regarding the facts; f) a ruling regarding the alleged breach; g) the penalty assigned; h) the time the ruling was posted; i) the time limit on any appeal. Where a breach has occurred and that breach has provided an unfair advantage to a candidate, slate, and/or campaign, the C.R.O. shall assign a penalty. Penalties available to the C.R.O. include, but are not limited to: a) the confiscation or destruction of campaign materials; b) limits, restrictions and prohibitions on any type of campaigning, for any period of time; c) disqualification.

74.

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A campaign or candidate shall be disqualified where they commit a serious breach that: a) cannot be counter-balanced by a lesser penalty; b) is malicious or substantially prejudicial to another campaign; c) involves tampering with ballots, balloting, voting or counting procedures; or, d) involves repeated violations. In the event that the complaint is laid against the C.R.O., the complaint shall be considered by Board of Directors. Any Board of Directors member will abstain from voting if s/he is in a conflict of interest, as stated in section 79 of this policy.

76.

Initiating an Appeal 77. 78. Any decision of the CRO may be appealed by any party to the original complaint. An appeal will not be considered unless it is in writing and is received within twenty-four (24) hours of the ruling being posted and the appeal indicates all of the following: a) the name and student identification number of the appellant; b) the ruling being appealed; c) the reason for the appeal, including specifically any errors in interpretation or application found in the ruling; d) the ruling sought from the C.R.O. Where an appeal is received and found to be complete, the C.R.O. shall convene a hearing within twenty-four (24) hours of receiving the appeal.

79.

Appeal Hearing Procedures 80. 81. The Elections Appeal Committee will comprise of the C.R.O., a UBCSUO Staff Member and one of the board of directors of the students union. The members of the Committee shall not participate if a conflict of interest exists between them and any party to the appeal. The C.R.O. can expel a member of the Committee if s/he deems the member to be in conflict of interest. A conflict of interest shall include, but is not limited to: a) being a running candidate in the said election; The Chair shall explain any procedures to be followed to the parties involved, including any time limits to presentations or examinations. Any party to an appeal may choose to be represented for all or part of the hearing. The appellant shall be presented with the opportunity to: a) b) c) make any oral or written presentations; call and examine witnesses; and present any evidence.

82. 83. 84. 85.

86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93.

During the appellant presentations and examinations, the Committee may intervene with questions. Following the examination of a witness, the respondent shall have the opportunity to cross-examine. The respondent shall follow the same procedure at the completion of the appellants presentations. The Committee shall offer first the appellant, then the respondent, the opportunity to make a closing statement. The Committee shall retire for deliberations in camera, and shall rule in writing within twenty-four (24) hours of the hearing. The C.R.O. will vote only in the event of a tie. All rulings shall be posted, as per section 70, outside the Students Union office. No appeal exists from a ruling of the Committee on an election matter.

Finalisation of Elections 94. The C.R.O. shall give a written report to Board of Directors no more than two (2) weeks after the close of the election. Failure to do so will result in a withholding of honoraria.

By-election 95. 96. The Students Union shall hold a by-election if deemed necessary by the Union. A by-election must be held for the purpose of filling any vacancies on the UBCSUO Board of Directors.