Committee on Student Elections (CSE) Bylaws

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Committee on Student Elections (CSE) Bylaws

Committee on Student Elections (CSE) Bylaws

Revised by the CSE and the Committee on Constitution and Bylaws, March 2017

Article I: Authority

1.  The Committee on Student Elections (CSE) shall conduct and regulate all Student Government Association (SGA) elections, under the jurisdiction of the Johns Hopkins University SGA.

2.  The CSE is authorized to set all election procedures and officer qualifications.

3.  Should a candidate appeal a decision made by the CSE, the decision shall be turned over to the SGA Judiciary.

4.  Any undergraduate, regardless of candidacy in the election, who interferes with the election procedures, shall be referred by the CSE to the proper authorities for appropriate disciplinary action.

5.  If unsure about any of the preceding or following rules, contact the CSE via for clarification.

Article II: Membership

1.  The CSE shall consist of seven members appointed by the SGA Executive President with the advice and consent of (1) the CSE Chair and (2) a 2/3 majority of the Senate. Vacancies shall be filled at the start of the fall semester. If any vacancies arise during the year, they shall be filled at the earliest opportunity.

2.  Once confirmed, these members shall elect amongst themselves one person to serve as Chair. The successor shall be chosen every spring semester in order to shadow the outgoing Chair during SGA’s spring election cycle.

a.  The Chair of the CSE shall lead all meetings of the CSE, function as a spokesperson for the Committee, and report to the SGA regarding election processes when necessary.

3.  At no time shall members of the SGA and/or Class Officers be members of the CSE.

4.  Should a member of the CSE resign, be removed, or for any reason be incapable of fulfilling his or her duties during the academic year, the CSE Chair shall immediately work with the SGA’s Judiciary Committee to fill the vacancy.

5.  A CSE member may have his or her membership revoked by a simple majority vote of the CSE or by a 2/3 majority vote of the SGA. This process may be initiated at the discretion of the Chair upon evaluation of a formal complaint to the Chair by a member of the CSE or SGA.

6.  Quorum shall consist of a minimum of five CSE members, including the Chair. However, under special circumstances (e.g., a vacancy period when not all seven members have not yet been appointed), the available CSE members shall make decisions amongst themselves.

7.  There shall also be a non-undergraduate administrator that oversees the actions of the CSE and who is familiar with the SGA’s policies and procedures.

Article III: Election Rules and Procedures

1.  There shall be a total of three elections per year:

a.  The SGA Freshmen Class Council Elections

b.  The SGA Executive Board Elections

c.  The SGA Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Class Council Elections

2.  Election Timeline

a.  SGA Freshmen Class Council Elections must occur before the second week of October.

b.  SGA Executive Board Elections must occur before the end of the first week in April.

c.  The SGA Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Class Council Elections must occur before the end of the fourth week in April.

d.  In special circumstances, election timelines are subject to change according to the CSE’s discretion.

3.  Candidates must adhere to the following rules or be subject to disqualification:

a.  Attendance Policy

i.  Candidates must attend one mandatory information session to be considered a candidate. The CSE shall inform the student body of the respective information sessions at least one week in advance.

ii.  Make-up sessions may be granted at the discretion of the CSE Chair.

b.  Qualifications

i.  A student may run for or be appointed to an office, provided that they:

1.  Have a term and/or cumulative GPA above a 2.5 at the time of the election and are a full-time undergraduate student enrolled in 12 credits through their term of office.

2.  Are available for a mandatory SGA retreat in August.

3.  Are available to attend SGA General Body meetings every Tuesday at 7 PM.

c.  Types of Candidates

i.  Individual Candidate

1.  A candidate who meets all the requirements of candidacy and whose name appears on the election ballot.

ii.  Ticket

1.  A group of students who campaign as a team and publicly endorse one another for their respective offices. The names of ticket members appear individually on the ballot.

iii.  Write-In Candidate

1.  A candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom constituents vote nonetheless by entering his or her name into the write-in section of the election ballot.

d.  Campaign Timeline

i.  Step 1: Attend information session.

ii.  Step 2: Collect petition signatures.

iii.  Step 3: Submit the Candidate Agreement Form and Petition Form to the CSE at the time specified during the information session.

iv.  Step 4: Campaign, which continues through the voting period.

v.  Step 5: Submit the Campaign Spending Report at the close of the voting period, the time of which will be communicated by the CSE Chair.

e.  Petitioning

i.  To be eligible for candidacy, a student must collect signatures and submit a petition form from his or her respective constituency.

ii.  A freshman candidate must solicit at least 200 by himself or herself from the current Freshman Class in order to be considered a candidate for the SGA Freshmen Class Council Election.

iii.  An undergraduate must solicit at least 300 or more signatures by himself or herself across all classes to be considered a candidate for the SGA Executive Board Election.

iv.  A sophomore, junior, or senior candidate must solicit at least 100 or more signatures by himself or herself from the respective class (i.e., sophomores, juniors, or seniors) to be considered a candidate for the SGA Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Class Council Elections.

v.  No drugs, alcohol, or illegal narcotics can be used to solicit signatures.

vi.  Candidates will not be placed on the election ballot if the Candidate Agreement Form and the Petition Form are not submitted before voting period begins.

f.  Campaign Finance Rules

i.  No candidate for SGA Freshmen Class Council Elections shall spend more than $75 on their individual campaign.

ii.  No candidate for SGA Executive Board elections shall spend more than $100 on their individual campaign.

iii.  No candidate for SGA Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Class Council Elections shall spend more than $75 on their individual campaign.

iv.  If candidates campaign on a ticket, they may combine funds so long as all of their names appear on any jointly purchased promotional material.

v.  Any funds used with the objective of soliciting votes will be considered as funds spent on the respective campaign, regardless of benefactor.

vi.  All candidates must produce a Campaign Spending Report, which outlines their spending on the campaign.

vii.  All write-in candidates must submit a Campaign Spending Report before assuming office and must abide by the campaign finance limit for their specific elections.

viii.  For all elections, each black and white 8 ½ x 11 flyer is assumed to cost $0.07 and each color copy is assumed to cost $0.20 regardless of using public or private services. Public services include any services that payment is made to a business or vendor. Private services include personal printers, scanners, or any electronic machine owned by an individual.

ix.  The Candidate Spending Report is due when voting ends and will be reviewed by the CSE.

g.  Flyering Rules

i.  Candidates may only flyer after the deadline for submitting candidate petition forms has passed.

ii.  The Office of Residential Life must approve all flyers to be posted on university housing property prior to posting.

iii.  The candidate may post flyers on any of his or her own personal property.

iv.  The candidate may not post flyers on other individual’s personal property without that individual’s consent.

v.  All flyers not on university housing property must be approved by CSE via email at before being posted.

vi.  Any electronic flyers posted online must be approved by the CSE via email at .

h.  Proper Campaigning

i.  Campaigning is defined as the indirect or direct utilization of personal or public services to assist in getting votes.

ii.  All candidates, whether on the ballot or write-in, must represent themselves in a tasteful and respectful manner.

iii.  No candidate shall solicit offensive or explicit material.

iv.  No candidate shall speak severely negatively of and/or engage in ad hominem attacks on another candidate.

v.  Correspondence including (but not limited to) emails, letters, social media private messages, social media messages, social media wall posts, or text messages may be sent to individuals but must address the said recipient by his or her name.

vi.  Letters cannot be put under doors in university housing, but may be sent to or placed in mailboxes.

vii.  “Dormstorming” (petitioning or campaigning door-to-door in university housing or apartment buildings) is against University policy and is therefore against CSE rules and prohibited.

viii.  The use of social networking sites, mass emails, group texts, and/or any other mass correspondence is allowed provided the following are true and defensible with evidence:

1.  All posts, pages, groups, events, mass emails, group texts and/or any other similar activity are available to the public.

2.  Every individual in a post, page, group, event, mass email, group text and/or any other similar function gave their consent to be added to said function.

3.  Every individual in a post, page, group, event, mass email, group text and/or any other similar function can leave said function on the individual’s own accord.

4.  Any post, page, group, event, mass email, group text and/or any other similar function used to campaign was created and used for the sole purpose of campaigning.

ix.  Individuals aiding candidates as part of his or her “campaign team” must follow these guidelines. Any violation committed by a member of the “campaign team” may be considered as committed under the auspices of the candidate. The candidate will be held accountable for any infraction of the CSE Bylaws by members of the “campaign team.” In dire circumstances where an individual’s adherence to this rule is being deliberately and demonstrably sabotaged by an opposing candidate, the opposing candidate shall be held accountable as if the violation were their own.

x.  A “campaign team” consists of anyone, candidate or not, who is campaigning for the candidate.

xi.  No drugs, alcohol, hallucinogenic or psychoactive substances, sexual offers or favors, or illegal actions can be used to solicit votes.

4.  Determining Election Outcomes

a.  To be elected to any office, a candidate must receive at least 50 votes.

b.  For each Class President election, the individual with the highest number of votes shall be elected to that office.

c.  For each Class Senate election, the six individuals with the greatest number of votes shall be elected to that office.

d.  For each Executive Board election, the individual with the highest number of votes for each position shall be elected to that specific office.

e.  If any of the individuals elected to an office are disqualified, the individual with the next highest number of votes shall be elected to that office, provided they attain the 50-vote threshold.

5.  Write-In Candidates

a.  Write-in candidates may disregard III.3.a.

b.  Write-in candidates must follow all other measures in the CSE Bylaws.

c.  All write-in candidates must gain at least 50 votes from (1) the student body in the SGA Executive Election or (2) from their respective class in order to win their respective office.

6.  Complaints, Violations, and Disqualification Procedures

a.  If you discover any violation of these rules, you must contact the CSE as soon as possible via email at with concrete and verifiable evidence of the alleged violation (e.g., pictures, copy of letters, etc.).

b.  All complaints are to be filed to the CSE by 12 PM EST on the Tuesday after voting period ends.

c.  When a formal complaint is filed to the CSE, the CSE will notify all relevant parties and determine the validity of the alleged complaint.

d.  The CSE’s decision will be made within 24 hours from the period that the formal complaint is filed.

e.  If a candidate wishes to appeal the CSE’s decision, the appeal must be made in writing to the SGA Judiciary at within 24 hours of the announcement of the CSE’s decision. The candidate must inform the CSE Chair if he or she chooses to appeal the CSE’s decision.

f.  Decisions by the SGA Judiciary are final and may not be appealed.

7.  Extenuating Circumstances

a.  If any of the following three circumstances arise, a special election shall be held within 2 weeks of an original election:

i.  Vacancies remain for a position or set of positions;

ii.  Candidates who run for a position are disqualified and the position remains unfilled;

iii.  No write-in candidate reaches the minimum threshold for election to a position.

b.  Special elections shall only be held for positions that remain vacant after the end of the original election period for a given position.

Article IV: Implementation of the Electoral Result

1.  The electoral results shall be publicly announced by email no later than 36 hours from the end of the voting period. If any election is closer than 1.00% or 10 votes, the CSE shall automatically conduct a second verification before announcing results.

2.  Candidates shall be permitted to review their electoral results on Hopkins Collegiate Link with CSE supervision after the announcement of electoral results, but candidates shall not be permitted to see the individual votes of students.

a.  Candidates shall be permitted this opportunity at least 24 hours before the end of the complaint reporting period.

3.  Candidates shall be permitted to request a recount no later than 12 PM EST on the Tuesday after voting period ends.

a.  If a recount is requested, all candidates involved in the recount must be afforded the opportunity to have themselves or a member of their ticket attend a two-hour meeting with the CSE in which the CSE shall conduct a recount and the candidates or their representatives shall remain in the vicinity as observers.