Senate Bill #118
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Presented to the Senate floor on May 31, 2012
Senate Bill #118
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Authored by: CANO
Co-authored by: McManus
Introduced by: Min
Referred to: Internal Affairs Commission
Recommendation: Internal Affairs Commission Do Pass as Amended, 8-0-1, on June 4, 2012.
Yes: Cano, Hackney, Herkovitz, Kappes, McManus, Pascual, Renslo, Rivilivs.
Abstain: Hsu.
Senate Bill #118
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An ASUCD Senate Bill to restructure the Election Codes, Part 1.
BACKGROUND: The ASUCD Election Codes need reform. In their current form, the Election Codes do not clearly define different entities and their respective duties. This bill represents the first of five bills to reform the ASUCD Election Codes. This bill clearly defines different entities involved in elections and outlines each entity’s duties and responsibilities. The bill also reorganizes information relating to the time of elections and campaigning, voting procedures, tabulation of votes, and endorsements. The bill does not contain any substantive policy changes; it merely reorganizes and clearly defines existing procedure and policy.
Section 1. The ASUCD Senate hereby strikes Sections 400-409 of the ASUCD Bylaws as follows:
Section 2. The ASUCD Senate hereby enacts Sections 400-412 to the ASUCD Bylaws as follows:
400. APPLICATION: The rules and procedures specified in this Chapter shall apply to all ASUCD Elections and are intended to supplement provisions of the ASUCD Constitution pertaining to the conduct of ASUCD Elections. All amendments to this chapter shall require approval of two-thirds (2/3rd) majority vote of the entire ASUCD Senate.
401. DEFINITIONS: The following terms are defined to make Chapter Four of the ASUCD Bylaws free of ambiguity.
A. The “Executive Ticket” shall be defined as the two (2) people running for office together, one (1) for ASUCD President and one (1) for ASUCD Vice President.
B. A “Campaign Executive” shall be defined as a candidate running for ASUCD Senate, both members of the Executive Ticket, a Ballot Measure campaign coordinator (pro/con), an elected official being recalled, or a recall campaign coordinator (con). There may only be two (2) Campaign Executives per Ballot Measure (one (1) pro coordinator and one (1) con coordinator), and two (2) Campaign Executives per Recall Election (one (1) Recall campaign coordinator (pro) and the Elected Official being recalled (con)).
C. Campaigning
(1) “Active Campaigning” shall be defined as verbal or physical actions taken by a candidate, group of candidates, or other individual(s) in an attempt to persuade voters to support their chosen cause, such as the Election itself, specific candidate(s), Ballot Measures, or any other issues or idea related to any entity participating in an ASUCD Election.
(2) “Passive Campaigning” shall be defined as non-verbal, non-physical activities that attempt to persuade voters toward a certain cause or candidate that have only a secondary or tertiary effect of campaigning. Wearing a campaigning material such as shirts and/or buttons is an example of passive campaigning. Attempts to draw attention to these items constitute active campaigning.
D. A “Ballot Measure” shall include any measure, other than a Recall, Ticket, or candidate, placed on the Ballot of an ASUCD Election. There are two (2) types of Ballot Measures:
(1) A “Legislative Ballot Measure” is one that is voted on by the ASUCD Senate at least four (4) weeks prior to being placed before a vote of the student body.
(2) An “Initiative Ballot Measure” is one in which an ASUCD member takes a petition request to the Internal Affairs Commission to have the wording reviewed and subsequently collects signatures and UC Davis Student Identification (ID) numbers of the required number of ASUCD members.
E. A "Recall" is an Initiative Ballot Measure that seeks to remove an elected ASUCD official from office.
F. An “endorsement” shall be when a Campaign Executive receives the support of an ASUCD member or an authorized student organization through a signed agreement on a document titled “Endorsement Form.” In order for the endorsement to be valid, the form must be filed with the Elections Committee. Endorsement forms shall be distributed to each Campaign Executive by the ASUCD Elections Committee.
G. Potential Polling Station
(1) “Potential stationary polling stations” shall include any computer labs located on the UC Davis campus that are usable by the general undergraduate student body, any UC Davis Residence Halls, and any other location specifically and visibly marked by the ASUCD Elections Committee. All specially marked areas must be announced by the Elections Committee at the Mandatory Candidates Meeting and marked by that time.
(2) “Potential mobile polling stations” shall include any portable device capable of accessing the ASUCD Elections website.
H. "Elections fraud" shall include the following actions: modifying any ballot other than one’s own, logging in as another person to vote, voter intimidation, bribery of any individual(s), and/or tampering with the Elections results in any other fashion. (Note that these terms are to be understood as they are interpreted in State and Federal Elections Law.)
I. A "Violation point" is a way of censuring a candidate for violation of these elections codes in the course of a campaign.
402. DUTIES OF THE ASUCD ELECTIONS COMMITTEE: All decisions by the ASUCD Elections Committee shall be made by majority vote of the entire ASUCD Elections Committee, unless otherwise specified in this Chapter of the ASUCD Bylaws. The ASUCD Elections Committee must ensure that all Elections are conducted fairly and impartially, and shall adhere to the following all responsibilities outlined in this Chapter of the ASUCD Bylaws.
A. Duties of the Elections Committee Chairperson
(1) Organize, coordinate, supervise, and monitor the election process
(2) Meet daily with the other Elections Committee members during ASUCD elections
(3) Assign duties and supervise tasks to be performed by the Election Committee Members
(4) Facilitate press and/or candidate workshops
(5) Arrange, plan, and implement all logistics necessary for an online election
(6) Meet as scheduled with the Internet and Networking Committee (INC)
(7) Facilitate election outreach, publicity, and candidate forums and/or events
(8) Develop a Budget for each General Election
(9) Organize the fall and winter election calendar
(10) Hold regular office hours when the Elections Packet is made available until the end of each General Election
(11) Monitor ASUCD Elections by enforcing election regulations.
B. Duties of the Events Coordinator
(1) Assist the Elections Committee Chairperson in their administrative duties
(2) Complete any tasks assigned to them by the Elections Committee Chairperson
(3) Monitor ASUCD Elections by enforcing election regulations
(4) Arrange room reservations and/or halls used for candidate speeches/debate
(5) Hold regular office hours when the Elections Packet is made available until the end of each General Election
(6) Work with other Elections Committee members to ensure election publicity and outreach
C. Duties of the Media Coordinator
(1) Assist the Elections Committee Chairperson in their administrative duties
(2) Complete any tasks assigned to them by the Elections Committee Chairperson
(3) Monitor ASUCD Elections by enforcing election regulations
(4) Design all hiring notices, petitions availability notices, election day and forum/event advertisements
(5) Hold regular office hours when the Elections Packet is made available until the end of each General Election
(6) Work with other Elections Committee members to ensure election publicity and outreach
D. Duties of the Publicity Coordinator
(1) Assist the Elections Committee Chairperson in their administrative duties
(2) Complete any tasks assigned to them by the Elections Committee Chairperson
(3) Monitor ASUCD Elections by enforcing election regulations
(4) Publicize filing periods and time of elections
(5) Publicize elections in the California Aggie, Aggie TV, KDVS, through student housing, and any other available outlets
(6) Hold regular office hours when the Elections Packet is made available until the end of each General Election
(7) Work with other Elections Committee member to ensure election publicity and outreach
E. Duties of the Outreach Coordinator
(1) Assist the Elections Committee Chairperson in their administrative duties
(2) Complete any tasks assigned to them by the Elections Committee Chairperson
(3) Monitor ASUCD Elections by enforcing election regulations
(4) Outreach to the undergraduates by providing information regarding elections, ballots, and candidates
(5) Hold regular office hours when the Elections Packet is made available until the end of each General Election
(6) Work with other Elections Committee members to ensure election publicity and outreach
F. No member of the ASUCD Elections Committee or Elections staff, network administration team (as defined by the Internet and Networking Committee), Unit Directors (excluding The California Aggie or KDVS), or Creative Media student staff shall endorse, campaign for, make a contribution to, or in any other manner support or oppose any candidate(s), Ticket(s), Ballot Measure(s), or Recall Campaign (except by that individual’s vote in the Election). A list of any and all Elections staff shall be posted on the ASUCD Elections Committee bulletin board five (5) academic days prior to the first day of all ASUCD Elections.
G. The ASUCD Elections Committee shall review the expenditure forms for each Campaign Executive and shall make available for public viewing, either through posting or publishing, the results of their initial review and the original expenditure forms as filed by the Campaign Executives no later than forty-eight (48) hours after the deadline for submission of the forms.
H. The Elections Committee shall consider reasonable reports of voting difficulties.
I. The Elections Committee shall conduct audits on cast ballots when election fraud is suspected or when otherwise deemed necessary.
J. The ASUCD Elections Committee shall remove all campaign materials and/or literaturethat do not comply with University Posting Regulations after a campaign executive failed to remove campaign material and/or literature upon request of the ASUCD Elections Committee Chairperson.
403. TIME OF ELECTIONS
A. General Elections: The timing is outlined in Articles II and III of the ASUCD Constitution. Each General Election shall last at least seventy-two (72) hours, but no more than one hundred and twenty (120) hours.
(1) Fall General Election shall be conducted on the sixth (6th) week of fall quarter.
(2) Winter General Election shall be conducted on the seventh (7th) week of winter quarter.
B. Special Elections: Each Special Election shall last at least forty-eight (48) and no more than seventy-two (72) hours. The ASUCD Elections Committee shall determine the exact duration of a Special Election. In accordance with the ASUCD Constitution, Special Elections shall be conducted no sooner than one (1) week and no later than three (3) weeks after the requisite number of signatures has been verified by the ASUCD Elections Committee. The dates of the Special Election shall be determined by the ASUCD Elections Committee after consultation with the petitioners.
C. Master Calendar: The ASUCD Elections Committee shall maintain a master calendar on the ASUCD Website and ASUCD Bulletin Board to ensure adequate notice to all candidates of relevant Election information.
D. Election Extension: If for any reason, a problem occurs with the ASUCD Elections Website which causes a large portion of the electorate to be completely unable to vote (the sufficient threshold for this shall be determined by the ASUCD Elections Committee), the ASUCD Elections Committee shall extend the Election by the same length of time this large portion of the electorate was unable to vote. The exact length of the outage shall be determined by the ASUCD Elections Committee to the best of their ability.
E. Notification of Election Time Changes: All Campaign Executives shall be notified of any Election time changes. The time of the election shall also be posted on the ASUCD Elections website. In the event that the Elections Committee votes to change the time of the election, they must post a notice of this change within one (1) hour of the vote taking place.
404. ELIGIBILITY OF CANDIDATES: The following rules for Eligibility to Run and Eligibility to be Seated together make up a Campaign Executive’s Eligibility to Hold Office. The Student Services Office Manager shall perform the appropriate check to ensure that each candidate has fulfilled these requirements immediately following the submission of official Nominating Petitions and Notices of Candidacy. They shall then notify the ASUCD Elections Committee Chairperson if any candidate is found to be ineligible due to these requirements. The ASUCD Elections Committee Chairperson shall privately ask any candidate determined to be currently on academic probation, subject to academic disqualification, or sanctioned with a loss of privileges to withdraw their candidacy. Any candidate who does not comply shall be disqualified by the ASUCD Elections Committee.
A. Eligibility to Run
(1) ASUCD President: Any undergraduate member of the ASUCD in good academic standing based on Grade Point Average (GPA), who shall have completed no less than sixty (60) quarter units of University credit, or the equivalent, and shall have been a registered full-time or part-time student at the University of California, Davis, during one (1) or both of the two (2) quarters immediately preceding the quarter in which elected, shall be eligible to hold the office of ASUCD President (see Article III of the ASUCD Constitution).
(2) ASUCD Vice President: Any undergraduate member of ASUCD in good academic standing based on Grade Point Average (GPA) and shall have been a registered full-time or part-time student at the University of California, Davis during one (1) or both of the two (2) quarters immediately preceding the quarters in which elected, shall be eligible to hold office of ASUCD Vice President.
(3) ASUCD Senator: Any undergraduate member of the ASUCD in good academic standing based on Grade Point Average (GPA), registered as a full-time or part-time student at the University of California, Davis, shall be eligible to run for ASUCD Senate (see Article II of the ASUCD Constitution).
(4) No Student may run for an ASUCD elected office if on academic probation or subject to academic disqualification.
(5) No student shall run for more than one (1) elected ASUCD position at any given time.
(6) Any elected ASUCD official currently in office and seeking another office must resign that current office if elected to the new position.