Xavier University Student Government Association
Elections Code
Effective August 13, 2000
Revised January 11, 2010
Revised By:
Caroline Richardson, Association Affairs Chair
Carolyn Whelan, Student Senator
Neil Heckman, Student Senator
Kathryn Baldwin, Board of Elections Chair
Chapter 1: General
1.1 Effective Date and Scope pg 3
Chapter 2: Board of Elections
2.1 Board of Elections pg 3
a. constituents pg 3
b. chair responsibilities pg 3
c. tasks pg 3
d. removal pg 3
e. vacancies pg 3
f. additional help pg 4
g. compliance with Res Life pg 4
h, i, j. absentee ballots pg 4
k. informing Senate pg 4
Chapter 3: Voters, Candidates and Issue Questions
3.1 Voter Registration pg 5
3.2 Candidate Eligibility pg 5
3.3 Issue Questions pg 5
a. who can place question pg 5
b. format pg 5
c. results pg 5
Chapter 4: Election Descriptions and Schedule
4.1 Elections Held pg 6
4.2 Election Schedules pg 6
Chapter 5: Registration, Ballot Reference Sheets and Ballots
5.1 Election Information Meetings pg 6
5.2 Nominating Petitions pg 6
a. general pg 6
b. required signatures pg 6
5.3 Candidate Questionnaires pg 6
5.4 Registration of Candidacy pg 7
5.5 Official Ballots pg 7
a. registered candidates pg 7
b. ballot preparation pg 7
c. access to online ballots pg 7
d. online ballot access for
study abroad programs pg 7
e. ballot distribution for XU-
sponsored academic service
learning programs pg 7
Chapter 6: Campaigning
6.1 Campaign Rules pg 9
a. formal public campaigning pg 9
b. announcement of candidacy pg 9
c. content of promotional material pg 9
d. posting of promotional material pg 9
1. location of signs pg 9
2. number of signs pg 9
3. permission for signs pg 10
e. distribution of fliers/handouts pg 10
f. campaigning door-to-door pg 10
1. registering pg 10
2. fliers pg 10
g. internet use pg 10
1. email restrictions pg 10
2. website restrictions pg 10
6.2 Campaign Budget Reporting pg 10
a. reporting pg 11
b. expenditures pg 11
c. t-shirts and clothing pg 11
d. buttons and stickers pg 11
e. donations pg 11
f. submission deadline pg 11
g. no reimbursements pg 11
h. reporting details pg 11
i. possible investigation of costs pg 11
j. overspending penalty pg 11
Chapter 7: Rule Violations and Penalties
7.1 Rules Violations pg 11
7.2 Penalties pg 12
a. first offenses pg 12
b. second offenses pg 12
c. third offenses pg 12
d. vote fraud pg 12
7.3 Appeals from decisions of B of E pg 12
Chapter 8: Election Promotion, Polling Stations and Times
8.1 Promotion pg 12
a. general pg 12
b. placing of promotional material pg 13
8.2 Polling Stations pg 13
Chapter 9: Counting Votes and Announcing Results
9.1 Counting Votes pg 13
9.2 Determining the Winner pg 13
a. rankings pg 13
b. single office with 2 candidates pg 13
c. single office with >3 candidates pg 13
d. ties pg 14
e. issue question ties pg 14
9.3 Announcing Results pg 14
Chapter 1 General
Para 1.1 Effective Date and Scope: This Elections Code (Code) will be effective seven (7) days after approval by the Association President and will govern all Student Government Association Elections. It may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Student Senate with the approval of the Association President. This Code implements and responds to the requirements of the Association Constitution adopted February 1994 (Eighth Edition published 31 March 2008). A copy of this Code shall be maintained in the Association historical record and at every polling station during Elections. Amendments to this Code may not occur within thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the campaign period for the Executive Elections and ending after the Spring Senate Elections.
Chapter 2 Board of Elections
Para 2.1 Board of Elections:
a. There shall be a Board of Elections (B of E) to conduct all Elections provided for by this Code. The Board of Elections shall be a Subordinate Body under the provisions of Article VI, Section 2, of the Association Constitution. There shall be five (5) members of the B of E appointed by the President after an application and interview process with the agreement of the Senate. These members shall be: a Chair, a representative of the Senior Class, a representative of the Junior Class, a representative of the Sophomore Class, and a representative of the First Year Class. The Chair shall be chosen three weeks before the beginning of the Executive Election. All members of the B of E except the Chair and the First Year representative shall be chosen before the first day of classes of the Fall Semester. The First Year representative shall be chosen by the start of the third week of classes. The Chair will serve from the beginning of the new Senate term until the start of the next Senate term. All members except the Chair will serve from the time of appointment until the start of the next Senate term. The members of the B of E shall be allocated a budget as determined by the Association President. Twenty-five percent (25%) of this budget shall be used for promoting Elections and other B of E business, twenty-five percent (25%) of this budget shall be used to compensate the Chair for his or her services while in office, and the remaining fifty percent (50%) of this budget shall be divided equally and be used to compensate members of the B of E for their services while in office. In the event of a vacancy on the B of E, the compensation that member would have received will be placed in the allowance for promotion of Elections.
b. The Chair of the B of E shall ensure that the requirements of this Code are met by all other members and by all candidates. The Chair will determine the dates on which the required meetings, filings, permitted campaigning, and polling days will occur in accordance with this Code. The Chair, together with the members of the B of E, must document their interpretations of chapters six (6), seven (7), and eight (8) of this Code and make them available to the candidates at the informational meetings. The Chair shall be the official spokesperson for the B of E on all matters and shall keep a record of the B of E’s decisions.
c. Members of the B of E shall assist the Chair in conducting the official Election tasks. They shall be present at meetings and other functions as required by their duties and as delegated by the Chair.
d. Any member of the B of E may be removed from office by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Senate for negligence, dereliction of duty, gross incompetence in the performance of office, or actions that tend to discredit or reflect poorly on the Association.
e. A vacancy created on the B of E during or within thirty (30) days of the beginning of a campaign period will remain unfilled until after the Election period. In the event of a vacancy of the Chair during or within thirty (30) days of the beginning of a campaign period, the duties of the Chair will be assumed by the member of the B of E with the most experience until the end of the Election period. If two (2) or more members of the B of E have the same amount of experience, the advisor to the B of E shall decide which member will assume the duties of the Chair.
f. The B of E may have other qualified students, faculty, or staff assist in duties pertaining to the Election. These Election workers may not be current Student Senators, Executives, SAC Members, the Student Director of Diversity, the Student Advocate, the Lecture Series Chair, members of the Lecture Series Committee, or candidates in that Election or holders of other offices elected at that time. The Election workers will be chosen by the Chair of the B of E. They may be compensated at a rate determined by the Senate. The members of the B of E will be primarily responsible for supervision and coordination of Election operations during polling times.
g. The Chair will confirm all relevant policies with the Director of Residence Life for campaigning and shall inform him/her of specific campaigning times and discuss any further rules or regulations. The B of E shall abide by the regulations set aside by the Director of Residence Life and shall inform the candidates accordingly.
h. The Chair shall appoint a member of the B of E to oversee absentee ballots, as indicated in paragraphs 5.5e and 5.5f, for Xavier students performing a study abroad program or academic service program. This person shall also be in contact with the Director of the Study Abroad Programs and the Director of Academic Service Learning (for both Xavier and non-Xavier-sponsored programs), and other offices handling internships and exchange programs in the U.S., to discuss the most appropriate way for students abroad to access the online ballots. This person shall also be in charge of sending e-mails to students studying abroad regarding information about the candidates and their platforms, including but not limited to candidate questionnaires. In addition, this person shall oversee the collecting and processing of e-mails sent by the aforementioned directors pertinent to Election information, including ballot count.
i. The appointed person of the B of E to oversee absentee ballots is subject to an override of any decisions that the Chair or the majority of the B of E deem necessary.
j. The B of E will be responsible for contacting the director of Academic Service Learning programs to inform him/her about his/her duties in regards to ensuring privacy and legitimacy of ballots.
k. The Chair of the B of E shall meet with the Chair of the Association Affairs committee before the first scheduled informational meeting to interpret the Code. The interpretation of the Code shall be offered to Senate by the Association Affairs Chair. The Chair of the B of E shall present a summary of the Elections on the first Senate meeting after the Elections.
Chapter 3 Voters, Candidates, and Issue Questions
Para 3.1 Voter Registration: All members of the Association as defined by Article I of the Association Constitution, regardless of class standing or residency status, including students studying abroad, shall be registered voters for all general Elections. The records of the University Registrar shall determine official registration status of all students.
Para 3.2 Candidate Eligibility: All candidates in any general Election must be enrolled Xavier students and must be in good academic and social standing as defined by the University’s official Student Handbook. Candidates must be available for mandatory Monday meetings from 3-5pm for the entirety of their term, with no exception. Candidates for Association President must have completed three (3) semesters at Xavier. No person shall be a candidate for more than one office in any one Election. Eligibility will be determined and verified by the Dean of Students.
Para 3.3 Issue Questions:
a. The Student Senate and Association President may agree to place policy questions on the ballot for the student body in general to answer. These questions may be placed on the ballot by a majority of the Senate with the agreement of the President and may appear on the ballot at any Association Election provided for in the code. Questions may also be placed on the ballot by petition if a petition including full text and an argument for passage that meets the requirements of the Nominating Petition for candidates is submitted to the Association President at least two weeks before the Election. The petition requesting a question must contain the signatures of at least ten percent (10%) of the current registered voters.
b. All questions must be written to be answered “yes” or “no,” and the full text of the question must be published campus-wide at least one week before the Election at which it is to be decided. The full text will be displayed on the online ballot. Any student or group of students wishing to campaign for or against a question must adhere to the same rules as any candidate or ticket of candidates.
c. A majority of the ballots cast with an answer to the question will decide whether the question is adopted, and the result will be binding as if it had been passed in the normal manner by the Senate and Association President.
Chapter 4 Elections Descriptions and Schedule
Para 4.1 Elections held: There shall be three (3) General Elections held during each academic year. These shall be the Fall Senate Election, the Executive Election, and the Spring Senate Election.
Para 4.2 Election Schedules: The Fall Senate Election will be held on the Wednesday and Thursday of the third full week following Labor Day. The Executive Election will be held on the Wednesday and Thursday no earlier than 30 days and no later than 45 days after the start of the Spring semester. The Spring Senate Election will be held on the Wednesday and Thursday of the third full week in the month of March. During the Spring Semester, only weeks that have five (5) scheduled days of classes will be counted to determine dates; school breaks and holidays will not be counted.
Chapter 5 Registration, Ballot Reference Sheets, and Ballots
Para 5.1 Election Information Meetings: The B of E will hold at least four (4) Election Information Meetings two (2) weeks before each General Election. Each candidate must attend one of these meetings. Election Information Packets will be distributed at these meetings. These Election Information Packets will include a copy of the portions of this Code concerning Registration and Ballots, Campaigning (including current Residence Life policies), Rules Violations and Penalties, and Counting Votes and Announcing Results; forms for Nominating petitions and Candidate Questionnaires; the schedule of events for the Election being held; and the names of the B of E members. Those running for Student Senate must attend a Senate meeting and fill out a Senate Meeting Verification Form, which will be signed by the Legislative Vice President and the candidate. It shall be turned into the B of E by noon on the Thursday immediately preceding the Election. Incumbents do not have to fill out one of these forms if seeking re-Election. Failure to comply with the aforementioned deadlines and attendance to meetings will result in immediate disqualification. The Chair of the B of E must specify the B of E’s interpretation of campaign policies outlined in Chapters six (6), seven (7) and eight (8). These interpretations must be written and included in the information packet provided to all candidates.