UA Documents and Publications

ARTICLE I. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Election Code shall be to govern the election of the Undergraduate Association President and Vice-President, class officers, Undergraduate Association Senators, and any other positions for which the Undergraduate Association Senate mandates a democratic, campus-wide election. The Election Code shall also govern the procedures for advisory questions and referenda.

ARTICLE II. THE ELECTION COMMISSION

Section 1. Membership
A. The Election Commission shall consist of eight voting members of the Undergraduate Association. They shall be appointed by the Judicial Board, from a slate prepared by the Nominations Committee, and approved by the UA Senate. The term of membership on the Election Commission shall be one year, beginning on the last Senate meeting of the spring term and ending the last Senate meeting of the spring term of the following year. The Speaker shall formally install the Commission members at the last Senate meeting of the spring term.
B. The Judicial Board, with the approval of the UA Senate, shall appoint one Election Commissioner and three Campaign Rules Board members from among the eight people selected for the Commission. The Judicial Board shall also appoint one of the three later members Chair of the Campaign Rules Board, also with approval of the UA Senate.
C. The remaining four Commission members will be responsible for the following positions—Technical Coordinator, Event Coordinator, Publicity Coordinator, and Petition/Volunteer Coordinator.
D. In the case that the Commissioner or Campaign Rules Board Chair cannot serve his or her full term, the Judicial Board shall appoint an Acting Commissioner or Campaign Rules Board Chair, with approval of the UA Senate. If the Judicial Board deems installation of either position immediately necessary, the Coordinating Committee shall approve the Acting Commissioner or Campaign Rules Board Chair until the next UA Senate meeting.
E. No person intending to run for office in UA elections may sit on the Commission. The Judicial Board, with the approval of the UA Senate, shall immediately replace any member who obtains a petition for office.

Section 2. Responsibilities and Powers
A. The Commission shall be responsible for the execution and primary interpretation of the Code and preserving the integrity of the election.
B. The Commission shall be empowered to enact any special rules governing the election process that do not conflict with the UA Constitution, the Bylaws of the UA Senate, or this Code.
C. The Election Commissioner, at his or her discretion, may close meetings to all, save voting members of the Election Commission and members of the Judicial Board.
D. The role of the Election Commissioner shall be to set the schedule for the elections and to oversee the Election Commission.
E. The sole responsibility of the Campaign Rules Board is to interpret the campaign rules for the election, hear official complaints, and to impose sanctions as necessary. The board may not act on violations in the absence of an official complaint. The Chair of the board shall oversee the board.
F. The Technical Coordinator, Event Coordinator, Publicity Coordinator, and Petition/Volunteer Coordinator are responsible for the electronic voting system, the debates and study breaks, publicity for the elections, compiling the candidate petitions materials, and coordinating the volunteers, respectively.

ARTICLE III. CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

Section 1. Types of Candidates
A. Candidate is defined as someone that makes his/her/its intent to run for office known.
B. Official Candidate is defined as any candidate who has been or intends to be validated.
C. A blank shall be supplied on all ballots for write-in candidates. A write-in candidate may not be declared the winner of a race until he or she demonstrates that he or she is a registered undergraduate, signs the Statement of Candidacy, and satisfies any additional requirements set by the Commission.

Section 2. Petitions for Official Candidates
A. Candidate Petition Materials shall include:

1. A copy of this Election Code
2. The Campaign Rules Document
3. A schedule of election events and deadlines
4. The following statement of candidacy:

   If elected to the office of __________ of the Undergraduate Association, I __________ hereby promise to fulfill all responsibilities of my offices enumerated in the Undergraduate Association Constitution, UA Senate Bylaws, Uniform Class Constitution, other bylaws of the Undergraduate Association, and the Undergraduate Association Election Code. I fully understand that failure to do so will result in my removal from office by the Undergraduate Association Senate.
   I also agree to follow all campaign rules and procedures as laid out in the Campaign Rules Document, Election Code, and candidate packet. I understand that failure to do so may result in sanctions ranging from an official warning to disqualification.

5. An official signature petition as outlined in Article IV. The Election Commission shall set the precise number of signatures within these guidelines.
6. A budget form
7. The Commission may also choose to include a volunteer form, as well as any other documents deemed necessary.

B. No individual may submit a petition for more than one office of any given type during the same election. Types of offices include Class Council, UA Senate, and UAP/VP.
C. If a candidate changes his or her running mate after beginning to gather petition signatures, the Election Commission shall decide how many new signatures should be gathered on a case-by-case basis.
D. Candidates shall not be declared valid unless the candidate demonstrates that he or she is a registered undergraduate, signs the Statement of Candidacy, submits the official signature petition, and satisfies any additional requirements set by the Commission. The Commission shall announce the names of all validated candidates for offices as soon as they are validated.

Section 3. Late Petition Policy
All candidates submitting petitions which are approved by the Election Commission shall be included on the ballot and in all election activities unless, as a consequence of the date on which the petition was submitted, such inclusion would place an undue burden on the Election Commission or would be unfair to timely candidates. As such:
A. The Election Commission shall establish a regular petition deadline before which all candidates will be guaranteed inclusion in all election events and on the ballot. The Election Commission shall also establish a late petition deadline.
B. Official candidates who cannot make the regular petition deadline must submit an explanation to the Commission by the deadline. Candidates whose requests are approved by the Election Commission will have until the late petition deadline to turn in their petition for inclusion on the ballot.
C. If a candidate’s petition materials cannot be approved because they are found to be incomplete, the Election Commission shall give that candidate up to five days to correct the error provided that doing so is fair to all parties involved and doesn’t put an undue burden on the Commission.
D. The lone exception to this policy will be for positions for which no candidate has submitted a petition by the regular deadline. Petitions for these offices will be both distributed and accepted until the late petition deadline. If no petition has been filed for the office by the late deadline, the deadline for that office may be extended by a few more days.

ARTICLE IV. TIMETABLES AND OFFICES

Section 1. Fall Elections Calendar
A. Fall Elections shall be announced to the incoming freshman class during the summer via the ASA Student Activities Mailing. Fall elections shall be announced to non-graduating upperclassmen prior to the end of spring term.

i. All fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (hereafter referred to as FSILGs) shall furnish a list of eligible, registered students by the day after the end of the “rush” period1; the UA Elections Commission shall distribute registration forms to all FSILGs by the following day2; and all registration forms shall be due to the UA Elections Commission one week later; and
ii. Elections for UA Senate shall take place in the fall term, during the week following the registration deadline.

B. Petitions shall be made available for at least four days before they are due.
C. Fall elections shall be held no less than one week after petitions are available.
D. Newly elected officers shall be installed at the first UA Senate meeting of the fall term.

Section 2. Spring Elections Calendar
A. Annual elections for the spring term shall be announced before the last regular meeting of the UA Senate of the fall term.
B. Petitions shall be made available at least for two weeks before they are due.
C. Spring elections shall be held no less than four weeks after petitions are available and no later than the eighth Monday of the term.
D. Newly elected officers shall be installed at the last UA Senate meeting of the spring term.

Section 3. UA President and Vice President Elections
A. The UA President and UA Vice President (UAP/VP) shall be elected during spring elections.
B. The official signature petition for UAP/VP shall require the signatures of between ten and fifteen percent of all undergraduates.
C. A joint UAP/VP debate shall be held during spring elections.
D. The newly elected UAP/VP shall be required to take the following oath of office:

I, __________, do solemnly affirm to execute the duties and responsibilities of the position to which I have been elected. Further, I will seek to maintain the integrity of the Undergraduate Association and its Constitution. I understand that failure to perform my duties, as stated in the Constitution and other rules of the Association, will result in my immediate removal from office by the Undergraduate Association Senate.

Section 4. UA Senate Representative Elections
A. UA Senate Representatives shall be elected during fall elections.
B. The official signature petition for senators shall consist of the candidate’s residence and the signature of the constituency president. In cases where the candidate was unable to obtain the constituency presidents’ signature despite making all reasonable efforts, the election commission shall waive this requirement.
C. If no winner can be determined for a senate seat due to a lack of eligible candidates, that seat shall be declared vacant and filled in a manner consistent with UA Senate Bylaws.
D. The newly elected senators shall be required to take the same oath of office as the UAP/VP.
E. A residence hall, Interfraternity Council, or Panhellenic Association may present additional criteria for candidates. Such criteria shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of Senate by the last Senate meeting of the spring term.

Section 5. Class Council Officer Elections
A. Class Council officers for all non-graduating undergraduate classes shall be elected during spring elections. In addition, a freshmen class council shall be elected during fall elections.
B. The official signature petition for Class Council officers shall require the signatures of between ten and fifteen percent of all class members.
C. The newly elected Class Officers shall be required to take the following oath of office:

I, __________, do solemnly affirm to promote excellence in the affairs of my class and to continually strive to improve the quality of life of my constituents. I will also fulfill all of the requirements of my position as stated in the Uniform Class Council Constitution. I fully understand that failure to perform my duties will result in my immediate removal from office by the Undergraduate Association Senate.

Section 6. Other Elections and Offices
A. Runoff elections shall be held one week following the regular elections.
B. Special elections shall be announced at least ten academic days in advance of the first day of the elections.
C. Petitions for special elections shall be made available at least ten days prior to the elections.
D. The nature of the signature petition and election calendar for all other offices for which the UA Senate mandates a campus-wide election shall be legislated by the Senate. In the absence of specific legislation, the Commission shall determine the nature of these items.

ARTICLE V. PROCEDURES FOR ELECTIONS

Section 1. Registration

i. Non-FSILG affiliated dorm residents shall be automatically registered to vote for the dorm constituency in which they reside; and
ii. FSILG affiliated students who reside in dormitories and who meet the
following criteria are eligible to choose to register for their FSILG constituency
or dorm constituency in the fall election cycle:

a. Freshmen who pledge an FSILG
b. Students who pledge an FSILG as upperclassmen
c. Upperclassman active FSILG members who do not reside in their
FSILG; and

iii. All affiliated, eligible upperclassmen shall have to re-register for each fall
election cycle; and
iv. All students who are eligible to register to vote in fall elections shall be
randomly assigned such that exactly half of them are defaulted to be registered
to vote for the FSILG constituency, and half of them are defaulted to be<