ELECTIONS CODE

Section 1

Elections Committee Membership (Revised 11/18/98)

1.01

Pursuant to the requirements of the Bylaws of the Associated Students of San Diego State University, there shall be an Elections Committee established to handle all elections of the Associated Students, its subordinates, or affiliates.

1.02

The Elections Committee shall consist of an Elections Coordinator, two members of A.S. Council appointed by A.S. Council, and seven student-at-large seats in accordance with Article III of the A.S. Standing Committee Code.

All voting members shall serve for a period of one semester, and shall be eligible for reappointment. There shall also be the following ex-officio, non-voting members: Elections Manager, a member appointed from the Vice President of Student Affairs, and the A.S. Executive Director or designee. A quorum of the committee shall be fifty percent of the filled voting seats plus one. (Revised 11/18/98, 11/17/2004)

1.03

Elections Coordinator shall be chosen in the following manner: Applications shall be open for ten (10) school days and announced on two separate days in the Daily Aztec. Applications shall be screened by the Executive Vice President and recommendation for interviews shall be submitted to an interview committee consisting of at least two A.S. Executive Officers and one other member of the Executive Committee. The interview committee members are to be selected by the Executive Vice President. The interview committee shall then forward a final recommendation to the A.S. Council for ratification by a majority vote of those Council members present and voting. The Elections Coordinator shall serve for a period of one academic year . (Revised 11/18/98)

1.04

The Elections Coordinator may be removed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the A.S. Council. This action can be taken only after the following steps have been taken:

A written request for review of Elections Coordinator activities detailing cause or reason for removal of the Coordinator has been submitted to the Rules Committee. (This document may include, but is not limited to, improper conduct or incompetence.)
Rules Committee has held a meeting to review the request and obtain information pertaining directly to the allegations within the request from both the authors of the request and the Elections Coordinator, both of whom shall be invited to attend the meeting.
Rules Committee has forwarded a recommendation of removal of the Elections Coordinator to the A.S. Council.

If the Elections Coordinator is removed, another Elections Coordinator may be appointed by the method outlined in Section 1.03. If time does not permit this process to occur, an interim Elections Coordinator may be appointed by the Executive Vice President with the approval of the A.S. Executive Committee by simple majority. (Revised 11/18/98)

1.05

All members of the Elections Committee shall be members of the Association at the time of their appointment and during the term of their office. No member of the Elections Committee may be a candidate in any election within the jurisdiction of the Committee during the term of his/her appointment. Preference for Elections Committee membership shall be given those members of the Association that are students-at-large and are not already officers of the Association (with the exception of the two (2) A.S. Council members and the Student Affairs representative outlined in Subsection 1.02.) Student-at-large seats shall be restricted to students-at-large unless there are not enough applicants to fill the seats. Only then may A.S. Council members be appointed to fill the remaining vacant seats. (Revised 11/18/98)

Section 2

Elections Committee: Powers and Duties (Revised 11/18/98)

2.01

The Elections Committee shall apportion representatives as stated in the Bylaws, to the various schools and colleges prior to the opening of nominations. The Elections Committee shall apportion said representatives, including Undeclared and Special Majors, based on the most recent enrollment figures available prior to that election based on information provided by the University President’s designee. (Revised 11/18/98)

2.02

It shall be the duty of the Elections Committee to enforce the Elections Code. When the polls are open, poll workers shall enforce Elections Code regulations. The poll workers must report all Elections Code violations to the Elections Coordinator or Elections Committee as soon as possible after they have been witnessed. Failure to report any witnessed violations shall result in removal of that poll worker. (Revised 11/18/98)

2.03

Poll sites, polling times, appointments, ballot position and penalties recommended by the Elections Committee for A.S. General and Special elections shall be subject to the approval of the A.S. Council.

2.04

The duties and responsibilities of the Elections Coordinator shall be as follows:

To supervise the Elections Manager and administer elections in accordance with this Code.
To carry out the policy actions of the Elections Committee not in conflict with this Code.
To see that dates of the nomination-filing period, election dates, polling place(s), and other notices relevant to the election are publicized.
To make regular reports to the A.S. Council regarding the election.
To maintain public neutrality with regards to any candidate or issue in any election within his/her jurisdiction.
To Chair the Elections Committee.
To verify petition or nomination with standards brought forth in Subsection 3.03 and 3.04.
To verify spending infractions committed by the candidate and/or person(s) associated with the candidate.
To verify expense accounts with Council's imposed spending limit.
To make recommendations to the Elections Committee regarding any financial infraction by the candidate and/or person(s) associated with the candidate.
To review the Elections Code with the Elections Committee by the 1st meeting of the semester.

2.05

The Elections Committee, the Elections Manager and the Elections Coordinator shall perform any other duties pertaining directly to A.S. elections as may be required by A.S. Council, the Elections Code or by contract with the Associated Students. (Revised 11/18/98)

2.06

The Elections Manager shall be hired not later than the fall semester and shall be appointed for a period not to exceed one year, unless re-appointed for an additional one-year term. The Elections Manager shall be hired using the procedures outlined in Subsection 1.03 of the Elections Code, except that the Elections Coordinator who shall also serve as a member of the interview committee shall screen applications. (Revised 11/17/2004)

2.07

The duties and responsibilities of the Elections Manager, under the supervision of the Elections Coordinator, shall be as follows:

Prepare the candidate Nomination Packet and approved election schedule.
Place all required advertisements in the Daily Aztec publicizing all available positions as well as the times, dates and locations for voting.
Place work orders for: equipment set-up/take-down of all poll sites and hanging of election promotional banners.
Input approved ballot language and order into the election software.
Inventory supplies needed at each poll site and re-stock as needed.
Monitor the progress of voting during the election to ensure that there is a sufficient number of laptops at all times to meet the demand.
Assist in the recruitment, scheduling, and orientation for poll-workers.
Serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Elections Committee.
Perform other duties as assigned by the Elections Coordinator.

2.08

Elections Committee may make recommendations to amend this Code to the Rules Committee which must then forward their recommendations based on the Elections Committee recommendations to the A.S. Council as outlined in the Standing Committee Code Article IV, Section 3.04b. (Adopted 04/28/99)

Section 3

Election Procedures (Revised 11/18/98)

3.01

All A.S. elections and/or referenda shall be conducted utilizing an approved web-based format and accessible to all regularly enrolled SDSU students anywhere in the world via the Internet during the approved voting period. The filing period shall be at least fifteen (15) school days in length and shall be announced at least five (5) days during this period in campus media. (Revised 11/17/2004)

3.02

Associated Students Council, as a whole, does not endorse any candidates for any office. The Elections Committee and A.S. Council shall not facilitate the process of offering prospective voters incentives, and/or merits of any kind in exchange for voting. Violations of this section shall necessitate that the election is invalidated and it shall be necessary to hold another election. (Revised 11/18/98)

3.03

The student shall be considered an official candidate at the time he/she files application in person. The application must be time-stamped in the Government Affairs Office no later than 4:00 p.m. on the last day of the filing period. A student may not be a candidate for more than one elected office simultaneously. At the time the application is filed, the candidate shall also file a signed statement that he/she has read and fully understands all provisions of the Elections Code issued with the application form, and confirm his/her intentions to run. (Revised 11/18/98)

3.04

The candidates must appear in person to obtain nomination materials at the Government Affairs Office.

3.05

Candidate Policy

(Revised 05/13/98) (Revised 11/18/98)

All candidates must be in good academic and disciplinary standing (not on academic or disciplinary probation) with the institution as stated in Section 12 of the A.S. Bylaws, at the time of the submission of the candidate's application.
Candidates for school and college seats must be officially recognized by the University as a declared major or pre-major in the school or college for whom they are a candidate at the time of the submission of the candidate application. If a student is elected as a representative from a particular school or college and, during his/her term of office, the student elects to change his/her major to one that lies within a different school or college, then that representative’s position on the A.S. Council shall be declared vacant. (Revised 05/13/98, 7/17/02)
In the event that a representative of the undeclared majors declares his/her major, the representative shall serve until the next general election, at which time a successor shall be elected to fill the unexpired term. (Revised 11/18/98)
Disqualified candidates are ineligible to run as write-in candidates for the position from which they were disqualified as outlined in Section 6 of the Elections Code. (Revised 11/18/98)
All candidates shall be listed on the ballot under the name specified in the candidate application packet. All subsequent literature, including, but not limited to signs, flyers, buttons, stickers, advertisements, and other campaign materials must read the candidates name exactly as it appears on the ballot. Changes to the candidate’s name appearing on the ballot shall be made upon approval of the Elections Committee. (Revised 4/26/00)
If a candidate statement is submitted (125 words maximum),all words such as “a”, “an”, “the”, “A.S.” etc. would be considered one word each. “100” would be considered one word while “one hundred” would be considered two words. Words separated by a backslash will be considered two words i.e. campus/university.(Revised 05/13/98)

3.06

General Elections are to be held no earlier than six (6) weeks from the beginning or later than five (5) weeks prior to the end of the spring semester. (Revised 04/28/99)

3.07

Dates for General and Special elections shall be selected by the Committee with the approval of the A.S. Council. Special elections shall be under the jurisdiction of the Committee. Selection of times, polling places, and balloting shall be established by the Elections Committee with the approval of A.S. Council.

3.08

In addition to campus computer laboratories and other facilities with student access to the Internet, the Elections Committee shall provide a temporary poll site on campus for a minimum of 10 hours per day for each day of the voting period. The Elections Committee shall designate the location of the poll(s) with the approval of the A.S. Council. The locations and the polling times shall be announced in all campus media. Polls shall be located in places appropriate to the nature of the specific election. Polls shall be available for evening students. (Revised 11/17/2004)
Voting instructions as approved by the Elections Committee must be listed on the ballot.

3.09

The following procedures shall be utilized at each poll site during balloting:

In order to vote a student will need to access his/her student web portal and enter his/her student identification number and password.
Each student will be allowed to vote once. If for any reason a student is unable to vote, he/she will be instructed by a message on screen to contact the AS Government Affairs Office.
Each student will be able to vote for the following offices: AS President, AS Executive Vice President, AS Vice President of External Affairs, AS Vice President of University Affairs and AS Vice President of Finance. Students may only vote for the AS Council representatives that affect their colleges. A dual-major student may only vote in one college, which will be predetermined by the Elections Committee prior to the elections. (Revised 11/17/2004)
Any visually and/or physically challenged voter who requires assistance in voting may have a person of their own choosing assist them with the voting process.
Once the poll worker has assigned a laptop to the voter, the poll worker shall not again touch the laptop until the voter has completed his/her voting.
Poll sites will close at the time indicated by the Elections Committee. All voters will be permitted to vote if they arrive at the poll site before or at the scheduled closing time of said poll site. Online voting maybe available at times before the campus poll site opens and/or after the campus poll site closes.(Revised 04/28/99)

3.10

The President, Executive Vice President, Vice President of External Affairs, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of University Affairs and A.S. Council representatives from the various colleges and the Undeclared Majors representatives shall be elected by a plurality vote. A student may not hold more than one elected office simultaneously. (Revised 4/17/02)

3.11

In the event of a tie vote for two or more candidates for the same elected office, the Committee shall determine and publish a date for a run-off election in all available media. The first date shall be within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the first day of the first election. The Committee shall, at the time of announcing the run-off date, specify further allowable campaigning as may be necessary for any run-off election. (Revised 5/17/95) (Revised 11/18/98)

3.12

Write-in candidates shall be entitled to a seat upon winning an election and meeting the other qualification(s) pursuant to applicable provisions within Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Elections Code. The Elections Committee in accordance with Section 6 of the Elections Code shall disqualify those not meeting the qualifications. (Revised 11/18/98)

3.13

Write-In Candidate Policy

(Revised 05/13/98) (Revised 11/18/98)

If a SDSU student wishes to run as a write-in candidate during an A.S. election, candidacy must be officially declared by filing a completed candidate application at the Government Affairs Office (lower level, Aztec Center). (Revised 11/18/98, 4/17/02)
Write-in candidates must file a candidate application in person by 12:00 p.m. on the Friday before voting begins. (Revised 05/13/98) (Revised 11/18/98)
Write-in candidates must meet with an Elections Committee member to discuss proper rules of running before filing a candidate application.
Write-in candidates will not be a part of the candidate statement page which will be accessible to voters while voting.
If a voter chooses to vote for a write-in candidate, he/she will type-in the candidate’s name in the designated ballot location for the office in question.

3.14

Counting Write-in Votes (Revised 11/18/98)

Any name typed upon a ballot, including a reasonable facsimile of the spelling of such a name, shall be counted, unless prohibited by Subsection 3.13(b) for the office under which it is written, if it is written in the blank space provided for write-in candidates for said office, and that the bubble is filled in next to the name written; otherwise it shall be disregarded. (Revised 11/18/98)
No name typed upon a ballot in any A.S. Election shall be counted for an office unless the person named has fulfilled the write-in candidate policy as stated in Subsection 3.13. (Revised 11/18/98)

3.15

The Elections Committee shall maintain complete records of all elections, locations of polling places, lists of poll workers and the times and location of their attendance, copies of any written challenges or complaints or other documents giving rise to Committee hearings, requests for and results of recounts and any other information or documents appropriate to all elections for three (3) months after the election, or until any dispute arising from the election, is resolved. Election records shall be accessible to interested students, officers of the Associated Students, and officers of the University upon written request to the Committee. At least one copy of the election results shall be maintained in the Associated Students files.

3.16

Special elections or an approved appointment process may be used to fill vacant seats on the A.S. Council, as outlined in Section 74 and/or Sections 27 and 28 of the A.S. bylaws. (Revised 11/18/98)

3.17

Counting Ballots

When the polls close on the final day of elections, the Elections Committee shall meet in a designated location that has the voting tabulation software available. No less than a quorum of the Elections Committee shall be present at the beginning of the voting tabulation process.
All results and documentation shall be retained in the AS Government Affairs Office until A.S. Council accepts the election results.
Election results shall be printed and signed by the Elections Coordinator and posted in the A.S. Government Affairs Office upon completion of the count.

3.18

Ballot Security

Ballot blanks shall be given sequence numbers so that ballots can be accounted for.
Only the AS Executive Director designee will have access to update the ballot content and to view updates. All such updates shall be reported to the Elections Committee. (Revised 11/17/2004)
At the end of each Election Day, the Elections Manager or designated committee member shall check the laptops from the poll sites back into the secured storage area.

STANDING COMMITTEE CODES