ELECTIONS CODE

Section 6

Violations of the Elections Code

(Revised 3/4/98) (Revised 5/13/98) (Revised 11/18/98) (Revised 02/24/99)

6.01

All complaints of violations of the Elections Code shall be presented, in writing, to the Elections Coordinator. (Revised 11/18/98)

6.02

All complaints shall be submitted by the first day of voting, unless the complaint involves events subsequent to the first day of voting. (Revised 11/18/98)

6.03

The Elections Committee shall make a ruling upon a complaint within two (2) school days of the submission of that complaint. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Elections Committee (members present and voting) shall be required for a complaint of a violation to be upheld. (See Subsections 2.02 and 6.06). (Revised 11/18/98)

6.04

For a review by the Elections Committee of complaints or violations to be official, six (6)- voting members of the Elections Committee, including the Elections Coordinator shall be present. In order to afford the accused candidate substantive due process, both the candidate and the author of the complaint shall be invited to attend the review meeting and both shall be afforded the opportunity to speak for and against the accusation. (Revised 11/18/98)

6.05

Penalties for Violations of the Elections Code

(Revised 3/4/98) (Revised 11/18/98) (Revised 02/24/99) (Revised 03/03/99) (Revised 04/28/99) (Revised 5/08/02)

Violations of Sections 4.01, 4.02, 4.05, 4.06(a), 4.06(b), 4.06(d), 4.06(p), 4.06(r), 4.07 and 4.08 shall result in disqualification. (Revised 10/12/94) (Revised 11/18/98) (Revised 02/24/99) (Revised 03/03/99) (Revised 04/28/99) (Revised 4/26/00) (Revised 5/08/02, 11/17/04)
Violations of Sections 4.06(e), 4.06(f), 4.06 (g) 4.06(h), 4.06(i), 4.06(j), 4.06(k), 4.06(n), 4.06(o), 4.06(q) and 4.06(s) shall result in a reprimand. (Revised 05/13/98) (Revised 11/18/98) (Revised 02/24/99) (Revised 03/03/99) (Revised /4/28/99,4/21/04, 11/17/04)
Violations of Sections 4.06(c), 4.06(l), 4.06(m) and/or Sections 5.0 through 5.10, shall result in a reprimand with the possibility of disqualification. By this, the committee can recommend either a reprimand or disqualification for violations to these specific sections. Should a candidate fail to submit required documents needed in this section completely, he or she shall be disqualified. (Revised 11/18/98) (Revised 02/24/99) (Revised 03/03/99) (Revised 5/08/02, 11/17/04)
A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Elections Committee shall be required before a penalty against a candidate will be official as outlined in Section 6.03. (Revised 11/18/98)

6.06

Any candidate who accumulates three or more reprimands or does not comply with conditions in the reprimand shall be disqualified from the election. Each sign violation counts as one reprimand. Candidates shall be required to submit written evidence to the Elections Committee that they have made a “good faith” effort to meet the conditions of the reprimand within two days of the decision by the Elections Committee. (Revised 11/18/98)

6.07

The A.S. Council, with a majority vote of those members present and voting, may disqualify a candidate upon recommendation from the Election Committee for said candidate to be disqualified. In the case that a candidate is disqualified, the candidate with the next highest vote count for that seat shall assume the vacated seat. (Revised 05/13/98) (Revised 11/18/98)

6.08

The A.S. Council, with a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those members present and voting may invalidate any elections within its jurisdiction when a meeting of the Elections Committee has shown that sufficient evidence exists that violations of the Elections Code may have significantly affected the results of that election. Such evidence shall be submitted to and reviewed by the A.S. Council prior to holding the vote to invalidate said election. (Revised 11/18/98)

6.09

The Elections Committee shall announce, with the approval of the A.S. Council, the conditions and dates of alternate elections at the time that the election is invalidated, and shall specify whether additional candidates or provisions may be added or removed from the specific ballot and the conditions under which they may be added or removed.

Section 7

Campus Fee and Student Body Organization Fee Referenda (Adopted 04/28/99)

7.01

Purpose

Campus fee referenda may be run by the campus or by written agreement with the Associated Students. This section of the Elections Code contains guidelines for the conduct of campus fee referenda when conducted by the Associated Students.

7.02

Call for a Fee Referendum

The University President, with advice from the Campus Fee Advisory Committee, may call an advisory campus fee referendum. The call for a binding referendum for adjustment in the student body organization fee may be made by the A.S. Council or upon presentation to the University President of a petition containing the names, signatures and student ID numbers of at least ten (10) percent of the regularly enrolled students. The Associated Students shall pay costs of a referendum for adjustment in the student body organization fee. Costs for all other advisory campus fee referenda called by the campus shall be paid by the campus.

7.03

Notice and Requirement for Voter Pamphlet

The Campus Fee Advisory Committee shall issue a voter pamphlet providing objective analysis of the proposed fee action and statements solicited for and against the proposed fee action. The voter pamphlet must be printed and have the ability to be accessed on the student’s web portal.
Copies of the voter pamphlet and ballot information regarding dates, times and polling locations shall be available to students and published in the Daily Aztec and at the University web site at least thirty (30) days prior to the referendum. Distribution of the voter pamphlet prior to the election shall be in locations determined by the Campus Fee Advisory Committee in consultation with Associated Students. It must also be posted on the student’s web portal. (Revised 4/26/00)
Any summary of the proposed fee action included in the voter pamphlet should be brief and limited in scope to clarification of the meaning and intent of the referendum language. The objective analysis of the fee referendum shall include the benefits and liabilities of both passage and defeat of the fee referendum. Pro and con statements may be no longer than five hundred (500) words. All statements should be submitted containing only upper/lower case, numbers and standard punctuation. Use of bold face and underline is allowed. However, Italics, graphics, stars, bullets and other symbols are prohibited. The formatting of the text is at the discretion of the Campus Fee Advisory Committee, with all statements being set in the same typeface and font. Once submitted, a statement can only be changed for spelling, grammar and factual accuracy, and only with the approval of the submitter. (Revised 4/26/00)
In addition to the objective analysis and the summary of the proposed fee action, the pamphlet shall include only one statement for and one statement against the fee action and a rebuttal to each. Rebuttal statements shall be no longer than two hundred-fifty (250) words and are subject to the same conditions as the pro/con statements outlined in Section 7.03(c). Notices shall be placed in the Daily Aztec soliciting statements for and statements against the proposed fee action. Those submitting statements for and statements against the proposed fee action shall be invited to attend the meeting and participate in the discussion where the one statement for and the one statement against the proposed fee action are selected. The Campus Fee Advisory Committee shall be responsible for selecting the statement for and the statement against the proposed fee action from those duly submitted, giving careful consideration to the advice from those present who submitted statements for and statements against the proposed fee action. Once a statement for or against the proposed fee action has been submitted to and received by the Campus Fee Advisory Committee, it’s contents shall not be edited or changed. (Revised 4/26/00)

7.04

Conduct

The referenda shall be web-based and conducted held on the SDSU campus on dates and at times and locations approved by the Campus Fee Advisory Committee. The referenda and shall be held on at least two consecutive days during the regular academic year while the campus is in session except Friday, Saturday or Sunday. In addition to campus computer laboratories and other facilities with student access to the Internet, the Elections Committee shall provide at least one temporary poll site on campus for a minimum of 10 hours per day for each day of the referenda voting period, as approved by the Campus Fee Advisory Committee. (Revised 11/17/2004)

7.05

Results

The results of an advisory referendum are subject to final approval by the University President.
An adjustment to the student body organization fee must be approved by a majority of students voting in a referendum. An approved adjustment in the student body organization fee shall take effect with the beginning of the academic year following that in which the referendum was held.
The results of the referendum shall be posted publicly at the A.S. Government Affairs Office on the SDSU campus and published in the Daily Aztec, along with the referendum appeal process described in Section 7.14 of this Code. The publication of the unofficial voting results, as approved by A.S Council, along with the appeal process described in Section 7.14 of this Code shall occur prior to any action by the Campus Fee Advisory Committee including but not limited to forwarding their recommendation and results to the University President. Once this has occurred, the results shall also be forwarded to the University President with a recommendation from the Campus Fee Advisory Committee in conformity with Section 3.17 of the Elections Code, in its entirety. (Revised 11/17/2004)

7.06

Electioneering

The approved voter pamphlet described in Section 7.03 of this Code shall be available electronically when a student is voting.. With the exception of the approved voter pamphlet, no verbal electioneering or placement of signs or distribution of materials or otherwise, for or against the fee action shall be accessible on the web portal or occur within 100 feet of any polling location as further specified in Section 4.06 (f) and (g) of the Elections Code.
Persons found to be in violations of Section 7.06 (a) shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including applicable personnel policies, if any, as determined by the University.

7.07

Advocacy

University faculty, administration, staff and students may advocate a position on a proposed campus fee or student body organization fee action through any legal means including publication and distribution of written materials, organized debates and/or public forums. Any printed materials or advertising advocating a position on a proposed campus fee or student body organization fee action should include the names of the person(s) or group(s) sponsoring the advocacy material and their status as a student or non-student. The A.S. Elections Committee and the Campus Fee Advisory Committee shall make every reasonable effort to inform student and campus organizations of these requirements. (Revised 11/17/2004)
No employee of the Associated Students, with the exception of the five executive officers, shall engage in any advocacy for or against a proposed fee action during their regular work shift without the approval of the A.S. Council. None of the resources of the Associated Students, including but not limited to the A.S. web site, shall be utilized to advocate a position for or against a proposed fee action without the approval of the A.S. Council. The A.S. Executive Director shall provide a written report to the A.S. Council of all proposed uses of A.S. staff and/or other resources prior to implementation.(Revised 11/17/2004)
Recognized student organizations, campus organizations and/or campus departments expending funds in support of or opposition to a campus fee referenda must submit a written statement to the Campus Fee Advisory Committee containing full disclosure of all expenditures and all sources of funds used to support or oppose the proposed fee action. Written statements must be submitted in accordance with this subsection within three (3) business days of the last day of voting.

7.08

Election Personnel

Campus fee referenda conducted by the Associated Students shall be overseen and administered by the Elections Coordinator and the Elections Committee who shall ensure that poll workers are hired and supervised, polling location(s) is/are set-up and taken down daily and that a minimum of two poll workers are at each polling location for the specified hours of operation during the referenda.
The Elections Coordinator shall be responsible, in part, for the execution of the provisions of Sections 2.07 (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) of the Elections Code.
The Elections Coordinator and all poll workers shall maintain public neutrality on the fee action presented in the referenda and shall conform to the provisions of Section 4.06 (h) of the Elections Code.

7.09

Voter Eligibility

The electorate shall consist of all regularly enrolled students at the SDSU West (main) campus. Both undergraduate and graduate students shall be eligible to vote.

7.10

Ballots

The Campus Fee Advisory Committee shall determine and approve the wording of the referendum ballot. The Elections Coordinator shall arrange for downloading and security of electronic ballots in conformity with the provisions of Section 3.18 of the Elections Code, in its entirety.

7.11

Voting Procedures

Voting procedures shall be identical to those used in A.S. general elections, as outlined in Section 3.09 of the Elections Code, in it’s entirety. Apart from the materials necessary to execute the referenda process, only the voter pamphlet shall be present on the student web portal and made available to the individual voter.

7.12

Ballot Counting

The Elections Coordinator shall arrange for ballot counting in conformity with the provisions of Sections 3.17 (a), (b) and (c) of the Elections Code. Accommodations shall be arranged for authorized individuals (in consultation with the Campus Fee Advisory Committee) to be present, while maintaining security of the results themselves. (Revised 4/26/00)

7.13

Maintenance of Records

The Elections Coordinator shall maintain complete records of the referendum, locations of polling places, and lists of poll workers and the times and location of their attendance, used and used ballots, election rosters, and any other information or documents appropriate for the referendum for at least three (3) months after the referendum, or the resolution of any election-related disputes or appeals, whichever is later.

7.14

Referenda Appeal Process

Any student, faculty member, administrator or staff member may make written appeal to the Elections Committee for review of conduct of a referendum within three (3) business days after the results of the referendum have been announced as specified in Section 7.05 (b) of the Elections Code. The Elections Committee shall call and conduct an appeal hearing within two (2) business days of receipt of a written appeal submitted in conformity with this section of the Elections Code. Within three (3) business days of the hearing, the Elections Coordinator shall submit a written report of the findings of the Elections Committee with regard to the appeal, to the Campus Fee Advisory Committee. The Campus Fee Advisory Committee shall determine the validity of the referendum after considering the findings of the Elections Committee.

7.15

Changes to Section 7 of the Elections Code

Any changes to this section (Section 7) of the Elections Code will be sent to the Campus Fee Advisory Committee for their information. (Revised 4/26/00)

STANDING COMMITTEE CODES