Glendon College Student Union
Association étudiante du Collège Glendon
By-Laws
By-law 1: Elections
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Elections Committee
The Elections Committee shall be comprised of the CRO and a minimum of three
members of the GCSU who volunteer to be a part of the Elections Committee in
each semester as chosen by the CRO.
GCSU members must submit a statement of interest to the CRO, who must present
the statement(s) to council.
In the Fall semester, the Elections Committee will be selected during the first
available council meeting after the hiring of the Chief Returning Officer.
In the Winter semester, the Elections Committee will be selected during the first
available meeting of the academic term of the Council.
Chief Returning Officer
The Hiring Committee shall hire the CRO no later than September 30th.
The CRO shall be hired for a full academic year.
The CRO shall be an officer of the Union, responsible for administering of all
elections, by-elections, and referenda by the Council, and shall be responsible for
enforcing this bylaw.
The CRO shall remain neutral during his/her term of office. Neutral is defined as
not sponsoring any candidate nor indicating any preference.
Deputy Returning Officer
Upon the recommendation of the CRO and at discretion of the Elections
Committee, the DRO(s) shall be appointed by the Elections Committee to be
approved by the Council.
The DRO(s) shall remain neutral during his/her term of office. Neutral is defined
as not sponsoring any candidate nor indicating any preference.
The term of the DRO(s) shall end upon the receipt of a written report no later than
the next available meeting of the Council after the closing of each election.
Honoraria
The CRO shall receive up to $300 per completed election, to be decided by the
Council upon the receipt of a written report.
The DRO(s) will receive a letter of reference per completed election upon the
receipt of a written report.
Reports
The CRO and DRO(s) are each to prepare written reports to be presented to the
Council following the closing of the polls at the next available meeting of the
Council.
The report of the CRO is to include the results of the election, the proceedings of
the election, and recommendations.
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No results are official until the Council approves the CRO report.
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Frequency of Elections
The frequency of elections shall be as outlined in Section 4, Part 13 of the GCSU
Constitution.
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Elections Timeline
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Each of the elections shall be comprised of an advertising period, nomination period, a
campaign period and a voting period.
The advertising period shall be 3-5business days. No nomination forms shall be
distributed during this period.
The nomination period shall be 5-10 business days. No campaigning shall take place
during this period.
The campaigning period shall be 5-10 business days.
The voting period shall be 4 business days. Campaigning is permitted during this period.
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Positions to be elected
The positions to be elected at each election and the general proceedings of
elections shall be as outlined in Section 4, Part 14 of the GCSU Constitution.
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Candidate Eligibility
All candidates for all elections and by-elections of the GCSU must be members of
the GCSU, as defined by part 4 of the constitution.
All first year representative candidates must be in their first year of study.
The CRO, the DRO(s), or any member of the Elections Committee for that
particular elections are not eligible to run for any position in any election or byelection during their terms of office.
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Nominations
Nomination forms, to be provided by the CRO, must be completed and accurately
filled out in order to be accepted. Any incomplete forms will be considered void.
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All candidates for all positions are required to provide the name of a nominator and a
seconder. They must also provide the names of other students who endorse their
nomination.
The number of endorsements required for nominations of the Executive positions shall be
50 not including the nominator and seconder.
The number of endorsements required for all other positions shall be 30 not including the
nominator and seconder.
The complete nominations are to be placed in locked filing cabinet in the back office.
Access to this cabinet will be permitted to the CRO and President. All nomination forms
are to be destroyed by the CRO once Council has accepted his/her final report.
Any nominations that are submitted to the CRO after the close of nominations will be
considered void and are to be immediately destroyed by the CRO.
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A candidate shall not run for two positions on the Council simultaneously.
A candidate may withdraw his or her name, in writing to the CRO, no later than 4(four)
business days prior to the first day of polling.
If at the close of nominations there are no candidates for a position, then the CRO, in
consultation with the Elections Committee may extend the nomination period for that
particular position for at least 5 (five) business days. If at the end of the second
nomination period there are no nominations then the CRO must declare that position
vacant and report it as such to the Council.
All Candidates Meeting
The CRO must call an all candidates meeting within 24 hours after the close of
nominations.
All candidates must attend the all candidates meeting, or send an authorized
representative to the meeting in their place. Notice must be given to the CRO at least one
hour before the all candidates meeting that a representative is being sent in a candidate’s
place.
Each candidate, or authorized representative will sign a statement before leaving the all
candidates meeting that indicates that they understand the rules and regulations governing
the election, including the bylaw.
Campaigning
Campaigning begins immediately after the dismissal of the all candidates meeting.
Campaigning includes the distribution of any campaign materials supporting a candidate
or a slate and election events planned by the CRO (i.e. speeches and debates).
The formation of slates and ensuing cross-campaigning is not permitted.
There is to be no campaigning in residence; in the library; in computer labs. There is to
be no soliciting of classrooms.
The GCSU office will remain neutral during the course of elections. The GCSU office
may not be used for campaigning purposes. There is to be no discussion pertaining to
campaigning or candidates inside the office from the opening of nominations until the
closing of poll stations.
The GCSU office and all supplies and/or services provided by the GCSU office may not
be used for campaigning purposes solely with the permission of CRO and supervision of
either the CRO or a member of the Elections Committee.
All posters must be removed within 48(forty-eight) hours of the closing of the polls.
Candidates are responsible for the removal of their posters.
The use of other election paraphernalia (buttons, stickers, pamphlets, etc.) are permitted
insofar as it does not infringe on other campaign rules.
The CRO and/or DRO(s) will immediately remove any campaign materials which do not
comply with the regulations as stated in this bylaw.
Campaign Materials
The poster policy shall be DISREGARDED, for postering related to elections, during the
campaign period provided approval from the Office of Student Affairs.
All candidate posters must be bilingual or have an equivalent in French and English.
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The poster size shall not exceed 11’ x 17’ (27.94 cm x 43.18 cm)
No more than four banners are allowed and are not to exceed 39.37’ x 39.37’ (1 m x 1 m)
Campaign materials may only contain information which is relevant to the elections.
Campaign materials shall not overlap or be attached to other campaign materials or
existing posters; be posted in classrooms; be posted in residence.
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Campaign Spending Limits
The spending limit for each election or by-election shall be $50 per candidate.
All candidates must submit a detailed account of all election spending (including
receipts) to the CRO within 5(five) business days of the close of polls.
If a candidate fails to submit said account they will be disqualified.
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Polling Station and Voting Procedure
The C.R.O is to liaise with the President in regards to
Any matters regarding elections. The C.R.O must communicate with SC&LD
following the nomination period to set up online voting via evote.yorku.ca
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The polling station must be at a location accessible to all students and the location must
be publicized by the CRO
Poll Clerks will be the Elections Committee, council members not taking part in the
election, the CRO and DRO
Laptops and tabling must be arranged through ITS and Student Affairs within 10(ten)
business days of the voting period.
There must be at least one Polling Clerk or Returning Officer at the polling station at any
time during the voting period.
No candidate campaign material of any kind is permitted within 10(ten) meters of the
polling station.
No proxy votes will be accepted.
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Appeals
Any candidate may challenge the validity of the election results in a written
submission containing their reasons to the CRO no later than 4 (four) business
days after the close of the voting period.
The CRO shall investigate any appeal and make recommendations to the Elections
Committee on the appropriate action.
The Council, at its discretion, may refuse to ratify any position, upon the
recommendation of the Elections Committee. The Council may not amend rulings
of the Elections Committee.
By-Elections
By-elections shall be as outlined in Section 4, Part 16 of the GCSU Constitution.