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Article 4 - Election Guidelines

Last Amended August 2022

Section A. Oversight

The Election committee shall oversee and carry out all elections. If a member of the Elections Committee is running for election to the Senate or a standing committee, then the election for that position will be overseen by another member of the Elections Committee.

Section B. Scheduling

  1. Elections to the Faculty Senate shall be from the designated academic components.
  2. In January of each year the Elections Committee shall meet to review election procedures and to settle matters of apportionment and designation of positions as 1 or 2 year terms if needed. They shall notify the Faculty Council membership of their actions. The notification shall include the apportionment of the Senate for the next year, a list of current faculty within that component, and a list of positions to be voted on in the election.
  3. For the purpose of voting and for serving as a Senator or committee representative, no person shall be counted as belonging to more than one academic component.
  4. When a position is listed as representing a particular constituency then only faculty members from that constituency are eligible to vote.
  5. Elections shall begin in February of each year.
  6. Institutional support for the elections shall be provided by the Deans’ offices as requested by the Elections Committee.

Section C. Guidelines for election of Senators and Standing Committee Members

  • Nominations
    • The elections committee will announce the opening of nominations for elected positions in the faculty governance system via email.
    • Nominations for all positions will be open for a period of time to include four full work days.
    • Any voting member of the faculty council may nominate someone via an email to the chair of the elections committee for the position of chair-elect or any at-large positions on standing committees. Only members of the academic unit may nominate candidates by contacting the representative for that academic unit on the elections committee for positions representing that academic unit. Any eligible faculty council member may nominate himself/herself for a position.
    • The nominated person will be contacted within 24 hours of their nomination by a member of the elections committee with a request to accept or decline the nomination.
    • On the third day of the nomination period a representative from the elections committee will send out an email to the appropriate constituency announcing the list thus far of individuals who have accepted nominations. At the start of the voting process email will be distributed announcing the ballot is open. The email will include a complete list of nominees.

  • Voting
    • Single Open Position Procedure
      • If one position is open, election is by a simple majority of votes cast.
      • In case no candidate receives a majority on the first ballot, a runoff election between the two candidates with the highest number of votes will be held. This runoff election will occur within one week of the original election.
    • Multiple Open Positions Procedure
      • In the case of multiple open positions, each eligible faculty member will have the same number of votes as the number of positions to be filled.
      • The candidates with the most votes on the first ballot will be declared the winners of the elections.
      • No runoff will be held unless needed to break a tie. iv. A majority of votes is not required in this case.
      • If there are multiple positions open within an academic component and some have been designated as one-year terms due to vacancies or to keep approximately one-half of the Senate terms expiring each year, then the elected Senator(s) with the most votes will receive the two-year term(s).
    • More Voting Procedures
      • All voting by the Faculty Council will be conducted in a manner designed to ensure a secret ballot and allow everyone the opportunity to vote.
      • When voting electronically, polls will be open for a period to include four full work days.
      • Prior to seeing election outcomes and by a majority vote, the elections committee may extend the voting period due to unusual circumstances (e.g. the computer system is down).
      • When voting electronically, results of elections will be overseen by at least two members of the Elections Committee.
      • When voting by a paper ballot votes will be counted by a member of the elections committee and at least one other voting member of the academic unit. Both individuals will sign a report of the votes which will be presented to the Chair of the Elections Committee and the Chair of the Faculty Senate.
      • Within 24 hours of polls closing, the elections committee will announce the results of the elections including total votes cast and the number of votes received by the winning candidate(s) via an email to the constituency electing the representative.
      • Elections are held in the following order:
        • Election of the Chair-elect of the Faculty Senate
        • Election of the Faculty Senate
        • Election of Standing Committee Members representing academic components
        • Election of Standing Committee Members elected at large.
        • The results of each of these four stages will be announced at the same time that nominations are opened for the next stage.
      • When a vacancy occurs in any position in faculty governance, the Elections Committee will hold nominations and elections for a replacement as soon as possible.
      • Election results can be contested only on the grounds that the process detailed in these bylaws has not been followed. Any such contest must be given in writing to both the Chair of the Elections Committee and the Chair of the Faculty Senate within three days of the announcement of the results of the election. The Faculty Senate will investigate the claims and make a ruling on the contest at their next regularly scheduled meeting unless a special meeting is scheduled for this purpose.