As ratified by the Arts

Arts Student body Council

Student Body
DATE, DD/MM/YYYY

Election Manual

1. The Arts Student Body must elect all voting members of Council excepting a vacancy that presents itself
after January 1st.
2. The following members shall be elected in accordance with the election procedure:
a. President,
b. Vice President,
c. Director of Social Programming,
d. Director of Academic Programming,
e. UMSU Representatives,
f. Senators,
g. Womens Representative,
h. The Arts Resource Center Director,
i. Aboriginal Students Representative,
j. International Students Representative,
k. LGBTTQ* Representative,
l. Students Living with Disabilities Representative.
3. The CRO shall be selected by the Arts Student Body Council.
a. The selections committee shall be responsible for recommending to Council a CRO candidate
from across the campus that is not participating in the election to be CRO in accordance with
Bylaw 2.
4. All election procedures of the ASBC shall be monitored and governed by the following provisions:
a. Nomination Period:
i.
Nominations for elected positions shall be opened any time after Reading Week, but
before March 14 of that year and close at 4:30 pm, two weeks later.
ii.
Nomination forms shall be those contained in Appendix I and require 20 nominating
signatures.
1. Candidates for the following must self-identify as a member of the group they
wish to represent:
a. Womens Representative,
b. LGBTT* Representative,
c. International Students Representative,
d. Students Living with Disabilities Representative,
e. Aboriginal Students Representatives.
iii.
The CRO shall provide a nomination form, to be circulated in an email to ASBC
students and ensure that an adequate amount of nomination forms are available. If a
nomination form cannot be provided, any piece of paper with the required amount of
signatures with accompanying student numbers shall be accepted as an official
nomination form.
iv.
The CRO shall receive nomination forms.
v. There shall be no campaigning prior to the closing of nominations.
b. All Candidates Meeting:
i.
A meeting for all candidates is to be held on the final day of the Nomination Period.
ii.
All candidates interested in running in the ASBC elections must be present or must
seek prior permission from the CRO to be absent.
iii.
During this meeting, the CRO shall:
1. Provide all candidates access (electronic or otherwise) to copies of ASBC bylaws,
election rules and regulations.
2. Inform all candidates of their right to appeal decisions of the CRO, regarding
elections, to the Board of Appeals.
c. Prior to the Election:
i.
The CRO shall coordinate with council to ensure that election dates are adequately

announced.
ii.
The CRO shall advertise the site, hours of operation, and dates of voting at least three
weekdays prior to the first day of voting.
d. Election Process:
i.
During the course of the ASBC elections, the CRO must enforce all ASBC election
rules and procedures, subject to appeal to the Board of Appeals.
ii.
The CRO shall provide opportunity for a candidate forum.
iii.
It is the responsibility of candidates to notify the CRO of the time and date of any
candidate speaking engagements, such as public forums, at least 36 hours in advance.
iv.
The CRO must provide a list of all confirmed engagements to other candidates.
v. The CRO shall appoint returning officers who will be in charge of the polling
station(s).
vi.
The CRO must fix a polling location for voting in the ASBC elections.
vii.
The CRO must ensure that ballots are printed, as detailed in these Bylaws and supplied
to the Voting Station before voting commences.
viii.
The CRO must also provide a secure ballot box into which voters shall cast their votes.
ix.
The CRO must seal and secure the ballot box to the satisfaction of all candidates at the
end of each day of voting.
e. Ballot Design:
i.
Any position that has as many candidates or fewer than positions available shall be
subject to a yes versus no vote to be run in accordance with ASBC election rules.
ii.
A rotating ballot will be provided by the CRO in units equal to the number of
candidates per position.
iii.
All ballots are to state: All ballots must be marked with X
iv.
All UMSU representatives ballots shall state Vote for up to 4 UMSU Representative
candidates
v. All Senator ballots shall state: Vote up to 3 Senate Representative candidates.
f. Campaign Materials:
i.
There shall be a limit of 25 posters per candidate, a maximum of five posters per
building in the Arts Complex.
1. The Arts Complex shall be defined as the Tier Building, Isbister Building,
Fletcher Argue Building, University College, and the access corridors leading to
Dafoe Library.
ii.
Poster size will be 11x17 inches or 12x18 inches.
iii.
Posters shall be approved, in advance of their posting, by the CRO.
iv.
One 72x96 inch banner per slate or one per independent candidate will be allowed.
v. Banner space must be approved by the CRO before the campaigning period begins. If
more than one candidate requests the same banner location, a lottery shall be held to
equally distribute banner space.
vi.
The railing above the entrance to the Fletcher Argue Building shall be used to advertise
days of voting and will give equal representation to all candidates.
vii.
Posters outside of the Arts Complex shall be permitted and shall be regulated by the
authorities responsible for the areas posters may be found. It is the responsibility of
candidates to have their posters removed by the appropriate authority.
viii.
Once the Campaign Period begins, Candidates, Slates and Sides may utilize Social
Media to campaign. YouTube is permitted to host videos to be posted to Social Media.
Campaigning is permitted on personal Facebook pages as well as Facebook groups
and pages. Examples of permitted contents include, but are not limited to the
following:
1. A simple statement asking the recipients to vote for you

2. Contact information
3. Office of the CRO Elections Website and Office of the CRO Elections Facebook
address
4. Upcoming Elections Events
5. Voting days, locations and hours
6. Visual representation(s) of your Campaign i.e. posters, photographs, videos etc.
7. Tagging Social Media campaign material with anyone other than a fellow slate
member is strictly prohibited.
ix.
All actions must be moderated for content and adhere to these Bylaws and
any Appendices as created by the CRO in advance of the All Candidates Meeting.
x. Violation of these rules will be acted upon by the CRO.
g. Campaign Expenses
i.
Campaign expenditures per candidate will be limited and monitored by the CRO.
ii.
Candidate reimbursement will be provided to all ASBC candidates after the election by
the CRO upon presentation of election receipts.
iii.
If total campaign expenses exceed their designated maximum, the candidate shall
be disqualified.
iv.
Total campaign expenditures for the following positions shall not exceed $100:
1. President,
2. Vice President,
3. Director of Social Programming,
4. Director of Academic Programming,
5. UMSU Representatives,
6. Senators,
7. Arts Resource Center Director.
v. Total campaign expenditures for the following positions shall not exceed $75:
1. LGBTT* Representative,
2. Students Living with Disabilities Representative,
3. Womens Representative,
4. Aboriginal Students Representative,
5. International Students Representatives.
vi.
The Fair Market Value of a good or service that does not have a set price shall be
determined by the CRO. Candidates must present a total of 3 quotes exemplifying what
they believe Fair Market Value of the good or service to be. The CRO reserves the right
to seek out additional, independent quotes.
h. Complaints/Appeals
i.
The CRO is empowered to investigate and rule upon any breach of these Election
Bylaws, whether submitted to the CRO in a complaint or initiated by the CRO.
ii.
Complaints shall be allegations of a breach of the Election Bylaws against Members of
the Unions other than the Chief Returning Officer that are submitted to the Chief
Returning Officer for a ruling.
iii.
Appeals shall be allegations of a breach of the Election Rules by the Chief Returning
Officer which are submitted to the Board of Appeals for a ruling, and such alleged
breaches shall be:
1. A misapplication of the Election Rules to a Complaint;
2. A misapplication of the Election Rules to any other ruling of the CRO; and/or
3. Any other action by the CRO during the Election Period that contravenes the
Election Rules.
iv.
No appeal exists from a ruling of the Board of Appeals, and a ruling of the Board of
Appeals, shall be final and binding on the parties to the Appeal.

v.

All Members of the Union shall cooperate with the investigations of the CRO and the
Board of Appeals.
vi.
The CRO shall prepare and provide a complaint form which requires complainants to
indicate the:
1. Name and student identification number of the complainant;
2. Specific clause(s) of the Election Bylaws that are alleged to have been breached;
3. Specific campaign or individual that is alleged to be in breach;
4. Specific facts which constitute the alleged breach;
5. Evidence of these facts.
vii.
The CRO shall prepare and provide an appeal form which requires appellants to
indicate the:
1. Name and student identification number of the appellant;
2. CROs ruling being appealed;
3. Reason for the appeal, including specifically any errors in interpretation or
application found in the ruling;
4. Ruling sought from the Board of Appeals.
viii.
The Board of Appeals shall be the Board of Appeals of the ASBC as outline in these
bylaws. The responsibility of this board shall be:
1. To have full knowledge of election rules and procedures;
2. To report on election rules and procedures to council;
3. To hear all appeals of decisions of both the Selections Committee and the CRO
and to dispose of them as they see fit.
ix.
The Board of Appeals shall meet within 24 hours of an appeal to render a decision.
x. The Board of Appeals must provide written reasons for its decision to the
Appellant and to council.
xi.
If a candidate submits an appeal before the final day of voting commences
the candidate will not be removed from the ballot.
xii.
If the candidate in question should win the election and have his or her disqualification
upheld, the candidate will be deemed to have lost the election; the candidate with the
second greatest number of votes will be deemed to have won the election.
i. Voting Process:
i.
A large sign must clearly indicate the voting station.
ii.
Voters must present either their student card or a piece of government-issued photo ID
and provide their student number in order to vote.
iii.
Upon voting, their name shall be crossed off the voters list
iv.
Students who are not on the voters list will be permitted to vote. Their ballots will be
double-enveloped and kept out of the ballot box, until such time that the CRO can
verify their membership in the Faculty of Arts.
v. Voting will take place on two consecutive weekdays during classes.
vi.
The voting station shall be opened at 9:00am and close at 4:30pm on both days of
the election.
vii.
All ballots will be initialed by a Returning Officer before given to the voter. Ballots not
initialed by a Returning Officer shall be disqualified.
viii.
More than one X per available position will disqualify a ballot.
ix.
Any mark other than an X can disqualify the ballot unless the intent on the ballot is
clear that the vote is for a specific candidate.
x. Discretion will be left up to the CRO, the poll counters, and scrutineers.
j. Ballot Count:
i.
At the conclusion of the final day of voting, the counting of ballots shall commence.
ii.
Independent candidates may appoint a scrutineer to be present during the ballot count.

iii.

Candidates running as a slate of 3 or more may appoint a single scrutineer to represent

them.
iv.
Scrutineers must be in the ballot count room before counting begins and must remain
in the room until the conclusion of the count.
v. Scrutineers must sign an Oath of Scrutineer form before entering the ballot count
room, as designed by the CRO.
vi.
The candidate(s) receiving the greatest number of votes shall be deemed the winner(s).
vii.
The results of all elections shall be reported to the appropriate bodies by the President
as soon as possible.
viii.
Senator elections shall not be subject to a yes versus no vote.
ix.
The CRO will immediately publicize all results of the election.
x. The CRO will store the ballots in a locked container or room for a period of at least two
weeks after the last recount has been completed.
k. Ties/ Recounts
i.
In the event of a tie, there shall be a runoff election between the two parties. Should one
or neither candidate wish to have his/her name stand in said runoff election,
nomination shall be re-opened and bi-election be held in compliance with regular
election rules.
ii.
The CRO may in their sole discretion initiate a recount independently. This decision is
not appealable to the Board of Appeals.
iii.
A request for recount shall be granted where:
iv.
The request is in writing and signed by the candidate(s ) or the authorized
representative of a Side who are contesting the original count;
v. The request is submitted to the CRO within 48 hours of the posting of the election
results; and
vi.
The difference between the leading candidate or side and another candidate or side
contesting the same position or referendum question is less than 4% of the total votes
cast or is less than the total number of spoiled ballots for the respective position or
question.
vii.
As far as is practicable, a recount shall occur by way of the same procedure as the
original count. The CRO shall post the results of a recount within 48 hours of the
recount being completed.
5. Bi-Elections:
a. Bi-Elections shall be held for any vacant voting position if the position becomes vacant prior to
January 1st. If a position becomes vacant after January 1st then council may seek to fill the
position by the procedure outlined in Bylaw 2.
b. In any bi-election, no elected member of the ASBC shall be eligible to stand for nominations or
to run for election unless the member(s) first resign from council.
Semper Floreat