700: Elections

701 ASCWI General Election

701.01 The General Election shall be held annually no later than the week preceding Spring Break of the academic year.

701.02 The purposes of the General Election shall be:

701.02.01 To elect the members of the ASCWI Senate for the following year;

701.02.02 To elect the ASCWI President and Vice-President for the following year; and

701.02.03 To vote on any ballot issues that may be proposed to the membership of ASCWI.

701.03 The General Election Calendar shall include:

701.03.01 The dates of the filing period;

701.03.02 The date(s) of the meeting(s) for candidates;

701.03.03 The date campaigning begins;

701.03.04 The date candidates' filing petitions are due;

701.03.05 The dates of the general election;

701.03.06 The date by which all campaign material must be taken down;

701.03.07 The date campaigning officially ends;

701.03.08 The date candidates' expense declarations are due;

701.03.09 The date by which all violations are due;

701.03.10 The tentative date(s) of the Presidential and Senate debates(s) or forum(s).

701.04 It is the responsibility of the candidates to read and abide by the Election Codes and Election Calendar.

701.05 All candidates, whether they be declared or write-in, who shall be seeking the position of ASCWI President, ASCWI Vice President, or ASCWI Senator shall be required to meet Officer Eligibility Requirement.

702 Filing

702.01 Filing shall be defined as the submission of an official Declaration of Candidacy and the receiving of an Election Packet.

702.02 Candidates must file for themselves, except in the case of the Presidential/Vice Presidential ticket for which only one need be present to file.

702.03 All candidates shall at the time of filing submit an official Declaration of Candidacy that shall include the candidate's full legal name, area/local address and phone number, the position being sought, and the candidate’s signed statement that all information on the form is true and correct and may be verified by ASCWI and their Advisor.

702.04 All candidates shall at the time of filing receive an Election Packet, which shall contain the Election calendar, Petitions of Candidacy, and expense declaration forms.

703 Candidates' Meeting

703.01 The Candidates' Meeting shall be organized and conducted by the Election Committee on the date set by the Election Calendar and shall be open to the public.

703.02 Attendance at the Candidates' Meeting shall be mandatory for all candidates, and for the sponsor(s) of all ballot issues.

703.02.01 Failure to attend shall be considered an Election Code violation and resulting in removal from the ballot.

703.03 At the candidates' meeting ballot positions for all candidates shall be chosen through a random drawing. The name(s) drawn first for a position shall be placed first on the ballot, and each succeeding draw shall be placed below the name previously drawn.

704 Election Codes

704.01 The ASCWI Election Codes shall govern all ASCWI elections, and as part of the ASCWI By-laws, shall be amended only by majority vote of the seated Senate membership.

704.02 Day to day authority and control of all ASCWI elections shall be delegated to and invested in the ASCWI Election Committee and overseen by the ASCWI Adviser.

704.02.01 The Election Committee enforces the Election Codes by:

i. Issuing written and/or verbal warnings to the person(s) in violation;

ii. Removing any campaign or election material in violation;

iii. Filing formal complaints of Election Code Violations or consider immediate disqualification or invalidation of candidates or ballot issues.

704.02.02 Informing ASCWI that an election is forthcoming, and to advertise such an event;

704.02.03 Coordinate filing procedures for candidates and ballot issues;

704.02.04 Validate candidate and ballot issue petitions;

704.02.05 Conduct the candidates' meetings;

704.02.06 Act in a resource capacity with regard to the Election Codes for all interested parties;

704.02.07 Coordinate polling sites on days of elections;

704.02.08 Notify all candidates and sponsors of ballot issues of the election results.

704.02.09 Post the results of the election for the general public;

704.02.10 Inform candidates and sponsors of ballot issues of formal complaints as specified in the ASCWI Constitution.

705 Campaigning

705.01 Campaigning, as used in these codes, shall be defined as the use of any presentation in the name of any candidate or ballot issue excluding mandatory fees referendums, including both verbal and non-verbal actions.

705.02 There shall be no campaigning prior to the Candidates’ Meeting. This rule shall exclude campaign planning. Candidates may organize campaign staffs and plan for the campaign before filing closes. Candidates may also spend money before filing closes in preparation for the campaign, but must account for those expenditures with receipts. Fundraising of any kind shall be prohibited until filing is closed.

705.03 Campaigning shall end before Voting begins on a date specified in the Election Calendar.

705.04 Campaigning in or around buildings where the academic activities of teaching, advising, and research take place shall be limited to the following:

705.04.01 Candidates/sponsors may address student organizational meetings, which take place in academic buildings;

705.04.02 Candidates/sponsors may post campaign materials on general use bulletin boards in academic buildings; and

705.04.03 Candidates/sponsors may address students within classrooms as long as it is not during scheduled class time, and no campaign material is handed out.

705.05 There shall be no campaigning prior to the Candidates’ Meeting. This rule shall exclude campaign planning. Candidates may organize campaign staffs and plan for the campaign before filing closes. Candidates may also spend money before filing closes in preparation for the campaign, but must account for those expenditures with receipts. Fundraising of any kind shall be prohibited until filing is closed.

705.06 Candidates and sponsors of ballot issues may campaign using CWI Computing Systems. Random messages, unsolicited mass mailings, harassment, and the use of abusive or profane language are specifically prohibited.

705.07 No form of campaigning shall be painted or applied to sidewalks, outdoor walls of buildings, automobiles, telephone poles, or vegetation.

705.08 Unusual forms of campaigning must be cleared through the Elections Committee.

705.08.01 Any defamation in marketing or slander during the campaign period is prohibited.

705.09 Failure to adhere to any of the above stated campaigning policies shall be considered an Election Code violation. Candidates shall be held responsible for the actions of their authorized representatives and their campaign workers. A campaign worker shall be defined as a person who acts in the name of any candidate.

705.10 Under no circumstances shall a candidate solicit or receive assistance or endorsement from a college department, including ASCWI. This includes, but is not limited to, purchasing campaign materials, donating campaign materials, using department resources to further a campaign or ballot issue, and supporting or refuting a candidate publicly. Individual member support from within student organizations and departments is allowed as long as there is no affiliation with their position.

706 Campaign Expenditure Limitations

706.01 The Campaign Expenditure Limitations shall be governed by the Election Committee and ASCWI Adviser. The total amount each candidate or ticket of candidates may spend shall be a maximum of:

706.01.01 One Hundred dollars ($100.00) per individual running for office;

706.02 Corporate or local business contributions may not be accepted in exchange for advertising on campaign materials or by a candidate.

706.03 Campaign expenditure reports must be submitted even if there were no expenditures incurred over the course of the campaign;

706.03.01 The report shall be made on an official Declaration of Campaign Expenditures forms;

706.03.02 The Election Committee shall assign a fair market value on all donated material using the going rate found on the item(s) in the Treasure-Valley area; and

706.03.03 Failure to submit a Declaration of Campaign expenses and the late submission of such Declaration shall be considered to be an Election Code violation.

707 Campaign Materials

707.01 All Campaign materials are to be in compliance with the Election Code

707.02 Campaign Literature/Materials:

707.02.01 Gummed handbills or bumper stickers shall not be used. Only tape or adhesive name tag-size items and campaign buttons, designed to be worn by supporters, can be utilized

707.02.02 Campaign items designed to be worn, such as T-shirts, are permitted. Sandwich boards worn by individuals may be used to campaign in outdoor settings

707.03 Social Media

707.03.01 The Election Committee shall be given access to view all online campaign material.

707.03.02 All online campaign material must be removed at the same time as all other campaign material. Online campaign material may be deactivated until the election results are finalized and then re-activated following the finalized election.

707.04 The only people allowed to remove any campaign material are the candidates or sponsor of ballot themselves, their authorized representatives, or members of the Election committee and their authorized representatives.

707.05 All candidates or sponsors of ballot issues are responsible for any and all damage or litter caused by forms of campaigning which they may use.