SGA Bylaws

Article VI - Elections

A. Consist of the Prime Justice, who shall chair the Committee, two justices, and three members at large from the Student Senate, with all justices and Senate members to be appointed by the Prime Justice with approval of the Student Senate.
B. The Election Committee shall be chosen no later than five regular meetings before the election, excluding Concord holidays. All members of the committee must meet the following qualifications:

i. At least a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
ii. Must not be on any disciplinary restrictions or have been convicted more than 2 times by a Student or University Hearing Board.
iii. Must not be running for an office in the current Election.

C. Submit, no later than 4 regular meetings before the election, a set of campaign rules for the election. The Student Senate shall have the intervening week to review the rules and amend them by majority vote at the next regular meeting.
D. Hear and decide all alleged violations of the Elections Policy (Campaign Violation Complaint).
E. Safeguard the results of the election in such a manner that the results remain unknown to all persons until they are announced at the first regular Student Senate meeting following the elections. Ultimate responsibility for this duty shall be placed upon the Election Chair.

Section II. Manner of Elections:

A. Application for Candidacy:

i. Applications for candidacy shall be due to the Election Chair prior to the Candidate Training & Rules meeting.
ii. Candidates shall meet the minimum criteria established for the position.
iii. All candidates must attend the Candidate Training & Rules meeting to inform candidates about the election process and campaign guidelines. All candidates must attend to be placed on the official ballot.

B. All election meetings shall be at a time and place as determined by the Election Chair. The only excused absences from these meetings shall be to attend classes and University required events or by the consent of the Election Chair. Excuses shall include, but not limited to: class, family emergencies, and any absence approved by the Election Committee with prior notification of the committee of an absence.
C. Campaign Regulations shall include, but shall be expanded by Committee submissions, the following:

i. Oral campaigning may begin after the Candidate Training & Rules meeting and must terminate by the end of the voting period. Other campaigning, including but not limited to newspaper, radio, television ads, and fliers may begin immediately after the Student Senate meeting of the week before elections.
ii. No removal or defacing of other candidate’s campaign materials shall be allowed.
iii. All signs must be approved by the Election Chair, with the candidate keeping an initialed copy with them as proof of this, and posted according to Concord University posting policy and Residential Life Regulations.
iv. Campaign posters must be removed no later than the end of the voting period.

D. Campaign Violation Complaints:

i. Campaign Violation Complaints must provide an account of the alleged event and a list of witnesses.
ii. Campaign Violation Complaints shall be due no later than 24 hours after the polls close. They shall be submitted in a sealed envelope to the Election Chair.
iii. Campaign Violations noticed by the Election Chair or by members of the Election Committee must be investigated.
iv. A Campaign Violation Complaint Hearing must be held to deliberate on any alleged violations of this election policy. This hearing shall occur prior to the announcement of the election results.

a. During the deliberation process, only the Election Committee and at least one advisor shall be present. Witnesses shall be present only when giving testimony upon the request of the Election Committee.
b. If a complaint is found to be justified, a loss of votes may be assessed against the candidate(s) only in the event that the infractions could have had some positive influence on the votes received by the offending candidate. The Election Committee may impose appropriate penalties that have not been enumerated here.
c. Reports of the complaints must be disclosed to the Student Senate in a timely fashion.

Section III. SGA elections shall follow this timeline in order to provide candidates with a concise understanding of their responsibilities, and to ensure the highest level of continuity between administrations as possible.

A. On the Wednesday before Spring Break, there shall be a pre-filing information meeting. This meeting shall be open to all who want to attend. At this meeting, potential candidates will hear job descriptions from the current officers and get an overall view and description of the organization.
B. The week after Spring Break shall be designated the official filing week, in which students have until Monday morning to submit notice on official forms for election to the SGA Office. All students must meet job requirements as outlined in this document to file.
C. The Monday following, there will be a Candidate Training & Rules meeting. Here, Candidates shall be apprised of the current rules for the election.
D. The Wednesday through Friday after the following Monday shall be the official elections period.
E. Ballot collection shall be by secret ballot, during the periods between 11am to 1pm and 4pm to 6pm in the Student Center. Students must have a validated student ID to vote.
F. Winners shall be announced at the following regular Student Senate meeting, and then may be released to any media or organizations requesting them.
G. The meetings between the announcement of the winners and the next to last meeting of the Senate shall be the observation period for the new officers.
H. The weekend before the year’s final SGA meeting, there shall be an Officer’s Retreat. Here, exiting officers shall pass-on and explain their materials to the incoming officers. In addition, more intensive training for the new officers will be provided as deemed appropriate by the executives of SGA.
I. During the last SGA meeting, the new President shall be sworn in and the gavel shall be presented.

Section IV. The Homecoming Committee shall:

A. Provide an efficient, responsive, and responsible structure that will ensure for all Homecoming Candidates and the Concord University Student Body that a fair and impartial Homecoming Election is conducted.
B. Be comprised of seven students from the student body.

i. Two of the seven shall be elected in an at large election by the student body.
ii. One shall be the previous year’s Homecoming Queen (if she is no longer a student at Concord University, her position shall be filled by the Vice President).
iii. The Prime Justice shall serve as chair of the Homecoming Committee.
iv. The SGA President shall appoint, with approval by the Student Senate, the three remaining members.

C. Create a set of written rules for the election which shall be submitted to the Student Senate for approval at least 3 weeks before the week of elections. The Student Senate shall have the next regular meeting after they are submitted to pass amendments to the rules by simple majority votes.
D. Serve, if necessary, on a fair and impartial hearing board in all proceedings concerning the election.
E. The term of the Homecoming Committee shall be from the beginning of the fall semester until two weeks after the Homecoming football game.