ARTICLE V
ELECTION CODE FOR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Section 1 - Regular Election Code
Clause I.
Election Committee
a. The President shall appoint an Election Committee consisting of at least
three (3) members and designate the Chairperson of the Election
Committee no later than sixty (60) academic days prior to the election.
The Election Committee must be approved by a majority vote of the ASG.
The Election Committee shall be responsible for setting up the balloting
station, counting the ballots, and carrying out the general duties required
at election time.
1. No student running for election or assisting in the election
campaign of a candidate may serve on the Election Committee (if
a Committee member is found to be in violation of this bylaw by a
simple-majority vote of the PPERC, they will be removed and
replaced by another ASG official appointed by the President.
2. It will be the responsibility of the Election Committee to enforce
these Bylaws. If the Election Committee fails to follow any of these
bylaws or violates a procedure any consequences from that action
will be revoked and there will be no further action taken on that
item. Violations of Code Enforcement will be determined by a
majority vote of the PPERC.
3. The Director of Student Affairs or Designee shall serve as an
Advisor of the Election Committee. As Advisor, the Director shall
make certain that the Election Committee acts in accordance with
District and ASG policy.
4. In the event that a segment of the Election Code’s interpretation is
publicly called into question, the ASG board by majority vote may,
if provided with a written complaint, send the questioned segment
to the Policies, Procedures, and Executive Review Committee
who shall provide a final simplified interpretation of the specified
rule. This interpretation shall be acknowledged and solely used.
PPERC shall then hold a meeting at the earliest possible date to
review the questioned segment (In cases where an interpretation
is of immediate nature, the President may direct PPERC to review
the questioned segment, in which the PPERC Chair may call a
special meeting to review the questioned segment.)
5. All questions, concerns or complaints regarding elections shall be
submitted in writing to the Election Committee. It will be the
complainant’s responsibility to provide the Election Committee
with supporting documentation. The Election Committee Chair
shall provide a written response to the concern.
Clause II.
Eligibility and Maintenance Requirements
a. All prospective candidates for an ASG office shall file an Election
Application, so eligibility can be ascertained, no later than 12:00 Noon,
three academic days (Monday through Friday) prior to the last held
Candidates Meeting. If the application is not turned in and verified in
accordance with the above deadline, the candidate will be denied the
ability to run for office.
1. The Election Application can be picked up to forty (40) academic
days (Monday through Friday) prior to the Election at the Office of
Student Affairs.
b. To be eligible to run for office, a candidate must meet the following
criteria:
1. A student pursuing office of the ASG must be qualified as a
regular-status student as defined below, or as otherwise qualified
by the Governing Board, pursuant to California Education Code
Section 76000 et seq.
2. Obtain the signatures and student identification numbers of fifty
(50) enrolled Palomar College students
3. Possess a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 upon initial participation
in student government
4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Bylaw, the Director of
Student Affairs shall advise the board of his/her determination of
the candidates eligibility based on the rules set forth under clause
II.
5. A student shall be ineligible for election or appointment for a
period of three (3) semesters if they were removed from office for
disciplinary reasons or impeachment.
6. Any officer who resigns or is disqualified, recalled, or impeached
twice within any period is ineligible for election to an executive
position.
i.
Any officer who has resigned twice within any period may
appeal to the ASG Board.
7. Any officer who is recalled or impeached three times within any
period is ineligible for election or appointment.
8. Any executive officer who has been disqualified, recalled,
impeached, or has resigned shall not be eligible for election or
appointment to any executive position at any time thereafter.
9. If a candidate for a position in the Associated Student Government
is employed by Palomar College as a Classified staff member,
please refer to Article V, Section 4.
10. Faculty, both full-time and adjunct, shall be prohibited from serving
as members of the Associated Student Government in any
capacity other than that of advisor to the Board.
11. Administrators at any level in the college governance structure
shall be prohibited from serving as members of the Associated
Student Government in any capacity other than that of advisor to
the Board.
12. All applicants must meet the Leadership Experience requirements.
i.
All applicants shall be required to submit a letter of
verification (containing reference information) that must be
verifiable by the Election Committee.
ii.
iii.
The deadline to submit the letter of verification shall be set
by the Election Committee in the Special Rules.
Leadership experience will be defined as:
1) Involvement in any Student Organization (as
defined in California ed. code Art. 2 Student
Organizations, Section 48930)
And/OR
2) Taking part in community service and/or volunteer
work, leading a team, serving as an intern or have
taken a leadership class.
c. For an executive officer to maintain office in ASG, the following conditions
apply:
1. Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 throughout the officer's
tenure in office.
2. Enroll in and complete a course load of not less than seven (7)
units.
3. Receipt of a grade of “FW” in a course shall not be deemed as
satisfactory completion of the requirements of [b] above, unless
otherwise determined by the Policies and Procedures Committee
in consultation with the Office of Student Affairs.
4. A grade of “I,” if received during the course of a semester and
removed before the start of the next semester, will be deemed
satisfactory for the completion of [c-2] above, subject to
confirmation by the Office of Student Affairs.
5. No more than six (6) units per semester may be taken credit/no
credit during the officer's tenure in office.
Clause III.
Senator Elections
a. New Candidates for Senator Position must receive a greater tabulation of
“Yay” votes than “Nay” votes during the Election in order to win the seat.
b. In the event that a candidate for the Senator position does not receive a
greater tabulation of “Yay” votes, he/she must wait until the subsequent
ASG Election to apply for a Senator seat in any manner.
c. In the event that the number of candidates exceeds the number of open
seats, the available seats will go to the candidates with the highest
tabulation of “Yay” votes.
d. In the event that there is a tie between candidates, and there are limited
seats available, refer to Article XIX Clause 1.
Clause IV.
Candidates' Meeting
a. All candidates will be required to attend at least one of three (3)
Candidates' Meetings to receive pertinent information on the election,
publicity procedures, and the Election Committee’s Special Rules.
b. At these meetings, all candidates will be given the Special Rules of the
Election containing a statement they must sign acknowledging that they
have read, understand and agree to abide by the Election Code and
Special Rules.
1. The signed Special Rules must be returned to the Office of
Student Affairs before campaigning or engaging in campus
publicity or election forums may commence. The signed Special
Rules shall also serve as proof of attendance of the Candidate’s
meeting. The Election Committee Chair, the Office of Student
Affairs, and the candidate shall all receive a copy of the signed
Special Rules.
2. The Director of Student Affairs will review the Special Rules to
ensure they do not violate District or ASG guidelines. The review
shall take place before the first candidate’s meeting.
c. The dates and times of said meetings shall be established and made
known by the Election Committee. Additional meetings may be scheduled
at the discretion of the committee.
d. Should any otherwise qualified candidate fail to attend a Candidate's
meeting, he/she will be prohibited from engaging in any kind of oncampus publicity (including campus related social media), on-campus
campaigning or any Election forums at Palomar College.
e. The time and date of the third Candidate's Meeting shall be not less than
five (5) academic days prior to the election.
Clause V.
Election Information Packet
a. The Election Committee Chairperson will make available to all candidates
an Election Information Packet. The Election Committee shall begin
advertisement of Election Packets and availability no later than five (5)
academic days prior to their release.
The Packet shall include the
following:
1. An election calendar detailing the time and dates of the
candidates' meetings, campaigning period, any debates (Forums),
as well as the dates of the Election.
2. A copy of Article I and Article V of the Associated Student
Government Bylaws.
3. A copy of the Graphics Style and Standard Manual of Palomar
College. (A note stating that the GSSM is available in the Office of
Student Affairs (SU-201) will suffice.)
4. The location of the polling station(s) and their exact physical
boundaries.
5. The Special Rules established by the Election Committee.
6. Other pertinent election information as determined by the Election
Committee.
Clause VI.
Publicity (further determined in the Special Rules)
a. All campaign publicity will be governed by the Graphics Style and
Standard Manual available in the Office of Student Affairs. In addition, the
following regulations apply to Campaigns and Electioneering:
1. Any questions as to the legality of campaign literature, speeches,
or events shall be referred to the Election Committee for review.
2. All campaign publicity will meet generally-accepted standards of
what is constructed to be fair and in good taste. Each candidate
will be held responsible by the Election Committee for any
misconduct of campaign publicity.
3. Tampering with authorized campaign literature is prohibited and
may result in the disqualification of candidates accused and found
guilty of such behavior from the election.
4. Each candidate shall be limited to a total campaign expenditure of
one hundred and fifty ($150) dollars. Candidates will be required
to turn in all campaign expenditure receipts along with their
Campaign Expenditure Form. For material that has been donated,
candidates must research the cost of the material and submit a
print-out as proof of the cost and completed the official
Expenditure Form. Candidates found to have exceeded their limit,
falsified their campaign expenditures, or have submitted their
forms beyond the time determined by the Election Committee
shall be subject to disqualification following the Enforcement
Procedure.
5. All campaign items shall be removed by the candidates or his/her
representatives before the commencement of the Election, by the
date and time stated in the Special Rules.
Clause VII.
Candidate Publicity Forum (further determined in the Special Rules)
a. The Election Committee will organize a Public Forum ("Meet the
Candidates Day") within the five (5) academic days period before voting
commences. This Forum will consist of the following:
1. A public reading of the election calendar.
2. An introduction of the candidates.
3. A period where the candidates may announce their
platforms/goals/objectives.
4. A question and answer period between the candidates and the
press/public.
5. The Election Committee will determine the exact time and date of
the Forum.
Clause VIII.
Ballot
a. The Election Committee will draft a ballot. The names of the candidates
will appear on the ballot according to a random drawing by the Election
Committee.
b. The preferential treatment by the ASG Board or the Election Committee of
any candidate is specifically prohibited. Violation of this bylaw will obligate
the Policies and Procedures and Executive Review Committee to take
appropriate action.
1. Any individual acting in an official capacity of the ASG shall not
endorse, display, or take part in any campaign efforts.
2. Participating in an official capacity includes, but is not limited to
physical occupation of an ASG office, ASG events, ASG
meetings, shared governance meetings, and any other scheduled
official function in which the individual is acting as a representative
of the ASG.
Clause IX.
Balloting Station(s)
a. Unless otherwise stated and establish by two-thirds (2/3) majority of the
sitting ASG Board, all balloting for elections of the ASG shall be
conducted via the internet, to be monitored by the Election Committee.
b. Computer access is provided to students at on-campus computer labs,
the Library, and at other Internet-accessible locations throughout the main
campus and all satellite campuses. Students are further encouraged to
vote at home via the online election system. However, the following
stipulations shall be applied to on-campus locations:
1. On the days of the Election, no campaigning or electioneering
shall be allowed within the premises of Palomar College (including
its satellite campuses). Violation of this bylaw will result in
disqualification.
2. Palomar employee or faculty computers may not be used as
polling stations. Neither employee nor faculty devices that connect
to the Internet may be used to cast votes.
3. The Election Committee shall establish and maintain a balloting
station in the ASG Senators Office (SU-102) for the duration of the
Election.
Clause X.
Terms of Office/Election Dates
a. The exact dates for Election shall be established by the ASG according to
the following criteria:
1. The Election for the office of ASG President, ASG Vice-President,
and Senators will be held not later than the third week in April.
2. Terms of office for ASG President, Vice-President, and Elected
Senators shall commence after being sworn in at the end of the
last scheduled regular ASG meeting and end on the subsequent
last scheduled regular ASG meeting, provided the election has
been certified.
3. Terms of office for all other officers of the ASG will commence on
the day of appointment and terminate one (1) year from the date
of appointment.
4. The retiring Executive Officers, and the newly elected Executive
Officers, shall conduct an Officer transition beginning with the
certification of the Election results.
Clause XI.
Tabulation of Votes
a. Tabulation and publicizing of all ballots by the Election Committee shall
be completed as quickly as possible, but not later than two (2) academic
days after the close of the balloting. (If the Election Committee fails to
complete this, the designee of the Director of Student Affairs will
immediately tabulate and publicize the results. The designee shall not be
from the Office of Student Affairs).
1. Official notice of the Election results shall be certified by the
signatures of the Election Committee Chairperson and the
Director of Student Affairs or his/her designee.
2. Results shall be posted in the Student Union, Office of Student
Affairs (SU-201), the ASG Offices (SU-102 and SU-104) and
official ASG web media by 8:00 am on the first day following
tabulation and remain posted for five (5) academic days.
3. Requests for a recount must be filed with the Election Committee
within twenty-four (24) hours after election results are posted.
Recounts are only possible if, due to emergency, the Election
must be conducted by paper ballot. In the event a recount is
requested and the Election was conducted by electronic
tabulation, a second tabulation results print-out of the Election,
witnessed by the candidates, Election Committee Chairperson
and the Director of Student Affairs and/or his/her designee shall
be printed and reviewed.
Clause XII.
Procedure for the Enforcement of the Election Code.
a. The Election Committee shall be responsible for upholding and enforcing
all articles, policies, bylaws, requirements and procedures of the Election
Code and Special Rules.
b. Any candidate or member of the candidate's campaign support base
accused of a violation of the Election Code or the Special Rules shall
appear before the Election Committee to be appropriately penalized (as
defined by Clause XI, C), subject to the Enforcement Procedure, which is
defined as follows:
1. The accusation must have reasonable evidence to support it.
2. The accused shall appear immediately and physically after being
summoned before the Election Committee at an Open Due
Process Hearing (it shall be the responsibility of the accused to
notify members of the public that they personally wish to be
present at the Hearing to attend).
3. In the case that the accused cannot appear before the Election
Committee immediately after being summoned, the accused must
reschedule the Hearing by the next academic day following the
date of summons, with the Election Committee Chairperson. The
rescheduled date is not to exceed the second academic day from
the initial summons.
4. In the case that the accused does not or refuses to appear before
the Election Committee for their Hearing, after having been
rescheduled if appropriate, the accused candidate or the
candidate in which the accused endorses will be subject to
immediate disqualification regardless of the Open Due Process
Hearing if confirmed by a simple-majority vote of the Election
Committee.
i.
In the case that the accused is an endorser to a
candidate, the endorsee may attend in their place. In
this situation, the Election Committee will determine
whether or not the endorser was acting with or without
the consent of the endorsee, and judge the violation
based on this.
5. In the case that the accused in found innocent of the violation, the
Election Committee will excuse the accused from penalization and
further consequence based on that violation. The action in
question shall not be recognized as a violation by the Election
Committee.
c. Subject to a simple-majority vote of the Election Committee, violations will
be enforced by the appropriate penalization, defined as follows;
1. Immediate disqualification of the candidate(s) in the case that the
violation is of the Election Code.
2. Immediate prohibition from engaging in any kind of on-campus
publicity, on-campus campaigning efforts or any Election forums
at Palomar College in the case that the violation is of the Special
Rules, received during the Candidate’s Meeting (the candidate
shall be given thirty-six (36) hours to remove and end all
campaigning efforts at Palomar College.
d. Disqualification consequences are as follows:
1. Should a candidate be disqualified by the Election Committee for
whatever reason before the date of the Election, the name of the
disqualified candidate shall be struck from the ballot.
2. Should a candidate be disqualified by the Election Committee for
whatever reason while the Election is being conducted, a public
notice of disqualification shall be immediately posted at all
physical balloting stations, in the glass case at the north wing of
the Student Union, and on the Election website. Votes cast for a
disqualified candidate shall be deemed invalid.
3. Should a candidate be disqualified by the Election Committee
following the Election voting period, and the candidate prevailed in
obtaining office in the ASG, the Chairperson of the Election
Committee shall be required to declare the next eligible candidate
with the most certified votes the winner of the seat.
4. If there is but one (1) candidate for the contested office and that
candidate is disqualified the line of succession as outlined in Art V
Sect 3 shall be implemented.
5. If there is but one (1) candidate for the contested office and that
candidate obtained at least one vote other than his/her own, the
Election Committee shall declare that candidate the winner of the
seat.
6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Bylaw, the Director of
Student Affairs, may make the declaration of disqualification in
consultation with the ASG President and the Chairperson of the
Election Committee, should he/she find a student otherwise
ineligible for candidacy at any time.
7. Under any circumstances should the seat become or be vacant
after the Election, Line of Succession shall be implemented.
Section 2 - Recall Election Code
Clause I.
Election Committee will serve as the Recall Election Committee.
Clause II.
Recall Election Procedure Meeting
a. The Recall Election Committee shall meet twice within five (5) days of the
recall petition's verification to discuss election procedures and campaign
regulations.
b. All members being recalled and any students actively campaigning for the
removal of the Officers must attend one of these meetings.
c. The exact date and time of the meetings shall be set by the Recall
Election Committee. Copies of (Article V, Section 2) of the Bylaws shall
be made available at these meetings.
Clause III.
Election Information
a. The Recall Election Committee shall supply all participants in the recall
with a list of the date and time of the campaigning period, the recall
election procedure meetings, and the recall forum.
Clause IV.
Campaign and Electioneering refer to Article V, Section I, Clause V
Clause V.
Recall Forum refer to Article V, Section I, Clause VI.
Clause VI.
Ballot
a. The Recall Election Committee will draft a ballot.
b. The ballot shall contain language directing the voter to either approve or
deny the recall of the specified officer(s), and shall also provide a listing of
available candidates to succeed to the positions indicated should the
recall be successful.
1. Multiple officers to be recalled should be listed separately, to allow
the electors an opportunity to vote on each officer individually.
2. The listing of qualified candidates shall be randomly ordered in
accordance with (Article V, Section 1, Clause VII).
Clause VII.
Tabulation of Votes refer to Article V, Section I, Clause X.
Clause VIII.
Enforcement of Code refer to Section I, Clause XI
Section 3 - In the Event of Disqualification of Executive positions.
Clause I.
If the President seat becomes vacant, refer to Constitution, Article VII, Section 4.
a. The new President will declare the Vice President position vacant.
b. The appointment of the Vice President will be placed on the following
agenda as an action item.
c. A Senator shall be nominated among the ASG board to the office of VicePresident, to be confirmed by a two thirds (2/3) majority vote of the ASG
board in office at the time.
Clause II.
If the Vice President Seat becomes vacant A Senator shall be nominated among
the ASG board to the office of Vice-President, to be confirmed by a two thirds
(2/3) majority vote of the ASG board in office at the time.
Clause III.
In the event of both the Vice President and President positions becomes vacant,
the chair of the Legislation and External Affairs committee will call and chair a
special meeting at which the ASG board will make a decision as to how the
positions will be filled.
a. A two thirds (2/3) majority vote will be required in order to take action.
Section 4 – Regarding Employee Participation in the Associated Student Government
Clause I.
Classified staff members as defined in (Article V, Clause II, [b]), above shall be
prohibited from holding the offices of President or Vice-President within the
Associated Student Government.
Clause II.
In regards to senators refer to Article VI.
Section 5 – ASG Presidency and Palomar College Student Trustee
Clause I.
Eligibility of Palomar College Student Trustee
a. Should the ASG President be ineligible for any reason whatsoever, to
serve as Palomar College Student Trustee, the role and duties of Student
Trustee shall be assumed by the Vice President of the ASG.
b. If for any reason whatsoever, the ASG President and Vice President are
both ineligible to serve as Palomar College Student Trustee, it shall be
the responsibility of the ASG board to hold a Special Election for Palomar
College Student Trustee.
ADOPTED 12/14/1993
REVISED 05/2000, 01/23/2002, 08/19/2004, 08/03/2005, 04/11/2007, 12/02/2009, 03/16/2011,
03/26/2012