E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
Dear Candidate,
Thank you for choosing to take part in the Fall 2014 Elections for the Rutgers University Student
Assembly (RUSA), the undergraduate student government at Rutgers—New Brunswick! You will
be held responsible for all of the information contained in these Elections Guidelines, so please
read this entire document thoroughly.
Best,
Saad Shamshair
Rutgers University Student Assembly
Chair, Elections Committee
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E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
Official Timeline
Election Information Sessions:
The Elections Committee will discuss and answer questions about the timeline, and guidelines
of the RUSA Election. Candidates will be provided with RUSA’s Elections Guidelines, including
the “Declaration of Intent to Run.” It is strongly advised that students seeking candidacy
attend. You are free to drop in at any time to receive the information.
Date and Time:
Location:
Wednesday, September 10th at 8pm
Student Activities Center,
River Lounge
Student Activities Center,
River Lounge
Douglass Student Center,
Meeting Room A
Busch Student Center, Room
117
Wednesday, September 17th at 8pm
Monday, September 22nd at 8pm
Tuesday, September 23rd at 8pm
Intent to Run Deadline:
Candidates’ Declaration of Intent to Run is DUE Tuesday, September 23rd at
11:59p.m., no exceptions. The candidate must have, by this time, completed and
submitted the Declaration of Intent form (available online at ruassembly.com) to
rusa.elections@gmail.com.
Tuesday, September 23rd
Time:
11:59 p.m.
By this time, all candidates will have received confirmation of whether or not they are eligible
to run for the respective positions they each declared candidacy for.
Elections, Appeals and Announcements:
Election Days
Monday, September 29th @ 12:00 a.m. —Tuesday, September 30th @11:59 p.m.
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E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
During this period, electioneering and active campaigning is prohibited within 30 feet of all
polling locations. Read further into these guidelines for details and definitions.
Appeals
Wednesday, October 1st @ 10:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Appeals should be completed using the Elections Appeal document (attached), and brought to
the RUSA Office in the Rutgers Student Center, Room 438. Candidates will have the opportunity
to bring forth appeals to the Elections Committee at this and only this time. In the event that an
appeal against a candidate is deemed appropriate and viable, the Elections Committee may
expel the candidate in question from the election. Appeals will be reviewed in a timely fashion.
Announcements
Thursday, October 2nd
Elections results will be announced once the appeals process has been completed or no later
than 12pm on October 2nd.
First Meetings for Newly Elected RUSA Body:
RUSA General Body Meeting
Thursday, October 2nd
Location:
Student Activities Center, Riverside Lounge
Time:
7:30 p.m.
All newly-elected representatives of RUSA will be sworn in by the Elections Chairperson,
welcomed, and introduced to current RUSA business.
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E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
Eligibility:
All candidates must currently be full-time undergraduate students, and must maintain that
status for the Fall 2014 semester. Any candidate on Academic or Disciplinary Probation (as
defined by their respective school or college) is barred from contesting or occupying a position
within RUSA, and all candidates must have a minimum 2.5 GPA in accordance with guidelines
set forth by the Division of Student Affairs. Transfer students who wish to run will be required
to submit a transcript from their previous institution to verify GPA.
Candidates for a Class Representative position must BOTH be of the designated graduating class
AND be slated to reside on that campus for the Fall 2014 semester. At-Large Representative
positions are not class specific but candidates must be slated to reside on that campus for the
Fall 2014 semester. Off-Campus Representative positions are not class specific. Candidates for a
Representative position may belong to any of Rutgers’ colleges or school. ––Example: a
candidate for College Avenue Campus 2015 Representative must be an undergraduate student
registered as having an expected graduation date of May 2015 and will be living on the College
Avenue Campus for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Candidates for a Senator position MUST be students of the School of Arts & Sciences at the time
of elections, AND must maintain that status throughout the 2014-2015 academic year in order
to remain in that position. There are no class restrictions for Senator positions. Candidates for a
campus-specific Senator position must be slated to live on that campus for the Fall
2014semester or have lived on it the previous year. The At-Large Senator position is open to
any student of SAS, irrespective of geographic location. All students elected as Senators are
simultaneously elected to serve on the 2014-2015 Rutgers University Senate, the University’s
200-member system-wide body consisting of University faculty, staff and students. EVERY
Senator position open for contest as part of the RUSA elections is SAS-specific; if at any point a
student fails to maintain a status with SAS, he or she will be removed immediately from both
RUSA and the University Senate.
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E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
Responsibilities:
Candidates are responsible if elected to attend all RUSA meetings. These include general
meetings which are held alternate Thursdays at the Student Activities Center at 7:30pm during
the 2014-2015 school year as well as committee meetings which are held alternate Thursdays
at the Student Activities Center at 7:30pm. Meetings can last from one hour to five hours. As
an elected member, one is expected to stay as late as necessary. These are both mandatory
time commitments and should be planned for in your schedule. Thus, there will be a RUSA
meeting every Thursday (one week it will be a general meeting and the next it will be a
committee meeting). Students will be expected to join a committee and to actively work to
ensure the success of the committee's objectives. Senators are required to attend monthly
meetings of the University Senate. Further, each member is expected to represent one's
constituency and participate in RUSA sponsored events and projects to the best of one's ability
and to act in a manner becoming a RUSA member. Additionally, every candidate must be willing
and able, if elected, to attend a Fall Retreat to be held the weekend of October 17-19, 2014.
The retreat is mandatory and will constitute how to be an effective member of RUSA. It will
also be a time to learn more about the current body, get to know each other, past projects and
some leadership training. Transportation is provided.
Declaration of Intent to Run:
Students seeking office will complete a Declaration of Intent to Run that specifies the position
they will be running for and affirms that they agree to carry out their campaigns in accordance
with the established Election Guidelines. The Declaration of Intent to Run will serve to verify
the correct spelling of candidates’ names, and the names of tickets that they affiliate with, as
well as to verify the candidates duty to attend the RUSA retreat during one weekend of the Fall
semester (October 17th-19th). The information that they provide will be used to create the
ballots that will be featured at online and at polling locations on Election Day.
The Declaration of Intent to Run will be made available on the RUSA website, well in advance of
the deadline of September 23rd, 11:59 p.m. The forms can be submitted online, emailed in, or
brought to the RUSA office, Room 438 Rutgers Student Center, Failure to furnish the
Declaration of Intent to Run by the deadline, will result in a forfeiture of the right to run for a
position within RUSA. Write-in votes will not be made possible.
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E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
Contest
Budget:
Each individual candidate may spend no more than $200 on his or her campaign. Each
candidate will be required to maintain a list of all campaign expenses, and retain all receipts to
document those expenses. Absolutely any purchase made by a candidate that directly or
indirectly benefits his or her campaign will be considered a campaign-related expense. This
includes, but is not limited to, purchases of supplies, photocopies, and advertising. Candidates
who decide to run on a ticket may pool their funding with other members of their ticket, and
will be required to share a list of campaign expenses for their ticket.
The spending cap for a ticket is $600: all candidates entering the RUSA contest jointly on one
ticket may not, collectively, spend more than $600.
Candidates may seek out funding using whatever means they deem appropriate. Candidates
may not violate local, state, and federal law in their efforts to obtain funding. Violation of local,
state, or federal law will serve as grounds for expulsion from the Election.
Should an appeal be brought forth against a candidate for a violation of these budget
requirements, the Internal Affairs Committee reserves the right to audit the campaign budget
of the said candidate during the Review of Appeals. A candidate’s failure to submit his or her
budget for review, or fabrication of line-items in a campaign budget, will serve as immediate
grounds for expulsion from the Election.
Campaigning, Electioneering, Ticketing, Voting:
Active campaigning includes, but is not limited to: posting of flyers, literature, or other printed
materials by a candidate or representative of a candidate; and/or advertising in campus media;
Active campaigning will commence on September 29th at 12:00 a.m., and will end on
September 30th at 11:59 p.m. Candidates and tickets may prepare campaign materials and
adverts prior to the designated campaigning period, but such campaign material may not be
made publicly accessible until the contest officially begins.
Electioneering during a campaign constitutes of shaking hands, oral communication, and/or
communication via e-mail, social networking sites, blogs, or campaign websites for the
purposes of supporting a candidate for a RUSA position. Electioneering is the only form of
campaigning that will be permitted prior official start of the RUSA contest. Starting Monday,
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E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
September 29th at 12:00 a.m. through Tuesday, September 30th, at 11:59 p.m., electioneering is
strictly prohibited within 30 feet of student centers, residence halls, computer labs, and
classrooms. Carrying around any electronic device with Internet access and encouraging
students to vote for or against a candidate is strictly prohibited.
Campaigns must be conducted in compliance with federal, state and local laws, and are subject
to rules and regulations that govern University facilities and property. Candidates are
encouraged to be courteous and respectful to one another. Libel and slander are prohibited.
Ticketing is defined as the pooling of funds and joint campaigning. Candidates retain the
privilege of ticketing with an unlimited amount of candidates, but must have a minimum of
three candidates entered into contest for three separate RUSA positions. Tickets must have
names, and candidates wishing to ticket must indicate so on their Declaration of Intent to Run
forms by providing a common name. No ticket name will be ascribed to groups consisting of
less than three RUSA candidates.
Endorsements by organizations are not allowed, neither is the use of such organization’s
infrastructure, such as list serve or budget. Endorsements from individuals are allowed under
the condition that they are not violating any of the above stated rules. (For example the RBGA
cannot endorse a candidate but a member of RBGA in their capacity as a member of RBGA can.)
It is expressly prohibited to buy votes or make any promises that would comprise the ethical
standards expected of a member of RUSA.
Voting:
All current undergraduate students are eligible to vote.
Neutrality of Elections Committee:
All members of the Elections Committee are forbidden from publically endorsing and actively
campaigning on behalf of any candidate from the beginning of their tenure on the Elections
Committee until the Announcement of Results. Any violation of this commitment to neutrality
will result in an investigation by the Internal Affairs Committee of RUSA.
Further Questions:
Any questions regarding campaigning procedures should immediately be referred to the
Elections Committee at rusa.elections@gmail.com.
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E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
These guidelines are subject to change by a majority decision of RUSA.
Available Positions
All RUSA positions are open to contest for this coming election; below is the list of all positions
available for contest and the number of seats available for each respective category. A student
may be candidate may only run for one [1] position during the Election. All positions remaining
vacant after this semester’s elections will be open for contest during the Spring 2014 RUSA
elections. See election guidelines for eligibility specifications.
College Avenue Campus:
[1]
[5]
2018 Representative
At-Large Representative
Douglass Campus:
[1]
[5]
2018 Representative
At-Large Representative
Cook Campus:
[1]
[1]
[5]
2018 Representative
2015 Representative
At-Large Representative
Busch Campus: 1] 2016 Representative
[1]
[5]
2018 Representative
At-Large Representative
Livingston Campus:
[1]
[5]
2018 Representative
At-Large Representative
Off-Campus:
[6]
At-large Representative
University Wide
[1] At- Large Representative
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Election Guidelines – Fall 2014
Web: http://rusaelections.webs.com E-mail: rusa.elections@gmail.com
Election Appeal
Instructions: To be completed by the candidate and furnished to the Elections Committee by
Wednesday, October 1st, no later than 5:00 PM.
Name: __________________(print legibly)_____ ______________
Telephone Number: __________________(print legibly)_____ ______________
Date(s) of Infraction: __________________(print legibly)_____ ______________
Type of Infraction : ____________________(print legibly)_____ ______________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Accused Candidate/Ticket: _____________ (print legibly)
________________
Please attach any evidence that you deem pertinent to an investigation of this appeal.
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