1. Administration of Election
1.1 The University Secretary shall be the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) responsible for the overall co-ordination, implementation and administration of the election of students to the Board of Governors, on behalf of the Governance Committee of the Board of Governors.
1.2 At the discretion of the University Secretary, the responsibilities of CEO may be delegated to the Associate or Assistant University Secretary.
2. Term of Office
2.1 The Term of Office for students appointed to the Board of Governors shall begin September 1st and end August 31st. The term of office shall be one year in length.
2.2 A student Governor shall be eligible to stand for re-election, in accordance with the eligibility requirements as outlined in section 4.
3. Representation
3.1 The composition of the Board of Governors shall include1:
(a) two undergraduate students elected by and from the undergraduate students of the University of Guelph; and
(b) One graduate student elected by and from the graduate students of the University of Guelph
4. Eligibility
4.1 In order to be eligible to stand as a candidate for election to the Board, a student must be:
(a) registered as a full or part-time student in an academic program under the jurisdiction of University of Guelph Senate in the semester in which the election is held; and,
(b) at least 18 years old2.
4.2 In order to be eligible to nominate, a student must be:
(a) registered as a full or part-time undergraduate or graduate student in an academic program under the jurisdiction of University of Guelph Senate in the semester in which the election is held; and,
(b) registered as an undergraduate or graduate student to nominate undergraduate or graduate students, respectively.
4.3 In order to be eligible to vote a student must be:
(a) registered as a full or part-time undergraduate or graduate student in an academic program under the jurisdiction of University of Guelph Senate in the semester in which the election is held; and,
(b) registered as an undergraduate or graduate student to vote for undergraduate or graduate student nominees, respectively.
4.4 Eligibility will be confirmed by the CEO at their discretion, through the University Registrar.
5. Retention of Seat
5.1 In order to continue as a member of the Board of Governors, an elected or appointed student must:
(a) be registered in both the fall and winter semesters of their term on the Board
(b) be registered as a full or part-time student in a program consistent with their original eligibility, no later than the end of the “add period” for each semester, as provided in the Schedule of Dates in the University’s Academic Calendar
(c) satisfy all other applicable rules for membership in accordance with By-law No. 1: General By-laws of the Board of Governors of University of Guelph
5.2 If a student member becomes ineligible to continue as a member of the Board of Governors by virtue of their registration status, they shall notify the CEO, in writing, within two weeks of the change affecting eligibility.
5.3 Continuing eligibility will be confirmed by the CEO at their discretion, through the University Registrar.
6. Vacancies and Replacements
6.1 If a vacancy occurs after the election, a replacement shall be made by automatic appointment of the candidate who holds the next highest number of votes from the results of the same election and satisfies all other applicable rules for membership on the Board of Governors.
6.2 If there are no eligible replacements, the Governance Committee shall make a determination as to whether a by-election shall be held3.
6.3 An individual appointed or elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office only for the remainder of the predecessor’s term.
7. Nomination and Election Periods
7.1 Precise dates for the annual Nomination and Election Periods shall be established by the CEO no less than six months in advance.
7.2 The annual Election Period shall be held in the Winter semester.
7.3 The Nomination Period shall be no less than 7 calendar days in length.
7.4 The Election Period shall be no less than 72 hours in length, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays.
8. Nominations
8.1 Nominations must be submitted on the nomination form issued by the CEO, and:
(a) show the name, student ID number and signature of ten nominators;
(b) show the signature of concurrence and student ID number of the nominee;
(c) be submitted before the end of the Nomination Period.
8.2 Should an insufficient number of nominations be received during the Nomination Period to fill the available seats on the Board of Governors, a by-election shall be held at the beginning of the following Fall semester. Failure to fill the seat in the by-election will result in the seat remaining vacant for the duration of the Term of Office.
9. Elections
9.1 When the number of nominations exceeds the number of seats available for a category of student Governor seats, an election shall be held.
9.2 The means by which votes are cast shall be determined by the CEO. Normally, voting shall proceed through use of an internet-accessible electronic voting method and ballots shall be issued to all eligible students by way of the University’s official electronic mail system.
9.3 A voting list of all eligible students shall be provided by the University Registrar to the CEO.
9.4 A single-member plurality (“first past the post”) voting system shall be used.
9.5 When the number of nominations is equal to or less than the number of seats available for a category of student Governor seats, the nominee(s) shall be acclaimed4.
9.6 Each candidate shall enjoy the right to campaign and inform5 the student body of their candidacy in a manner consistent with relevant University policies6 and regulations.
10. Election Results
10.1 In the case of an equality of votes where the election of the candidates receiving an equal number of votes would result in the election of a greater number of candidates than there are available seats for a particular constituency, the CEO shall determine the candidate or candidates to be declared elected, by lot, in the presence of all candidates receiving an equal number of votes.
(a) For the purposes of this section, “lot” means the method of determining the successful candidate(s) by writing the names of the candidates on pieces of paper equal in size, folded identically and placed in a receptacle. The CEO shall withdraw the appropriate number7 of names from the receptacle and those names shall be considered to have received one more vote and are thereby elected.
10.2 Normally, preliminary election results shall be released and posted publicly on the next business day following the close of the Election Period.
10.3 Election results shall remain preliminary for a period of seven calendar days following the close of the Election Period.
10.4 Election results shall be presented to the Governance Committee, which has the responsibility to present the proposed student appointments to the Board of Governors for final approval.
11. Irregularities
11.1 If during the course of the election, it appears to any candidate or member of the student body that an irregularity has occurred, it must be reported to the CEO in writing within seven calendar days following the close of the Election Period
(i) For the purposes of this section, “irregularity” means a contravention of these regulations that could reasonably hold the potential to affect the outcome of the election.
11.2 The CEO will consider and attempt to resolve any complaints that arise regarding the electoral process. All complaints received will be dealt with in a timely manner.
(i) For the purposes of this section, “complaints” means assertions of irregularities.
11.3 If the complaint cannot be resolved, the CEO shall determine whether they will:
(a) Make a final decision regarding outcome; or
(b) Convene an ad-hoc committee (the “Committee”) to further investigate the complaint where the CEO finds that:
(i) The irregularity has the potential to affect the outcome of the election; and,
(ii) The irregularity is sufficiently complex to require further investigation
11.4 The Committee will investigate any complaint referred to it by the CEO, and make a recommendation regarding outcome to the Governance Committee. The decision of the Governance Committee regarding outcome shall be final.
11.5 The CEO shall provide a report to the Governance Committee summarizing all complaints received and their disposition.
12. Related University Policies
Following is a non-exhaustive list of related University policies and procedures:
- Policy on Non-Academic Misconduct
- Human Rights Policy
- Mass E-Mail Policy
- Student Email Communications Policy
- Acceptable Use Policy
- University postering policies (e.g. Student Housing, University Centre, etc.)
13. Document Authority and Information
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Approved Date: |
October 23, 2014 |
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Last Revised Date: |
March 10, 2020 |
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Next Review Date: |
No later than 5 years from date of last approval |
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Authority/Ownership: |
Board of Governors, on recommendation of the Governance Committee |
n:\governing documents of bog and senate\regulations on elections and appointments\bog_procedures governing the election of students to bog_oct 2014.docx
[1] In accordance with Board of Governors By-Law No.2
[2] In accordance with the Corporations Act
[3] In the case where a by-election is not held, the seat shall remain vacant for the remainder of the Term of Office.
[4] Subject to confirmation of eligibility
[5] Candidate information is published by the University Secretariat for the purpose of provision with ballots