The online candidate registration period for those wishing to run for executive offices of SGA opened today. If you would like to apply follow this link or pick up a paper copy from the SGA office. The applications must be turned in to the Office of the Attorney General no later than 5 p.m. on Jan. 27.
The application for the Mr. & Ms. Georgia College election is also open and can be found at this link.
For information on qualifications please see the Code of Elections listed below.
From Jan. 30 to Jan. 31 the attorney general and the Office of Student Affairs will certify all candidates' applications prior to the start of campaign week.
On Feb. 1 the campaign period begins and at 6 p.m. in the Arts & Sciences Auditorium the Second Annual Executive Debate will take place.
From Feb. 8 to Feb. 9 elections will be ongoing.
The results of the elections will be announced on Feb. 11. New SGA executives will be announced during halftime of the Homecoming basketball game and Mr. & Ms. Georgia will be revealed after the game.
Code of Elections for Georgia College & State University
Student Government Association
Article I. Purpose
This Code shall be the governing document in regards to all aspects of the elections
process for the Student Government Association of Georgia College & State University.
Article II. Eligibility Requirements for Candidacy
Section 1. Officers
Paragraph A. President
i. Must be a registered full-time student as defined by the President’s degree program of study
and must maintain a semester and cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 on scale.
ii. Must have completed forty (40) semester hours, thirty (30) of which shall have
been completed at any branch of Georgia College.
iii. The individual must have been at least a committee chair, for a full semester, or
executive officer for one semester in good standing.
iv. The individual must submit an application for the Office of the President and have
been approved by the Secretary of the SGA.
v. Shall be elected by the student body in a secret ballot no later than the last full
week of February.
vi. Must be capable of fulfilling duties beginning on May 15, following the spring
election.
Paragraph B. Vice President
i. Must be a registered full-time student as defines by the Vice President’s degree program of study and must maintain a semester and cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 on scale.
ii. The Vice President must have completed thirty (30) semester hours, twenty (20) of which shall have been completed at any branch of Georgia College.
iii. The individual must have been at least a Senator for two semesters in good standing.
iv. The individual must submit an application for the Office of the Vice President and
have been approved by the Secretary of the Student Government Association.
v. Shall be elected by the student body in a secret ballot no later than the last full
week of February.
vi. Must be capable of fulfilling duties beginning on May 15, following the spring
election.
Paragraph C. Secretary
i. Must be a registered full-time student as defines by the Secretary’s degree
program of study and must maintain a semester and cumulative grade point
average of 2.75 on a 4.0 on scale.
ii. Must have completed twelve (12) semester hours, twelve (12) of which shall
have been completed at any branch of Georgia College.
iii. The individual must have been at least a senator for one semester in good standing.
iv. The individual must submit an application for the Office of the Secretary and have been approved by the Secretary of the SGA.
v. Shall be elected by the student body in a secret ballot no later than the last full week of February.
vi. Must be capable of fulfilling duties beginning on May 15, following the spring election.
Paragraph D. Treasurer
i. Must be a registered full-time student as defines by the Treasurer’s degree 2
program of study and must maintain a semester and cumulative grade point
average of 2.75 on a 4.0 on scale.
ii. Must have completed twelve (12) semester hours, twelve (12) of which shall
have been completed at any branch of Georgia College.
iii. The individual must have been at least a senator for one semester in good
standing.
iv. The individual must submit an application for the Office of the Treasurer and
have been approved by the Secretary of the SGA.
v. Shall be elected by the student body in a secret ballot no later than the last full
week of February.
vi. Must be capable of fulfilling duties beginning on May 15, following the spring
election.
Paragraph E. President Pro Tempore
i. Must be a registered full-time student, at the start of their term, as defines by the
President Pro Tempore’s degree program of study and must maintain a semester
and cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 on scale.
ii. Must have completed twelve (12) semester hours, twelve (12) of which shall
have been completed at any branch of Georgia College.
iii. The individual must have been at least a senator for one semester in good
standing.
iv. The individual must submit an application for the Office of the Senator, must
designate desire to run for President Pro Tempore and have been approved by the
Secretary of the SGA.
v. Shall be elected as Senator by the student body the start of the fall semester.
vi. Must be elected by a plurality among members of the newly elected senate
in the Fall Semester during the first official Senate session.
Paragraph F. Attorney General
i. Must be a registered full-time student, at the start of their term, as defines by the
Attorney General’s degree program of study and must maintain a semester and
cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 on scale.
ii. Must have completed twenty-four (24) semester hours, twenty-four (24) of which shall
have been completed at any branch of Georgia College.
iii. The individual must have been at least a judicial board justice for one semester in good
standing.
iv. Must be appointed by the President, and confirmed by a two-thirds majority of the
newly elected senate in the Fall Semester during the first official Senate session.
Paragraph G. Senator
i. Senators shall be elected from the student body of Georgia College.
ii. Senators must be registered as full-time students, at the start of their term, as
defined by their degree or program and must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.75
on 4.0 scale, with the exception of first semester freshman candidates and must be
in good standing with the University.
iii. Senators shall represent their respective class based on their earned credit hour.
iv. Senators must submit an application for the Office of the Senator and be approved
by the Secretary of the SGA.
v. Shall be elected as Senator by the student body in a secret ballot no later than
twenty-eight (28) days after the start of the fall semester.
Section 2. Cross-filing 3
No cross-filing for any two offices is allowed.
Article III. Filing
Section 1. Documents
Paragraph A. Application
i. Each candidate must complete the application corresponding to their desired office.
ii. All applications must be submitted prior to due date set by election committee
iii. Applications must be approved by the Election Committee and bear the
signatures of the Chair of the Election Committee and Secretary of SGA
Paragraph B. Elections Timeline
i. The timeline for the elections shall be distributed to all candidates in the official
election packet for their respective office.
Section 2. Requests
A prospective candidate may request the identity of any other students who have already
filed for any office or position at anytime.
Section 3 . Tampering
Any tampering of election documents may result in the disqualification of the tampering
person or the candidate they represent.
Article IV. Campaigns
Section 1. Campaign Period
The campaign period for fall elections will be set by the Secretary and Vice-President in
the Spring of the previous academic year. It shall be no longer than 18 days, including the
week of voting. Further, the campaign period for spring elections will likewise be set by
the Election Committee and shall not exceed 18 days.
Section 2. Expenses
The Election Committee reserves the right to place maximums on money spent
on campaigns. Any limits set shall be done before the campaign period begins with the
necessary publication of the limits as to inform the involved candidates.
Section 3. Campaigning and Postings
i. All campaign materials must be date stamped and approved by the Campus Life
Office; failure to comply may result in a $25 posting fine per incident and further election consequences outlined below
ii. Any unapproved material may not be posted on University property.
iii. Postings must follow the GC Posting and Advertising Guidelines. Additionally,
they must not be placed on glass surfaces; only on approved bulletin boards.
iv. Permission of the owner of any property is required for off-campus postings.
v. Each Candidate is responsible for seeing that his or her postings are removed by
5:00 pm. the day following the announcement of the election results.
vi. Any postings not removed by the deadline may result in a $10 fine per incident.
vii. Candidates are responsible for the cleanup of all litter resulting from
campaign materials i.e. Glitter; tear off tabs, sticker backings, etc.
viii. Campaign materials may not display foul language or any obscene, questionable,
or any inappropriate pictures or references.
ix. Postings shall not be made out of hard-wood except as a frame to hold a banner 4
that has already been approved by the Election Committee.
x. Further, signs should not exceed 3ft by 3ft unless otherwise approved by the Office of Campus Life. The Election Committee reserves the right to make exceptions to the posting rules so long as they too, follow the rules outlined by the Office of Campus Life. Exceptions to the size rules may be given to materials such as sheet banners, and other materials that enhance campus ethos at the discretion of the Office of Campus Life, and Election Committee.
Section 4. Provisions
1. No persons other than a member of the Election Committee, respective candidate, or member of a candidate’s staff shall willfully destroy deface, obscure, move, or remove postings.
2. Only the Election committee or Campus Life shall handle campaign materials in
violation of the Code of Elections and shall alert the candidate, within one
business day, of its removal.
3. No candidate or any individual working with a campaign may publicly state
any false or misleading information about a candidate, staff member, or Election
member.
4. Hand distributed material must be given out hand-to-hand, and may not be
left at a central location for pick-up by voters.
5. No candidate may claim to be endorsed by a certain individual or
organization unless the respective candidate secures a signed statement of
endorsement from the individual/group in question, and such signed
statement is furnished for Election Committee review.
Article V. Elections
Section 1. Procedures
Paragraph A. Elections Period
i. The elections shall be held on the last week of the campaign period.
ii. There shall be no mass voting. Candidates and their staff are not allowed to
produce independent polling stations or solicit votes door-to-door or any similar
situation.
iii. The Election Committee shall supervise the elections and be available
for assistance and ruling in any and all matters during the elections process.
Paragraph B. Voting
i. Only individuals who are officially registered as a students of GC
may participate in SGA elections.
ii. The vote count shall be under the supervision of the Election Committee.
Paragraph C. Results
i. The incoming President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and members of
Senate elected shall be notified of the results no more than three school days
after the close of the polls.
Section 2. Restrictions
Paragraph A. Proxy Voting
i. One person submitting a ballot using the identity of another student, regardless
of the willingness of the student, is prohibited.
Paragraph B. Block Voting
i. One or more persons submitting ballots using the using the identity of multiple
students, regardless of the willingness of the students, is prohibited. 5
Section 3. Recount
Paragraph A. Petition
i. Any individual desiring a recount must petition the Election Committee
within 24 hours after the elections results are announced.
Paragraph B. Notification
i. All candidates involved in a recount shall be notified within 7 days of the request.
Paragraph C. Recount
i. The recount shall be conducted by the Election Committee within seven days of the request.
Section 2. Irregularities
Paragraph A. Withholding Results
i. The Election Committee shall have the power to withhold the
certification and results of an election in which it finds substantial evidence that
irregularities may have occurred, and such irregularities may have influenced
the outcome or results of the election.
Paragraph B. Notice
i. Notice of withholding results will be filed with SGA Senate within three (3) school
days of the conclusion of the election procedures in any election.
Paragraph C. Investigation.
i. The Election Committee shall have three (3) school days to investigate and
rule on the irregularity.
Paragraph D. Election
i. The Election Committee may, if deemed necessary, call a new election to be held within the limits of this Code of Elections at the earliest convenience, but no later than the last week of March.
Section 3. Run-Off Elections
Paragraph A. Election
i. The Election Committee shall set an appropriate date for a run-of election should election results fail to determine a winner to a position.
Article VI. Referendums and Constitutional Amendments
Section 1. Voting
Constitutional amendments, referendum or resolution issues, and other questions/issues may be submitted to the student body at the same time as any election governed by this
Code.
Section 2. Special Elections
The Election committee, under instructions from the SGA Senate, may call a
special election while classes are in session during fall and spring semesters, so long as
those elections follow the guidelines set out by this governing document.
Article VII. Transition
Section 1. The official SGA transition period shall begin immediately following the
announcement of the election results and will end with the swearing in of the new
Student Government Executive Officers and Senators.
Section 2. Oath of Office
Paragraph A. Executive Officers 6
The President-elect, Vice President-elect, Secretary-elect and Treasurer-elect
shall be administered the Oath of Office by the current SGA President during the
last Senate session of the academic year, yet will not assume duties until May 15th.
Paragraph B. Senators
The Senators-elect shall be administered the oath of office by the Vice President
of the SGA, at the first official meeting of SGA after the election whereupon the
Senators-elect where elected.
Article VIII. Campaign Violations and Consequences
Section 1.
Paragraph A. Electronic Media and Announcement
Any campaigning including the use of electronic media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, student announcement, prior to the start of the campaign period may result in an automatic disqualification from the election pending a vote of the Election Committee.
Paragraph B. Consequences
Consequences for violations of posting rules, outlined in Article IV,
Section 3, are as follows, in addition to Campus Life fines and penalties.
Offence 1) Written warning
Offence 2) All campaign materials must be removed from campus
Offence 3) Disqualification from the election
Article IX. Election Oversight
Section 1. Absence of Election Committee
In the absence of the Election Committee, the five (5) elected officers, President,
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Attorney General shall be the governing body for the
elections process. The Vice President shall serve as the chair.
Section 2. Election Committee
Paragraph A. Committee Membership
The Election Committee shall be chaired by the Attorney General and the Senate Rules and
Oversight Committee.
Paragraph B. Committee Substitution
If any member of the Election Committee is running in the election,
he/she must recuse themselves from the committee until the election has been
completed. The President shall appoint a duly qualified senator to fill the place of
any senator who recuses himself or herself in this way.
Paragraph C. Chairmanship Exception
If the Attorney General runs as a candidate in the election, the Chair of the Election Committee shall be the vice-chair of the Senate Rules and Oversight Committee.
No comments:
Post a Comment