Section 1. Any member of the
student body seeking a position on the SGA
or as a class officer must be in good
academic standing as defined by OU-HCOM
Committee on Student Progress (i.e. not on
academic probation).
Section 2. Elections
Committee Selection:
A. The Elections Committee
will be comprised of one to two Year I
students, and one to two Year II students.
B. At least one of the Year
II students will serve as the Elections
Committee Chairperson; if there are two Year
II students on the committee they will
decide amongst themselves who will serve as
Chairperson. If both students are interested
in the position they will serve as
co-chairs. The new chair's first duty is to
assist in coordinating the annual winter
elections for SGA
C. The designated chairperson
shall post for Elections Committee members
from the first year class during fall term,
inviting interested students to participate.
A maximum of two students will be selected
on a first-come basis.
D. Replacement for any
Election Committee member will be selected
from an alternative list comprised of other
students who applied for this committee.
E. Elections Committee
members selected in Year I will hold the
position until the completion of their
second academic year. No member of the
Elections Committee shall be a candidate in
any class or SGA election. If already a
member of the committee, his/her resignation
shall be tendered before requesting a
petition to run for office.
F. The Elections Committee
shall be responsible for holding five
elections during the academic year. Fall
semester elections for PCC-I and CPC-I
delegates as well as elections for Year I
class officers are to be held by the last
week in September. SGA elections are to be
held by the end of January in accordance
with Article VI, Section 1. Year II class
officer elections are to be held within
three weeks after the election of SGA
Officers. CORE site representative’s
election will be held prior to end of summer
semester (in July).
G. The Elections Committee
interprets campaign rules and regulations.
Section 3. Duties of the
Election Chairperson/Committee shall be:
A. The Elections Committee
chairperson will have each candidate for
office
write a brief (1/2 page)
platform statement. This statement will be
posted for at least five days prior to the
election.
B. Prepare and post election
timetable.
C. Gather election petitions.
D. Confirm signatures on the
petitions prior to the election, and assure
that no student has endorsed more than one
candidate for any one office. If this does
occur, the candidate must be immediately
notified and asked to solicit replacement
signatures. Each signature sheet shall have
a specific, designated line for the current
officer to sign.
E. Post current and final
candidates.
F. Prepare and post the
election ballots on Blackboard under the
appropriate class sites.
G. Chairperson/committee will
attempt to thoroughly educate the OU-HCOM
student body as to the election process and
timetable for those elections. This will be
done by posting flyers on OU-HCOM building
doors and bulletin boards at least three
days preceding any election. E-mail
reminders and announcements will also be
distributed to the appropriate class(es).
H. The chairperson/committee
will ensure:
1. The Election Day be chosen
based on the participation of the classes
involved in that election, optimizing voter
turnout.
2. Student
complaints/concerns will be directed to the
Elections Committee chairperson who is
responsible for running the election. The
Elections Committee will consult with SGA to
resolve any special concerns of
participants.
I. The Elections Committee
chairperson shall tabulate the votes from
the Blackboard system with the help of the
IT department.
J. Results of the election
shall be posted no earlier than 8 a.m. two
academic days following the election,
allowing at least 24 hours for a candidate
to contest the election procedure. Results
will be e-mailed to the appropriate class(es)
no later than 5 p.m. two academic days
following the election. Information should
also be sent for publication in rounds.
L. In the event of a tie, the
Elections Committee chairperson shall
conduct a run-off election within five days.
The exception will be CORE site elections.
CORE site elections that are tied will allow
both candidates to represent the CORE site.
Section 4. Separation of SGA
and Class Officer Elections:
A. Year II SGA elections must
be held three weeks prior to class officer
elections.
B. In the event that a
candidate loses a SGA election, he/she may
submit a new petition and run for a class
office.
Section 5. Running for a SGA
Office:
A. A formal petition and
platform must be obtained by all candidates
from the Elections Committee. Both platform
and petition forms will be made available
electronically on Blackboard and paper
copies of the forms will be available in
Student Affairs. Petitions must be completed
and endorsed by no fewer than five members
of the student body of OU-HCOM. No student
can run for office without a completed
petition.
B. Students can only endorse
one candidate per office.
C. Candidates for SGA office
may obtain petition signatures from any
member of the OU-HCOM student body.
Candidates for class officer must obtain
petition signatures from members of their
class only. Additionally, candidates for
both SGA and class officer must obtain the
petition signature of the individual who
currently holds the position for which the
candidate is running in order for a petition
to be valid. There will be a SPECIFIC line
for the current officer’s signature.
Candidates for CORE site representatives
must obtain petition signatures from members
of their class only. The Elections Committee
will determine and publicize a seven-day
period during which petitions are accepted.
D. The completed petition
shall be submitted to the Elections
Committee chairperson through the Office of
Student Affairs. The Elections Committee
will set the petition deadlines. No
petitions will be accepted after the set
deadline. If no petitions are submitted for
a particular office, an extended deadline
will be permitted for that position only.
E. The Elections Committee
chairperson shall post notice of the date of
the election at least three academic days in
advance. Candidate’s completed petition and
platform must be made available to the
student body no later than 24 hours
following the deadline for submission.
F. No write-in candidates
will be accepted.
Section 6. Campaigning
Procedures:
A. Campaigning is prohibited
until one week before the election date.
This includes the use of posters, flyers,
e-mails and videos or other non-personal
methods of campaigning, which involves the
expenditure of campaign funds and which
names one or more candidates for office.
B. The following campaign
practices are examples of items permitted
during the official campaigning time frame:
posting flyers, posters, sending one mass
e-mail or showing videos. Other creative
ideas are encouraged.
C. Candidates are prohibited
from engaging in soliciting votes or support
in return for compensation, monetary or
otherwise. Compensation shall be any item
whose fair market value (what it is worth)
is in excess of $2.00 in the United States
currency. The Elections Committee shall make
all determinations of the value of items.
Candidates shall submit all records of
purchase or any other information if
requested by the Elections Committee within
24 hours following such a request.
D. Negative campaigning
(interpreted by the Elections Committee) is
prohibited.
E. Any questions, concerns or
disputes will be addressed by the Elections
Committee as appropriate.
Section 7. Election
Procedures:
A. The election process shall
take place over an approximate 2-day period.
Seven days will be permitted for the
collection of petitions. Elections will be
held no earlier than four days following the
petition deadline.
B. There will be no primary
elections. If more than two candidates run
for a particular office, all names will
appear on the election ballot.
Section 8. Candidate
Presentations:
A. All candidates for the
officers' positions will have the
opportunity to present their views and
opinions posted on the Office of Student
Affairs bulletin board for one week prior to
elections.
Section 9. Voting Procedures:
A. Elections will take place
during a 24 hour period. The electronic
ballots will become available on Blackboard
at 12 a.m. on the day of the elections and
will become inactive at 12 a.m. on the
following day.
B. Each student shall
complete his or her ballot according to the
instructions
on the Blackboard page.
C. No ballot will be accepted
after 11:59 p.m. on the day of the election.
D. The candidate with the
majority of the votes turned in for an
office will be the designated the winner. In
cases where only one candidate runs for
office, that candidate will be designated
the winner.
E. There will be no absentee
ballots accepted.
Section 10. Recount
Procedures:
A. Only during the 6-day
period following the election can a
candidate request the Elections Committee
chairperson to recount the ballots.
B. If a recount request is
filed, the Elections Committee chairperson,
president of SGA and the advisor for SGA
must be present for the recount.
C. The recount shall be held
at a time and place to be designated by the
Elections Committee chairperson.
D. At the termination of the
recount, all members present must sign an
affidavit declaring the winner of the
contested election. The results of this
recount will be final.
E. Any candidate who feels
that election procedures were not followed
can submit a written complaint to the
Elections Committee chair and/or SGA within
five days of the election. The Elections
Committee will then review the complaint. If
the committee finds that a serious breach of
election procedure occurred, it may choose
to nullify all, or part of, the election. In
the event that an election is nullified, the
committee will select a new date for a
repeat election.
Section 11. Voter
Eligibility:
A. SGA officers: all members
of the student body are eligible to vote for
SGA officers. Only members of a particular
class are eligible to vote for class
officers in his/her class.
B. Students participating in
the Family Medicine or OMM Fellowship may
vote in the spring semester class officer
elections with the class in which they will
graduate.
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