USITT@PSU BYLAWS

1. Election Procedures.

1.1. Election Commissioner.

1.1.1. Requirements.

1.1.1.1. The Election Commissioner shall be a temporary executive board member, commencing from their appointment, and ending after all election results have been certified and all infractions have been resolved.

1.1.1.2. The Election Commissioner shall make preparations for, execute, and review procedures for all general elections held by the association.

1.1.1.3. The Election Commissioner shall implement and oversee Nominations Sessions and General Election Sessions.

1.1.1.4. The Election Commissioner shall attend Executive Board meetings and report to the President on suggestions for changes to the Election Procedures, election scheduling, and all other election-related events or processes.

1.1.2. Qualifications.

1.1.2.1. The Election Commissioner shall be appointed by the President at the beginning of the second semester in the academic year.

1.1.2.2. The Election Commissioner shall be a non-returning senior who has been a member of the Association for no less than one (1) academic year.

1.1.2.3. The Election Commissioner may hold another Executive Board position.

1.2.1. Nominations Session.

1.2.1.1. The Election Commissioner shall hold a Nominations Session in a regular session for each association office.

1.2.1.2. The Nominations Session shall be held one (1) week before the General Election Session.

1.2.1.3. A Nominations Session shall not be held without quorum of a regular Association session.

1.2.1.4. Each elected office shall use the same process for nominations, held in the following order: president, vice president, treasurer, secretary.

1.2.1.5. The Election Commissioner shall open nominations for one office at a time.

1.2.1.6. The nominations shall stay open until there is a motion, second, and affirmative vote from the Association to close the nominations for that office. The Election Commissioner shall then open nominations for the next office, or in the case of all offices having received nominations, close the Nominations Session.

1.2.2. Qualifications of Candidates.

1.2.2.1. The Nominations Session shall be open to all members of the Association, as defined by the Constitution.

1.2.2.2. All candidates must meet the requirements of being a member of the Association at the time of their nomination as set forth in the constitution.

1.2.2.3. No candidate shall be nominated for more than one office.

1.2.2.4. Potential candidates shall be present, and be nominated by another present member of the association.

1.2.2.5. Potential candidates shall not nominate themselves.

1.3. General Election Session.

1.3.1. The Election Commissioner shall oversee a General Election Session at a regular session within the last three (3) weeks of the academic year.

1.3.2. All Association offices elected by the membership of the Association shall be elected during the General Election Session, during the same regular session.

1.3.3. The General Election Session shall be held on a date determined and publicized by the Electoral Commissioner and announced at least 21 days beforehand.

1.3.4. At the beginning of the General Election Session, the Election Commissioner shall call candidates by office, allowing each to have two (2) minutes to speak to the Association regarding their nomination for office.

1.3.5. Once all candidates for a particular office have spoken, they shall be escorted out of the room by the Election Commissioner, and the Association shall commence discussion of the candidates for that office. At the close of the discussion, the nominees shall be escorted back into the General Elections Session.

1.3.6. The candidate discussion process shall continue until all offices and subsequent candidates have been spoken and been discussed.

1.3.7. Immediately preceding the discussion of all of the offices, the Election Commissioner shall deliver official general election ballots to all qualified electors.

1.3.8. Upon completion of their ballot, electors shall deliver their ballot back to the Election Commissioner for placement into the ballot box.

1.3.9. Once all ballots have been received, the Election Commissioner shall call the General Election Session to close.

1.4. Ballots.

1.4.1. The official general election ballot shall be the ballot prepared, printed, and supplied by the Electoral Commissioner for use at the election indicated on the ballot.

1.4.2. The names of all candidates, where there is more the one candidate for the same office, shall be alphabetically listed by office.

1.4.3. Party affiliation of the candidates, if any, may be indicated on the ballot. Party names shall be limited to one word or acronym and may not imply anything vulgar as determined by the Electoral Commissioner. The acronym "USITT" may not be used as any part of a party name.

1.5. Voting Procedures.

1.5.1. No elector shall receive a ballot from any other person than the Electoral Commissioner; nor shall any person other than the Electoral Commissioner deliver a ballot to such elector. No elector shall vote or offer to vote any ballot except such as he or she has received from the Electoral Commissioner.

1.5.2. The Electoral Commissioner shall not give a ballot to any person without first verifying from a list of names and student identification numbers that the person is a member of the association, and that the person has not already voted in the election. A person must show his or her university identification card in order to vote.

1.5.3. No elector may vote more than once in any election of the Association.

1.5.4. No elector shall show his or her ballot, after it is marked, to any person in such a way as to reveal the contents thereof or the name of the candidate or candidates for whom he or she has marked his or her ballot, nor shall any person solicit the elector to show the same.

1.5.5. No person except the Electoral Commissioner shall receive from any elector a ballot prepared for voting. A ballot properly given and received shall be validated with the initials of the Electoral Commissioner on the back, and placed in a secured ballot box.

1.5.6. Each elector who does not vote a ballot delivered to them by the Electoral Commissioner shall, before leaving the closing of the General Election Session, return such ballot to the Commissioner. No person shall remove any ballot from the polling place before the closing of the Session.

1.5.7. If a ballot is spoiled, it may be returned to the Electoral Commissioner and a new ballot may be obtained, but not more than two (2) fresh ballots in all.

1.5.8. A tally of the number of ballots cast must be submitted with the ballot box.

1.5.9. All unused and spoiled ballots shall be placed in a packet marked "Unused and Spoiled ballots", which shall be sealed and returned to the Election Commissioner along with the ballot box.

1.6. Absentee Votes.

1.6.1. Any qualified voter who shall be absent on the day of the General Election Session may, not more than seven (7) days prior to nor later than 4 p.m. on the day before the Session, apply in writing to the Election Commissioner for an absentee ballot, where the Commissioner shall forward an Absentee Voters Ballot to such voter.

1.6.2. Absentee Voters Ballots shall be marked as such and shall provide space for a phone number and a University staff member’s signature.

1.6.3. All Absentee Voters Ballots must be cast prior to the General Election Session, and the date and hour of voting must be witnessed and signed by a University staff member.

1.6.4. Absentee Voters Ballots must be in the physical possession of the Election Commissioner no later than the beginning of the General Election Session.

1.7. Procedures for Infractions.

1.7.1. Any allegations of infractions for election procedures must be filed in writing with the Election Commissioner within twenty-four (24) hours after the announcement of the election results.

1.7.2. The Electoral Commissioner shall schedule a hearing within three (3) days after the complaint has been filed. All persons involved in the complaint, including the person(s) who filed the complaint and those whom it is filed against, shall be notified of the time and the location of the hearing at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance. A person involved in a complaint may request a delay in the time of the hearing. Said requests shall be granted at the discretion of the Election Commissioner.

1.7.3. A hearing by the Electoral Commissioner shall not be valid unless quorum of the Executive Board membership is present.

1.7.4. After hearing testimony by persons involved in the complaint, the Executive Board shall go into executive session to discuss the validity of the complaint and any disciplinary action necessary. In open session, a majority vote of its members present shall determine the validity of the complaint and implement any disciplinary measures necessary.

1.7.5. Disciplinary measures of the Electoral Commissioner may include, but are not limited to, limitations of campaign activities, disqualification in the election, and referral of the case to another University entity for further disciplinary measures.

1.7.6. The decisions of the Electoral Commissioner may be appealed to the general membership of the Association.

1.8. Certification of Election.

1.8.1. Candidates for an Association elected position shall be declared elected upon receiving a majority of the votes cast for that office.

1.8.2. Ballots marked with write-in candidates who are obviously not eligible (e.g., Mickey Mouse) to hold office shall not be counted for any part of the ballot. The ineligible votes shall not be counted towards the total of votes cast in the election.

1.8.3. No candidates shall be declared officially elected if there are any cases of alleged infractions involving the candidate still pending before the Electoral Commissioner.

1.8.4. The Electoral Commissioner shall count the votes, which will be verified by a Presidentialy-named non-returning Executive Board member who has not been appointed Electoral Commissioner for the current General Election Session, and who is not the current President.

1.8.5. The counted results shall be delivered to the current President, who shall inspect and certify the results as final.

1.9. Announcement of Election Results.

1.9.1. Notification of all elected positions shall be announced immediately following the General Election Session, unless in the case of run-off elections, which shall be held at that time.

1.10. Run-off Elections.

1.10.1. Run-off elections shall be conducted under the regulations and procedures of this bylaw, and not by those of a General Election Session.

1.10.2. A run-off election shall be held in the case of no one candidate receiving a majority of the votes cast in races for Association elected positions.

1.10.3. The run-off election shall be held between the top two (2) vote-receivers for each position.
1.10.4. A space for write-in votes shall not be provided on the ballot for a run-off election, and votes for write-in candidates shall not be counted in determining a winner.

1.10.5. A candidate shall be declared the winner of a run-off election upon receiving a majority of votes cast for each office.

1.11. Assumption of Office.

1.11.1. Candidates declared elected in the results from the General Election Session shall assume office one (1) week following the certification of the election.

1.11.2. No candidate shall assume office while a case of alleged infractions involving the candidate is still pending before the Election Commissioner.

1.12. Campaign Regulations.

1.12.1. "Campaigning" for the purposes of this Bylaw may consist of campaign fliers, table tents, and soliciting, but is not limited to such activities.

1.12.2. All campaign materials must be removed from the building in which elections are being held at least 12 hours before the time of the election. Cases in which doors and/or windows of students’ rooms are within this area are exceptions to this rule. The Electoral Commissioner shall inspect the building prior to the election and shall remove all campaign material and cite the appropriate Candidates for such violations.

1.12.3. No person shall do any campaigning on election day within any building in which the election is being held, nor obstruct the doors or entries thereto, or prevent free entry and exit from such buildings.

1.12.4. Campaigning shall be prohibited in USITT@PSU offices and at any USITT@PSU affiliated meeting or event.