2019-2020 SGA Officer Campaign an Election Rules (DRAFT)
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2019-2020 SGA Officer Campaign an Election Rules (DRAFT)
Section 1: Order of SGA Sponsored Elections
A. Order of Election Events
a. Selection of election-related dates and deadlines by the Nominations and
Elections Committee
b. Publication of Dates in SGA Calendar for the next academic year
c. Announcement of elections within the first two weeks of the academic semester
for which the election is to be held.
d. Filing Period
e. Review of nominations to verify qualifications by Advisor and Executive
Committee
f. Notification of qualified candidates
g. Active Campaigning
h. General Election
i. Confirmation and reporting of general election results
j. Runoff elections (if necessary)
k. Confirmation and reporting of runoff election results (if necessary)
l. Deadline for filing appeal or dispute
Section 2: Campaigning
A. Active campaigning shall be defined as:
1. Distributing campaign materials other than private distribution to
immediate campaign staff.
2. Posting any campaign materials in pre-approved locations.
3. Announcing or discussing candidacy in print, broadcast, or any other media.
4. Seeking endorsement or voter support for a campaign at a gathering of
a recognized campus organization.
5. Physically locating campaign supporters or the candidate near a polling
location to influence voters and potential voters.
6. Distribution of candidate materials and/or solicitation of votes by
candidates or their designees is prohibited within 25 feet of any entrance to
a polling place.
B. Active campaigning does not include:
1. Designing, ordering, or receiving campaign materials and private
distribution to campaign staff.
2. Private discussions, not at a gathering of a recognized campus
organization, concerning candidacy or prospective candidacy.
3. Discussion of candidacy for the purpose of campaign formation at gatherings
of recognized campus of recognized campus organizations.C. Candidates shall display campaign materials only during the dates established by
the Nominations and Elections committee on pre-approved locations only and
as approved by the Nominations and Elections committee.
D. Posters should be limited to no more than twenty‐five (25) per candidate.
Posters are defined as any campaign material larger than 8.5 x 14 inches but
smaller than 2 x 3 feet. Banners shall be limited to no more than two (2) per
candidate. Banners shall be defined as any campaign material larger than 2 x 3
feet. There is no limit on the amount of any campaign materials which are less
than equal to 8.5 x 14 inches.
1. These restrictions apply to the number of materials posted at the main
campus and all extensions of the College.
E. Defacing, removing, demolishing, or otherwise tampering with any other
candidate’s election materials is prohibited. Upon the filing of a written
complaint, within seventy-two (72) hours of the alleged infraction, a hearing
shall be called before the election committee to determine the responsibility and
if penalties shall be necessary.
F. All campaign material must be removed within forty‐eight (48) hours after the
close of the campaigning period.
G. Campaigning materials shall contain only accurate and truthful information.
Materials containing false or inflammatory content will be removed immediately
by the SGA Advisor, Director of Student Life, or designee.
1. Inflammatory material includes, but is not limited to, discriminatory
statements or images, offensive/profane language, negative or false
statements about any faculty or staff member or other LSC student, student
group, or population of people.
2. The posting of blatantly false, misleading, or inflammatory material in
association with a campaign may be grounds for removal of a candidate from
the ballot after a complaint has been filed with the Nominations and Elections
Committee.
H. All campaign materials are subject to Lone Star College signage policies and
must be pre‐approved by the SGA Advisor and/or Director of Student Life
before being displayed.I. There shall be no active campaigning prior to the qualifying of candidates by the
Nominations and Elections Committee.
J. Endorsements
1. Any Lone Star College‐Tomball student organization may publicly
endorse any candidate for office providing that it is not on any type of
probationary or provisions status with the college and it has the prior
approval of the candidate to be endorsed.
Section 3: Election Returns and Reporting
A. At the conclusion of voting in a general or runoff election, the election
committee shall announce that the election polls are closed, and after
which, shall:
1. Tabulate the voting results with SGA Advisor supervision
2. Declare the successful candidates “elected.” Candidates with the
largest number of votes for their position election shall be elected.
a. In the event there is only one candidate for a given position, a
motion for acceptance by acclimation may be made from the
presiding Executive Council.
b. In the case of a tie for any position, the Club Council will vote by
written ballot to determine a winner.
i. Each recognized club is entitled to one vote in the event
of the need to determine the outcome of a tie.
3. Reveal the results in the presence of the Student Government
Association Advisor(s), post the official results in the window of the
SGA office, and post the official results on the SGA website.
4. Hold election returns for six (6) months in order that the election returns
will be available upon the event of a protest/appeal by any candidate.Section 4: Appeals and Election‐Related Conduct
A. The conduct of the Election shall conform to the principles of democracy
and fairness. All participants, whether on committees, councils, election
campaign groups, or otherwise involved, shall abide by these principles.
1. These principles include the right of voter access to complete and
accurate information; opposition's right of access to the voting
community; guaranteed anonymity of each person's vote; honest
campaigning free of intimidation, threats, pressure; equal opportunity for
all to cast their ballots; and a complaint/grievance process with swift and
impartial response.
B. Violations of the Election Code and acceptable election‐related conduct
shall be subject to an appeal process via the Nominations and Elections
committee.
C. Written appeals must be submitted within forty‐eight (48) hours following
the close of the polls to SGA Advisor and copied to the Director of Student
Life. If the appeal is not turned in within this time frame, the appeal shall
be voided.
D. All appeals shall be turned into the election committee before it is to be
considered a legal appeal. Failure to follow proper procedure shall result in
the appeal being voided. A voided appeal must reenter the proper appeals
process.
E. Any appeal that arises during an election period shall be directed to the
election committee.
F. Once an official appeal has been accepted into review the election
committee shall convene no later than two days after the appeal was
submitted and will decide whether a formal inquiry is necessary.
1. Should a formal inquiry be required, the election committee will
immediately notify all parties involved, and conduct an inquiry lasting
no longer than seven days.
2. During a formal inquiry no involved party shall communicate with any
member of the Nominations and Elections Committee, nor shall any
Nominations and Electionw Committee member communicate with an
involved party, in regard to the on‐going investigation outside of a
formal Nominations and Elections Committee meeting, penalty of
disqualification of SGA Officer Position or replacing of Committee
Member will be decided by SGA Executive Council.
G. The decision of the Nominations and Elections Committee regarding an
appeal shall be considered final.Section 5: Elections of SGA Executive Council Members
A. Times and Dates of Elections
1. General elections will be held:
i. During the Spring semester of each year during no less than
four and no more than seven class days as decided by the
Nominations and Election Committee; dates not more than
thirty-five (35) days prior to the last official day of the
semester, but not less than twenty‐one (21) days prior to the
last day of the semester, hereafter referred to as “Election
Days”.
2. Runoff elections, if necessary, shall be scheduled by the elections
committee.
B. Election Tabulation and Results
1. The term of the new Executive Council Officers is one year and
shall begin on the first Monday following the second to last Club
Council meeting of the Spring Semester.
2. In the event there is no candidate for an office, the newly elected
officers of the SGA will appoint an individual to the vacant
position(s).
C. Candidacy Application requirements
1. Candidate applications for all positions shall open thirty‐five (35)
days prior to the first of the two Election Days.
2. Candidate applications shall close twenty‐one (21) days
prior to the last Election Day. No applications shall be
accepted after the deadline.
3. Candidates for all Executive Council offices must complete
the approved application form and be approved by SGA
Advisor.
a. Candidates are advised to make a two‐minute pre-recorded
speech regarding why they are running for office. The SGA
Advisor or Director for Student Life will oversee the
recording process.
b. All recording shall be done using the same equipment and
facilities at LSC-Tomball to maintain equity in production.
c. A brief question‐and‐answer period for all candidates shall be
held after all candidate videos have been published if there are
contested positions.
d. Candidate videos will also be posted on the Office of Student
Life or SGA website and social media accounts.
4. All candidates for a position on the SGA Executive Council must attend
the last General Assembly meeting prior to the election date.5. All candidates shall:
a. Maintain at least a 2.5 cumulative and semester GPA, unless otherwise
stated in the Constitution or Bylaws
b. Not be on academic probation or suspension as specified by the college.
c. Obtain a copy of election regulations and filing form from the election
committee or an SGA advisor.
d. The filing form must be submitted, in its entirety, before 4:30 p.m. on the
day of the close of filing.
e. Not file for more than one office in an SGA election.
f. Submit platforms to the Nominations and Elections Committee via e‐mail
and printed in hard copy no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day of the close of
filing.
g. Required Materials in Nomination Packet
i. Traditionally formatted headshot to be published on the ballot.
No overlays, filters, or other modifications.
ii. Model Release Form
iii. Nomination Forms
iv. Unofficial Transcript showing current enrollment and GPA
v. Statement of purpose / platform
vi. An application is considered incomplete if missing any of these
components.
D. Candidates Expenditures
1. Total expenditures for general and runoff elections of Executive
Council Officer Candidates shall not exceed one hundred dollars
($100.00) per candidate.
2. Restrictions on campaign donors or supporters/endorsements:
a. The Lone Star College‐Tomball student body.
b. Private business and corporations are not allowed to donate to LSC-
Tomball SGA candidates or their campaigns unless they are owned
by an immediate family member of the candidate.
c. State, local, or federal elected officials may not endorse a LSC-
Tomball candidate in any way to a LSC-Tomball SGA candidate
regardless of relationship to the candidate.
d. Monetary donations or endorsements from any political party is
prohibited during an LSC-Tomball SGA election.3. An itemized account of all expenses and donations along with the
receipts for any expenses must be turned in to the Nominations and
Elections Committee and the SGA Advisor(s) or designee no later
than seventy-two (72) hours after the close of the polls for the general
and runoff elections. Failure to comply will automatically disqualify
candidates from the election
a. Donation documentation must include the individuals name and
student or employee ID number.
b. Values of non-monetary donations must be included in the
expenses and donations report.
E. Access to Files
1. Once the results of the elections have been validated for the current
academic year, any person that is a member or officer‐elect of the SGA
shall have access to pertinent files of the SGA for the purpose of
developing a working knowledge of the current affairs of the
organization.
F. Candidate Placement On Ballot
1. If there is more than one candidate for an office, position on the ballot
and order of video placement on the Student Life or SGA websites
shall be determined by placing the names of the candidates on
individual pieces of paper to be randomly drawn by the Director of
Student Life, Vice President of Student Success, or Vice President of
Instruction.
2. Members of the Executive Council and the SGA Advisor shall not be
eligible to draw the names for placement on the ballot or order of video
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