Article VI. Elections of/within the SJS

Section A. SJS Elections

  1. Elections of the SJS shall be called by the Judicial Board Chair.
  2. General Elections will occur during the month of April.
  3. Term of Office
    1. The SJS term of office will run through the end of Spring semester.
    2. The first transitional meeting will take place within one week of Election Day.
    3. The Senator-elect transition period shall be the time between election date and the end of spring semester.
    4. Senators-elect shall take an Oath of Office on the last day of the Spring semester.
  4. Qualifications for candidacy are listed in the SJS Constitution Article III Section B.
  5. Eligible candidates shall run for one of the three (3) established standing boards with five (5) individuals being elected to each standing board of the SJS. Each board must have enough eligible individuals for each board’s respective positions. This requires that two of the five individuals on the AAB and SAB have pledged to hold the executive council positions for the full academic year and one of the five for the JB has pledged to hold the executive council position for the full academic year. In the case where the initial five candidates with the most votes do not have enough members to fill these executive council seats then the candidate with the lowest vote total will be dropped and the next highest eligible candidate will take their place. This process will be repeated until a board has enough eligible senators for each executive council position.
  1. Election rules and guidelines shall be outlined in the SJS election manual, to be updated and maintained as needed by the Elections Committee.

Section B. Internal elections of the SJS

  1. Senators-elect shall hold a transitional meeting prior to the end of the spring semester to elect individual positions.
  2. The positions of President, Vice President, and Trustee shall be elected from the fifteen members elected.
    1. No senator shall be elected to serve as President of the SJS for more than one, one-year term.
  3. The board positions vacated by the elected President, Vice President, and Trustee shall be filled by the next highest vote-recipients in the general election races for those specific boards.
  4. Following the election of the President, Vice President, and Trustee and the filling of the vacated positions held by those three members, each individual standing board shall hold an internal election for its positions.
  5. Process for internal election of standing board chairs.
    1. All members seeking a board chair position must receive a Senator’s nomination.
    2. The nominees shall present qualifications to the full SJS. Senators may then question chair nominees.
    3. Following the questions, the individual standing board shall enter into discussion to elect the chair, with all standing board members allowed one vote except those running for the chair.
    4. In the event of a tie, the entire SJS, including the President, Vice President, and Trustee, but excluding those running for any chair position, shall vote to determine the chair.
  6. Remaining standing board positions
    1. Members shall consider each position in succession, with those seeking that position making comments to that standing board.
    2. Members shall then question those seeking each position.
    3. A vote shall then be taken of the standing board members not running for that position.
  7. Candidates on CSB/SJU approved Study Abroad Programs must:
    1. Follow all election rules and guidelines outlined in the SJS election manual.
    2. After being declared an official candidate, submit the following
      1. A letter stating:
        1. That the Senator will accept the position if elected.
        2. The Senator’s intentions for any specific positions the Senator would like to receive and statements for each position named.
  8. Any senator not present at the transition meeting will not have a vote during the transition meeting. 

Section C. Special Elections

  1. Special elections shall be called by the Judicial Board Chair when a position is vacated more than 8 weeks prior to the end of the current semester.
  2. These elections shall be subject to the same guidelines as the general elections.

Section D. Elections Committee

  1. Purpose
    1. To meet and determine campaigning specifics prior to any election of the SJS.
  2. Membership
    1.  Chair
      1. The Judicial Board Chair
    2. Board members
      1. The five (5) members of the Judicial Board
      2. The Public Relations Representative
      3. The Vice President of the SJS
      4. No member running for re-election may serve on the elections committee.
  3. General Procedures
    1. The Elections Committee shall maintain and update the election rules and guidelines outlined in the SJS election manual, as needed.
    2. The Elections Committee shall hear any complaint up to two weeks after an election.
    3. The Elections Committee shall levy sanctions against any candidates in violation of the stated Election Guidelines. Any sanction voted upon by this committee will be a recommendation to the SJS at the next meeting of the SJS.

      Section E. Office changes during term

      1. Senators can only exchange office within their own board.
      2. If a senator would like to seek a change in office within their board, they must notify their chairperson.
      3. If the person seeking to change elected office is a chairperson, they must notify the Executive Board.
      4. Once a request has been filed, the senator must attend the next Executive council meeting and present reasons for office exchange.
      5. The Executive Council must then vote on whether to approve or deny the request. A two-thirds majority must approve for the change to occur. If the person requesting a position change is an Executive Council member, they cannot vote.
      6. If the request is approved, the board of the requester must be notified within 24 hours. The requester will have 7 days to find another senator from the Senator’s same board that is willing to exchange offices. If no senator is found, the request expires and no change can occur.
      7. If another senator from the same board agrees to exchange offices, the motion must be approved unanimously by the board both members are from during the next senate meeting. The two senators who are part of the exchange cannot vote.
      8. First-year representatives are not allowed to exchange office.
      9. Executive Board members are not allowed to exchange office.
      10. Each senator can only exchange office once per term.
      11. There is no appeal process if an exchange is denied.