Dear Graduate Students of Concordia University of Edmonton,
The Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) hosts an election every March for positions on the Executive Council of the Graduate Student Association (GSA). This year’s GSA election will take place on 15-17 March 2023.
- THE ELECTION
If you are interested in being elected to the GSA executive council or to the GRC and helping to lead the GSA in 2023-24, then please take note of the following information:
1) The Electoral Returning Officer (ERO): The ERO for the 2023 GSA election is Franco Jaraba (fjaraba@student.concordia.ab.ca). Franco is responsible for ensuring that the GSA elections are fair and free, and that they are conducted according to the bylaws and policies of the GSA. Franco will not be running for office; his job is to ensure that the election campaign and the election itself is carried out properly.
2) The Deputy Returning Officer (DRO): The DRO for the 2023 GSA election is Kolawole Solako (ksalako@student.concordia.ab.ca). Kolawole is responsible to assist the ERO to ensuring that the GSA elections are fair and free and that they are conducted according to the bylaws and policies of the GSA. Kolawole will not be running for office and will be excluded from voting in GSA elections.
3) The Nomination Process: Please find attached the following documents:
- a) Description of positions on the GSA Executive Council: this document lists all of the positions to which all CUE Graduate Students may be elected. Please note that only one person can be elected to each position on the GSA Executive. With respect to program representatives, students in every program (MISSM / MISAM, PysA, and MEd) are permitted to elect representatives on the GSA Executive. Please note that positions on the GSA Executive are compensated.
The Positions Available are: –
- President
- Vice President Academic Affairs & External Relations
- Vice President Student Affairs
- Vice President Finance & Services
- b) Description of positions on the GRC: GRC is a group of active members of GSA which consists of GSA Executive Council and Program Representatives from eligible departments as defined in the GSA Bylaws. The positions available for Program Representatives are: –
- For MISSM there will be 3 Program Representatives.
- For MISAM there will be 2 Program Representatives.
- For Psychological Assessment there will be 2 Program Representatives.
- For Graduate Diploma in Environment and Public Health there will be 1 Program Representative.
- For Master of Education there will be 1 Program Representative.
- c) Nomination Form: If you choose to run in the election, then you must complete this nomination form and return it to the ERO between 12:30 pm on Monday, 13 February 2023 and 4:30 pm on Friday, 17 February 2023.
- Nomination forms for GSA Executivemust be signed by the nominator (who must be a CUE graduate student who is considered to be an active member of the GSA) and by five other CUE graduate students (who are considered to be active members of the GSA). The Program Representative candidates need to get signatures of two CUE graduate students instead of five. Students must also submit documentation to confirm that an individual is eligible to be nominated as a candidate in the election.
- No CUE graduate student may nominate more than one person for each position on the GSA executive
- A CUE graduate student shall be ineligibleas a candidate if he/she: i) is not an active member of the GSA; or ii) has served two (2) terms, as a voting member on the GSA Executive.
- A candidate running for the position of GSA President shall be an active member of GSA, in good academic standing (GPA of 3.0 or higher calculated from the previous semester). This requirement also means that the GSA President should at least be in CUE for one semester before he or she runs for the position of GSA President. A candidate for GSA President shall submit, on his or her own accord, documentation to the ERO proving the GPA requirement.
- Any active member of the GSA in good standing is eligible to run for other GSA executive positions (not for program representatives) if he or she is able to prove that he or she can serve the said position for at least three semesters starting from the spring when the election occurs and continuing until the end of the winter term in the subsequent year. No GPA requirement is required for other GSA Executive positions or the Program Representatives except for that of GSA President.
- All executive board member candidates should submit on their own accord documentation proving the requirement stated in the preceding section.
- All candidates should possess the above eligibility requirements at the time they are running for the said position. Attached within this email is a nomination form mandatory for completion. This form is required to be signed by Ola, the Graduate Registration Advisor, should the above requirements be met.
- The nomination form is required to be completed and provided back to the ERO no later than Friday, February 17th by 4:30 PM. The ERO will be in school during the week and available to receive your completed form; alternatively, the completed form can be e-mailed back to the ERO by or before the above date.
- Following the close of nominations at 4:30 pm on Friday, 17 February 2023, all nomination forms will be officially reviewed by the ERO and Assistant ERO, and then eligible candidates whose paperwork is in order will be declared official candidates and will be notified in writing by the ERO before 12 midnight on Friday, 17 February 2023.Any Candidate whose paperwork was ruled out of order by the ERO will be considered ineligible and will be notified in writing by the ERO. If any candidates are deemed otherwise ineligible at the sole discretion of the ERO, they will be notified in writing by the ERO. Any candidates determined ineligible will be provided with a written explanation provided by the ERO within twenty-four (24) hours of the close of the nomination period.
- ·After the ERO has verified all of the nomination forms and the ERO has notified all eligible candidates, the names of candidates will be listed on the GSA website.
- All elected GSA candidates will be subject to an official Employment Background Check, which will be reimbursed by the GSA council. For further information, please visit http://www.edmontonpolice.ca/CommunityPolicing/OperationalServices/PoliceInformationCheck.
3 The Election Campaign: The official GSA election campaign will begin at 1pm on Tuesday, 21 February 2023 and will end prior to (4:30pm) on Tuesday, 14 March 2023.
- No candidate shall run or be a member in a slate (a group of candidates or a party), real or apparent as determined by the ERO in their sole discretion, or share expenses for campaign materials, work together for mutual benefit, use similar or identical slogans or otherwise appear to be acting as a slate. Failure to abide by this rule constitutes a serious campaign violation and may result in disqualification of all candidates who have been identified as running in a slate.
- A candidate shall be considered ineligible for a position on the GSA executive if the prospective candidate is immediately related to, in a spousal, or otherwise interdependent relationship with a candidate for the aforesaid positions during the same term of office.
- The GSA places a high priority on open lines of communication between candidates and electors; therefore candidates are required to attend the All-Candidates Forum which shall take place on Tuesday, 7 March 2023, from 5-6 PM in room TBD. The ERO will notify all candidates in writing to the email address provided on the nomination form of when this forum will occur. If this requirement is not followed, then the ERO reserves the right to disqualify the candidate. The ERO will provide all candidates with rules that will apply to the all-candidates forum. Please note: ALL CANDIDATES MUST ATTEND THE ALL-CANDIDATES FORUM OR REQUEST ACCOMMODATION WITH THE ERO.
- No candidate shall make a speech to any class at CUE without the prior agreement of the ERO and the professor or instructor responsible for that class.
- Candidates are to submit the content of their presentations/speeches to the ERO in advance for approval by the ERO.
- During officially organized events, which include all opportunities to officially address the student body either formally or informally, candidates must behave in a professional manner.
- Should the candidate not act professionally, as determined by the ERO in their sole discretion acting reasonably, they may by disqualified from the electoral process.
- Candidates, or any person(s) acting on the behalf of the candidate, may not assist voters in the electoral process.
- ·Before any elected candidate is permitted to assume a GSA Executive office after the election, he or she must submit a current and clear police check to the Electoral Officer for review and approval.
4) Campaign Materials
- All candidates must have their campaign and communication materials, which include but are not limited to posters, banners, handbills, online materials, and electronic communication etc., approved by the ERO or designate prior to distribution to the electorate. All campaign and communication materials must be provided to the ERO at least twenty-four (24) hoursin advance of distribution.
- A copy of the material and/or communication message must be emailed to the ERO identifying when, where, and how the material/communication will be disseminated. Further, candidates must receive permission from the ERO in relation to any materials and/or communication as to the content of the communique prior to dissemination.
- The material may only be disseminated after the reception of a confirmation communication from the ERO.
- All candidates are strongly encouraged to create a candidate platform which will be posted on the GSA website after the nomination period. This platform should be sent to the ERO no later than Tuesday, 7 March 2023 by 12:00 Noon.
- Candidates may submit a video which states their name and the position sought. The video or video URL link must be submitted to the ERO and must be approved by the ERO prior to dissemination of its content and URL link.
- No campaign materials may contain misinformation, slander, inappropriate endorsements, and inappropriate or discriminatory content. Should the ERO determine in their sole discretion acting reasonably that a candidate has contravened this clause, the candidate may be disqualified.
- During the designated campaign period, candidates shall not distribute any item to electors, except for approved campaign materials.
- All campaign materials shall include on the front, in legible form, the name of the candidate and the position being sought.
- All campaign materials shall where applicable, include on the front, in legible form, a statement declaring who paid for the production of the campaign material.
- Campaign material shall only be approved if it contains statements about a candidate’s own campaign and platform.
- A candidate shall not make reference to the identity of another candidate on any campaign materials.
- A candidate shall not misrepresent themselves as to name or physical appearance on campaign materials.
- Candidates shall not use the logos of the “Concordia Graduate Students’ Association” or “GSA,” or “Concordia University of Edmonton” or “CUE” on any campaign material.
- A candidate may have no morethan two (2) banners.
- All candidates shall: a) comply with all CUE building regulations; b) follow CUE regulations on posters and use of CUE grounds; and c) not use stickers, decals, or any adhesive material of a permanent or semi-permanent nature.
- Only the candidates may post election-related or campaign material as approved in advance by the ERO.
- Candidates may not campaign or post any campaign materials in any campus library.
- No candidate shall accept in-kind donations of advertising space in any publication, advertisement space or media venue.
- All candidates are solely responsible for the removal of all their campaign materials from campus by the end of the campaign period.
5) Election Voting Period
- Voting shall take place over three days starting from 8:00 am on Wednesday, 15 March 2023 and shall continue until 6:00 pm on Friday, 17 March 2023. The voting will be done through electronic means hosted by CUE’s IT Department.
- All CUE graduate students who are considered to be active members of the GSA may cast one vote for each position during the election.
- Polling stations, if required, must be manned by non-partisan volunteers as coordinated by the ERO (minimum of two [2] per station).
6) Announcing the Results
- After the end of the voting period, the ballots shall be counted by the ERO and witnessed by a neutral third party.
- A first-past-the-post vote shall constitute the election of an officer in the case of all Executive offices. If no candidate is declared a winner, then the position will be declared vacant, and the vote will go to a by-election as outlined in the GSA Bylaws.
- The ERO shall announce the initial results within 24 hours of the end of the voting period.
- The results initially announced will be provisional until all outstanding issues are resolved, with regard to any outstanding violations of policy by candidates, or other issues that may arise. Once these issues have been addressed, the ERO shall then officially certify the results.
- The ERO may take up to two weeks to certify the results of the election should an appeal take place.
7) Complaints, Infractions and Penalties
- Because electronic campaign materials can be of a variety of forms, and therefore practically difficult to approve before their release, they will be policed using a complaint-activated process. Any active member who believes that any such materials violate GSA bylaws, this policy, university policy or any other election procedure should contact the ERO. After adjudication, the ERO reserves the right to either warn a candidate, disqualify the candidate, or ultimately refuse to certify the election if such action is deemed appropriate by the ERO.
- The following violations regarding campaign materials will result in the candidate being disciplined up to and including disqualification, and the Warning Procedures herein will come into effect:
- Campaign materials on a painted wall or surface;
- Campaign materials displayed in an unauthorized area;
- Campaign materials posted before the campaign period begins;
- Disobeying university, municipal, provincial, and/or federal law/regulation while campaigning;
- Campaign materials containing misinformation, negative campaigning, slander, inappropriate endorsements, or discriminatory content;
- Campaign materials submitted by any outside organization or individual that is not an Association Active Member; or
- Candidates themselves enforcing bylaws or policy or otherwise being seen to “police” other candidates;
- Any election violation including but not limited to policies outlined in this document will result in the candidate being disciplined up to and including disqualification, and the Warning Procedures herein will come into effect.
- The ERO reserves the right to act in a manner reflective of the severity of the infraction according to the ERO’s interpretation of said infraction up to and including disqualifying the candidate(s). Should the infraction(s) be severe enough in the opinion of the ERO, the ERO may refuse to certify the election.
8) Warning Procedures
- Any candidate who violates any provision herein that results in an official warning or disqualification will be notified in writing by the e-mail provided on the nomination form by the ERO of their violation. All warnings, sanctions, and disqualifications will be posted on the GSA website and in the GSA office.
- Any candidate receiving an official sanction not including disqualification as a result of a policy violation will have twenty-four (24) hours to fix the violation; otherwise the candidate will be disqualified from the election.
- Any violation of campaign material expense limits may result in immediate disqualification from the election without a previous warning.
III. IMPORTANT DATES:
GSA Election Schedule 2023-24
| Date | Time | Event |
| Friday, February 10 | Official Announcement of GSA Election | |
| Monday, February 13 | 12:30 PM | Nominations open for GSA Election |
| Friday, February 17 | 4:30 PM | Nominations close for GSA Election |
| Friday, February 17 | 4:30 – 5:30pm | Nominees for GSA Election are notified |
| Tuesday, February 21 | 1:00 PM | Campaigns for GSA Election begin |
| Tuesday, March 7 | 12:00 PM | Nominee platforms for GSA Election sent to ERO |
| Tuesday, March 7 | 5 – 6pm | GSA Election: Election forum at GRC |
| Tuesday, March 14 | 4:30pm | Campaigns end for GSA Election |
| Wednesday, March 15 | Voting Day for GSA Election | |
| Thursday, March 16 | Voting Day for GSA Election | |
| Friday, March 17 | Voting Day for GSA Election | |
| Monday, March 20 | 12:00 PM | Results announced for GSA Election |
If you have any questions about the election process, please contact the ERO (fjaraba@student.concordia.ab.ca).
Good luck to all of the candidates!
Documents for the Election:
Description of Positions on GSA Executive & GRC (2)