University Senate Elections Code
As Amended
March 15, 1995[1]
1.) The University Senate herewith creates an Elections Commission
whose primary duty shall be to supervise the conduct of elections to the Senate
and to all other elective bodies whose power derives from the Senate. The
Elections Commission shall be chosen by the Senate, nominations being made
initially by the Executive Committee. The Elections Commission shall consist of
5 members who may or may not be members of the Senate and who shall be appointed
as follows: 1 tenured faculty, 1 nontenured faculty, 1 student, 1
administration, and 1 from among the administrative, library and research
staffs. The Elections Commission shall choose its own Chairperson. Its term of
office shall be concurrent with that of the Senate except that it shall
continue to exercise its functions until its successors shall have been chosen
by a newly elected Senate.
2.) The purpose of this Elections Code is to provide a comprehensive
set of rules and regulations to all parties concerning the conduct of Senate
elections. For such elections, these rules and regulations take precedence over
any regulations, policies, or practices followed by the various divisional
elections commission or representatives established under Section 7.
3.) The Elections Commission shall declare the dates of general
elections for the Senate. Departures from these dates must be approved by the
Elections Commission.
4.) The Elections Commission shall declare a vacancy in the Senate
if a member dies, resigns, or ceases to belong to the constituency from which
he or she was elected, and shall direct that a by-election be held within a
reasonable time.
5.) The Elections Commission shall determine, in case of dispute,
into which constituency various categories of electors fall. Any individual who
believes he or she has been incorrectly omitted from a constituency shall
inform the appropriate administrative officer and, if the problem is not
resolved, may make appeal to the Elections Commission for adjudication, which
shall be as rapid as feasible, and rectification, where appropriate, shall be
immediate.
6.)
The
Elections Commission shall advise the Senate on the apportionments of seats as
provided in Chapter 2 of the University Statutes. The populations to be
compared for this purpose shall be counted (i) for faculties as prescribed in
21 (a) (1) and 21 (a) (2) of the Statutes, and (ii) for students as
prescribed in 21 (b) of the Statutes (in the Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences, only students enrolled for full residence units are counted for
purposes of apportionments).
a.)
The
word “category” shall have the same definition as in Chapter II, Section 20 of
the University Statutes.
b.)
The
word “Faculty” shall have the same definition as in Chapter III, Section 30 of
the University Statutes.
c.)
The
word “constituency” shall be defined as the unit in which elections are
conducted.
7.) The Elections Commission shall require the assistance of
divisional elections commissions for each of the faculties of the corporation,
for each of the affiliated institutions, and for the administrative, library
and research staffs. A divisional elections commission is any unit that
conducts an election for any constituency. Where such divisional elections
commissions do not now exist, the Elections Commission shall work with the
appropriate administrative officers, including the deans of the faculties and
presidents of the affiliated institutions, to establish such commissions,
having due regard to the advice of such divisional representative bodies as
exist. Such divisional elections commissions may be appointed or elected. In
case a divisional elections commission does not exist at the time of an
election, the Elections Commission may make whatever ad hoc arrangements it
deems necessary.
8.) Insofar as Senate elections are concerned, all divisional
elections commissions must abide by regulations laid down by the Elections
Commission. If divisional elections commissions have regulations in addition to
the Senate’s, they must be submitted to the Elections Commission for approval
at least three weeks in advance of each election.
9.) If, between the declaration of a vacancy and the counting of
ballots, a member of a constituency, whether or not a candidate, feels himself
or herself aggrieved by the rules or practices of a divisional elections
commission, he or she may make timely appeal to the Elections Commission for
adjudication, which shall be as rapid as feasible, and rectification, where
appropriate, shall be immediate.
10.) Once the ballots have been counted, any challenge to the
credentials of a successful candidate on the grounds of substantial error in
procedure shall be heard by the Elections Commission, which shall report its
recommendations to the Senate. The decision of the Elections Commission shall
be final unless overturned by the Senate. Any person whose victory has been
certified shall have a vote in the Senate, unless and until the Senate refuses
to accept his or her credentials, on all matters except a vote on his or her own
credentials.
11.)
Each
divisional elections commission shall observe the following practices in
dealing with nominations:
a.)
Each
member of a constituency as of the date of the prospective election has the
right to make nominations in that constituency equal to the number of
candidates to be elected. To be eligible for nomination in a constituency, one
must belong to the constituency on the date of the election.
b.)
The
divisional elections commission must provide notice of all information
pertinent to an election (including relevant deadlines) at least seven calendar
days before the nomination deadline to all eligible members of any category and
shall use the method most likely to give actual notice to those members. Such
notice may not include references to any potential candidacy.
c.)
Any
member of a category may become a candidate for election by submitting a signed
statement of intent to run to the divisional elections commission by the
nomination deadline.
d.)
No
nomination may be withdrawn from the list of candidates once nominations are
closed, except if the nominee shall have ceased to be a member of the
constituency as determined by the Elections Commission.
e.)
The
divisional elections commission shall provide notice (as defined in 11b) of the
names of the candidates and the election process (including all deadlines and a
description of the quorum requirement) to all members of the constituency
eligible to vote. This information may be provided on the election ballot. The
divisional elections commissioner shall allow a reasonable time (not more than
seven calendar days) to elapse before the actual balloting period commences.
f.)
All
candidates shall be permitted to publicize their own candidacies and all
persons may seek support for themselves or for others. Each divisional
elections commission shall, however, issue stringent limits on campaign
expenditures so that no prospective candidate shall suffer a financial
handicap. Each divisional elections commission shall make available to the
extent possible, a common form of publicity (e.g., bulletin board) enabling all
candidates to announce their candidacies free of charge.
g.)
Any
candidate is accountable not only for violations of campaign regulations that
he or she might commit, but also for any such violations committed by people
that the candidate has allowed to work on his or her campaign.
12.) Each divisional elections commission may submit its preliminary
election literature and its ballot to the Elections Commission for approval in
advance of each election to ensure that they are in conformance with the
Elections Commission’s regulations. The Elections Commission may require any
relevant material to be submitted in the event of a dispute about an election.
13.)
Each
divisional elections commission shall observe the following practices in
dealing with balloting:
a.)
All
voting shall be secret, either in designated polling places, by written ballot
in meetings, or by mail ballot using the double envelope system; in either
case, a reasonable time shall be allowed for balloting.
b.)
Where
several senators are to be elected simultaneously from a single constituency,
each voter shall be entitled to as many votes as there are senators to be
elected. No constituency may subdivide itself into subconstituencies for the
purpose of elections, except as provided for in 21 (a), (b), and (d) of the Statutes,
without the express permission of the Elections Commission, which shall report
its decision to the Senate. That decision may be appealed to the Senate by any
representative body of the constituency (e.g., a committee on instruction, a
student council, etc.) or by any senator.
c.)
On
the ballots and in all statements and announcements related to elections,
divisional elections commissions shall supply only the following kinds of
information about candidates: name, department, position (e.g., faculty title).
Ballots and all election-related statements by divisional elections commissions
shall in no way distinguish incumbent candidates or any preferred list from any
other candidate. These restrictions do not apply to the statements of the
candidates themselves, including written candidates’ statements that may
accompany the ballot.
d.)
Election
may require a majority vote or plurality, according to previously established
practice or decision of the divisional elections commission, provided that in
no case may a plurality of less that 331/3% be deemed to warrant
election, using as a basis of calculation the total number of voters voting in
an elections; and if a plurality of 331/3% thus calculated is not
attained, there shall be a run-off election for those seats which are unfilled.
In the case of indirect elections, the 331/3% plurality applies to
voting within the electoral college.
e.)
In
place of the balloting method described in the previous paragraph, a constituency
may substitute a system of preferential balloting, in which voters rank several
candidates in order by preference. In preferential balloting, the one-third
plurality requirement set forth in the previous paragraph is waived.
f.)
In
case a run-off election is needed, the divisional elections commission shall
fix a date and shall declare eligible the highest-ranking candidates from the
first election willing to continue to stand, up to twice the number of
vacancies still to be filled, with the following exception: if two or more
candidates in the first election tie for the last runner-up position eligible
for the run-off (e.g., second place in a one-seat elections), each can take
part in the run-off, even though there will then be more than twice as many candidates
as seats. In a run-off election the highest-ranking candidate(s) shall be
elected. The run-off election must meet the same plurality requirements as
other elections.
g.)
Each
candidate may have a poll-watcher present at polling places and at the counting
of ballots for his or her constituency. Ballots shall be counted by the
divisional elections commission and reported immediately to the Elections
Commission.
h.)
There
shall be no electioneering within 100 feet of the polls.
14.)
For
the purpose of determining eligibility for voting and candidacy:
a.)
A
full-time officer of instruction shall be deemed a member of a Faculty for
purposes of Senate elections if he or she either (1) has been assigned a seat
on that Faculty by the Trustees; or (2) in the case of nontenured officers,
offers a course during the academic year in the Faculty in which the election
is held.
b.)
An
officer of instruction who provides part-time instruction in the Columbia
Corporation shall be deemed a member of a Faculty if he or she either (1) has been
assigned a seat on that Faculty by the Trustees; or (2) devotes a majority of
his or her time to such instruction that Faculty; if the time of such an
officer of instruction is equally divided between two or more Faculties of the
Corporation, he or she must choose one Faculty in which to vote or hold
candidacy.
c.)
A
student who is simultaneously pursuing two degree programs or degree and
certificate programs in separate Faculties shall be considered to be a member
of each Faculty.
d.)
Notwithstanding
the provisions of this article, no person may be a candidate in more than one
constituency simultaneously, nor may a member of the Senate represent more than
one constituency.
15.) A recall petition, as provided in 21 (h) of the Statutes,
shall be submitted to the Elections Commission, which shall certify its
validity, in consultation with the divisional elections commission, and shall
direct that a recall election be held as expeditiously as reasonable.
16.) The Elections Commission may make such further rules, consistent
with this Code, as it deems necessary and appropriate for the conduct of
elections, and shall report such further rules to the Senate, which may
overrule or amend them.
17.) A copy of this Code and of the By-Laws, Statutes and Rules of
the Columbia University Senate must be given to every candidate.
[1] On March 15, 1995, the Senate Elections Commission amended the Code to conform to the Senate’s decision on September 23, 1994, to eliminate the one-third participation requirement in Senate elections.