A. Statements of Candidacy

1. Prospective candidates for the executive and class positions, as well as the Independent and Off-Campus positions of the Student Senate must file statements of candidacy which will include a petition of candidate support, and submit it to the Secretary when the application is due.

2. The Student Senate Presidential and Vice Presidential ticket system requires that those candidates for Student Senate President and Vice President must file a joint statement of candidacy and be elected on the same ticket. Class Presidents and Vice Presidents may file joint of candidacy if they wish, but will be elected separately on the ballot.

3. Upon filing, candidates will receive a copy of the election code and are eligible to receive a ten-dollar credit at the bookstore for the purchase of campaign supplies.

4. On the Senate Election Day, statements of candidacy and a poster of all the candidates running for Student Senate will be placed at the polling site. Write-in candidates may post their name and a brief statement of candidacy at the polling site on the day of the election if they so choose.

B. Date of Election

1. No later than two weeks before the elections, the Elections Committee will initiate publicity concerning the elections and will make available applications for candidacy at the Student Center and the office of Student Activities. The Elections Committee will also hold a mandatory informational meeting for the candidates during the said week.

2. Applications and statements of candidacy are due by the tenth Friday of spring semester.

3. With the exception of the First Year Class President election, which will take place no later than the fourth Tuesday of fall semester, elections for the Student Senate will take place no later than the thirteenth Tuesday of spring semester.

C. Campaign Guidelines

1. Campaign advertising may be initiated no earlier than seven days prior to the election.

2. Candidates are responsible, pending a twenty-five dollar fine, for completely removing all their campaign literature within forty-eight hours after the election.

3. No campaigning (the word “campaigning” is defined as the active solicitation of votes, distribution of literature, paraphernalia, and/or any attempt to influence voting by anyone) may take place in the Benham-Pence Student Center on the day of the elections.

4. All campaign activities must be held in accordance with the university regulations on posting. A copy of these policies will be included with the candidate application.

5. Write-in candidates must follow the same campaign and advertisement rules as announced candidates.

6. Candidates are required to campaign ethically and responsibly.

D. Election Code Violation Procedure

1. Protests concerning the violation of any of these rules may be presented to the current Student Senate President, who will issue a ruling concerning the matter within six hours of the protest’s filing.

2. Within twenty-four hours of the President’s ruling, the decision may be appealed to the Student Senate Elections Grievance Committee, which is composed of the current membership of the Student Senate Elections Committee and chaired by the Chief Justice of the Student Senate Hearing Board. The committee will make the final ruling on the matter within thirty-six hours of the appeal’s submission to the Chief Justice.

E. Voting Guidelines

1. Voting will take place in the Student Center from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

2. All Wittenberg students are eligible to vote in the election of the five executive senators.

3. The Independent Senator will be elected by students unaffiliated with the Greek system.

4. The Off-Campus Senator will be elected by students who do not live in any of the residence halls the fall semester of the senator’s tenure of office.

5. Each Class Senator shall be elected by students of the class year which that senator represents.

6. The Greek community will elect the Greek Senator to the Student Senate through the Student Senate election process.

7. The Concerned Black Students, American International Association, Residence Hall Association, and Student Athlete Senators will be elected according to the constitutions of their respective organizations.

8. No Senator standing for reelection or election to a new position will be involved in the collecting and counting of ballots.

9. Write-in candidate name(s) written on the ballot by the voter do not have to be properly spelled, so long as the name(s) can be reasonably identified through a phonetic pronunciation. Questions concerning the validity of a write-in vote will be resolved with a majority vote of the Student Senate Elections Grievance Committee.

F. Referendums and Other Elections Conducted by the Student Senate

1. Candidacy, publicity, counting, and other pertinent details involved in the referendums and other elections conducted by the Student Senate will be established and publicized by the Elections/ Service Committee in consultation with the Student Senate and guided by this election code.

2. Protests that arise during such referendums and elections may be resolved by this election code’s section on election code violations.

Bylaws of the Wittenberg University Student Senate