Communication Student Association Electoral Regulations

2010 Edition

1. Communication Student Association Members

A Communication Student Association member is any part-time or full-time

student currently registered in the Department of Communication and taking any
class at the University of Ottawa. A student may be a member of only one
Federated Body at a time.

2. Eligibility of Candidates

2.1 Any Communication Student Association member may be a candidate as

long as her / his nomination form has been returned to the Chief Elections
Officer (CEO) by Friday, March 19th at 5:00pm.

2.2 Bilingualism Requirements

2.2.1 Some positions have a bilingualism requirement. In that case, a

candidate will be considered eligible for a bilingual position by
providing any of the following proof:

i) Having taking at least 50 % of her / his university classes in

the language required for the position.
ii) Having attended a high school of the language required for
the position.
iii) Obtaining a certificate from the University’s Official
Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI) that indicates that the
candidate is fluent in the language required for the position.

2.3 Linguistic Requirement

2.3.1 Some positions have an academic language requirement. In that

case, a candidate will be considered eligible for a Francophone or
Anglophone position by providing the following proof:

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 i) Having taking at least 50 % of her / his university classes in the
language required for the position.

3. Volunteers and Official Representatives

3.1 Any member of the Communication Student Association can be an official

representative or volunteer on a candidate’s campaign provided that they
follow the electoral rules. Outgoing executive members of the Federated
Body may not be either volunteer or official representative.

4. Timetable

4.1 Nominations

The Nomination form must be returned by Friday, March 19th at 5:00pm.

Must have 20 signatures of students from the same Federated Body.

4.2 All Candidates Mandatory Meeting

4.2.1 A mandatory all candidates meeting will take place at Sunday,

March 21st at 6:00pm.

4.2.2 Any candidate who misses this meeting will have to provide the
CEO with a justification before Monday, March 22nd at 5:00pm.

4.3 Official List of Candidates

An Official List of Candidates will be posted on the Communication

Student Association’s website and sent by e-mail to all Communication
Student Association members by Saturday, March 20th at 8pm.

4.4 Platforms

4.4.1 Candidates’ electoral platforms must be submitted to the CEO by

Saturday, March 20th at 5:00pm.

4.4.2 The platforms will be posted on the Communication Student

Association web site and sent by e-mail to all members.

4.4.3 Unilingual platforms must contain less than 200 words and
bilingual platforms must contain less than 400 words.

4.5 Polling Days

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 A polling station will be located at Morisset 022 and will be opened from
Tuesday, March 30th until Wednesday, March 31st.

4.6 The Campaign

The electoral campaign will begin on Monday, March 22nd at 12:00am and
will end on Wednesday, March 31st at 7pm.

4.7 Taking down Posters

All candidates will have to take down their posters on the final day of
polling after the polling station has closed.

4.8 Debate

A public debate is required for all contested positions.

4.9 Official Representative’s Form

The Official Representative’s form must be returned to the CEO by

Friday, March 19th at 5:00pm.

4.10 List of Volunteers

The list of volunteers must be returned to the CEO by Friday, March 19th
at 5:00pm.

4.11 List of Electoral Expenses

The list of electoral expenses must be returned to the CEO by Monday,

March 29th at 6:00pm.

5. Electoral Expenses

5.1 Candidates are allowed to spend up to $75 for posters, banners or any
other campaign related expenditures.

5.2 Candidates must keep receipts of all electoral expenses to prove that they
did not exceed the $75 limit.

6. Resources

6.1 Candidates are not allowed to use Communication Student Association

resources for the purpose of their campaign.

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 6.2 Candidates cannot use any of the SFUO’s resources. This means that
resources from other Federated Bodies, clubs or services cannot be used
for the purpose of the campaign. University resources are not allowed as
well.

7. Communications with the CEO

7.1 The CEO can be contacted at any time by e-mail at: president@aeec-
csa.ca

7.2 The V.P. University Affairs of the SFUO may be contacted at

vp.university@sfuo.ca

8. Postings Rules

8.1 Posters that are placed on pillars in the University Centre must be
stamped by the reception staff at the SFUO office which is located
in room 07 of the University Centre.

8.2 Only one poster per pillar per candidate is allowed in the University
Centre.

8.3 Masking tape must be used for posting.

8.4 Obstructing another poster is not allowed.

8.5 To post on any University bulletin board, posters must be stamped by the
University’s marketing office located in room 281 of Tabaret Hall.

8.6 For all other postering, candidates must follow each building’s
regulations.

9. Content of Electoral Platforms, Posters and Presentations

9.1 Candidates must refrain from making or exhibiting defamatory comments

against an opponent, another student or a particular group of
students.

9.2 All content must be supplied in equal parts English and French.

10. Classroom Presentations

10.1 Candidates can make classroom presentations as long as they first ask
permission to the Professor teaching the class.

11. Voting

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 11.1 Students will vote by secret ballot.

11.2 Each Communication Student Association member may only vote once.

12. Ballot Counting, Results and Recounts

12.1 Ballots will be counted by the CEO at 7:00pm on Wednesday, March 31st
in the Communication Student Association office (Morisset 006). Each
candidate may be there in person or send an official representative.

12.2 In the event that less than 10 votes separate the winning candidate from
the runner-up, a recount will automatically take place.

12.3 Results will be sent via e-mail to all Communication Student Association
members as soon as they become official.

13. Conduct during Voting Days

Candidates are allowed to campaign during voting days as long as they are not in
sight or sound of the polling station.

14. Complaints

Any complaint about a candidate or the elections in general must immediately be

sent by e-mail or in writing to the CEO.

15. Penalties

Penalties ranging from a simple warning to a withdrawal from the election can be
issued by the CEO to a candidate if she / he or her / his team violates the electoral
rules.

16. Contesting the Elections Results

16.1 Any Communication Student Association member has until Friday, April
2nd at 5:00pm to contest the election results.

16.2 In order to contest the results, an e-mail or written request must be sent to
the CEO.

16.3 Decisions of the CEO may be appealed to the V.P. University Affairs of
the SFUO, who will be responsible for guaranteeing the legitimacy of the
election, and imposing necessary measures to such an effect.

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17. On-line Campaigning

17.1 Web sites are allowed and do count as an electoral expenditure.

17.2 The use of virtual communities such as Facebook is allowed as long as

candidates notify the CEO of each such activity and do not violate article
9.

17.3 Candidates can send e-mails as long as they do not violate articles 6 and 9.

CEO: Logan Ouellette

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