ELECTORAL BY-LAWS OF THE BACHELOR OF ARTS AND SCIENCE INTEGRATIVE COUNCIL - ADOPTED BY BASIC ON _, 2014
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ELECTORAL BY-LAWS OF THE BACHELOR OF ARTS AND
SCIENCE INTEGRATIVE COUNCIL
Adopted by BASiC on _________, 2014
Article I – Definitions
1.1 “BASiC” shall refer to the Bachelor of Arts & Science Integrative Council of
McGill University.
1.2 “The Program” shall refer to the Bachelor of Arts & Science Program at McGill
University.
1.3 “Executive” shall refer to the executive committee of the BASiC.
1.4 “CEO” shall refer to the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections BASiC.
1.5 “DEO” shall refer to the Deputy Electoral Officer(s) of Elections BASiC
1.6 “Slate” shall refer to a pair or group of candidates who are voluntarily running in
support of one another.
1.7 “Officer of Elections BASiC” shall refer to any member of Elections BASiC as
mentioned in Article III, or any volunteer who helps run an election.
1.8 The determination of whether an individual is involved with a candidate’s
campaign (a member of their campaign committee) is to be made using the
standard of the reasonable person.
Article II – Oversight of BASiC Elections
2.1 All members of the BASiC shall be eligible to vote once in the BASiC elections
and referenda.
2.2 The elections shall be held between February first (1st) and March thirty-first
(31st). If necessary for the purposes of referenda or by-elections, another election
period may take place between October first (1st) and November fifteenth (15th).
2.3 The quorum for a BASiC election is eight percent (8%) of BASiC members.
2.4 Any changes to Article II must be made through a general referendum of the
BASiC.
Article III – Interpretation
3.1 Elections are to be conducted in accordance with the BASiC Constitution and
these By-Laws.
3.2 All rules and regulations regarding elections, including these By-Laws, are to be
administered equally and impartially to all candidates and referenda committees.
3.3 In the event of a discrepancy between these By-Laws and the BASiC
Constitution, the BASiC Constitution shall prevail.
3.4 No changes shall be made to any of the provisions contained within the Electoral
By- Laws once the nomination period has opened.
3.5 Elections BASiC is responsible for all interpretations of these By-Laws and the
part of the BASiC Constitution pertaining to elections. All official decisions shall
be decided by an official vote taken by Elections BASiC, after hearing the advice
of the President (or the President’s replacement as specified in 4.2.1). Should
Elections BASiC not be able to come to any decision throughout the campaign
(regarding interpretation, penalties, or any other necessary decision) the tie-
breaking vote shall reside with the CEO.
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3.5.1 Should there not be sufficient time for a full meeting of Elections BASiC,
the CEO may interpret these By-Laws as he or she sees fit; subject to the appeal
of the full body of Elections BASiC.
3.5.2 Any decisions made by Elections BASiC may only be appealed to the
Judicial Board of McGill.
3.6 Except where it is explicitly stated, the BASiC Executive shall not bear the
responsibility of interpreting these By-Laws, shall not influence any decisions
made by Elections BASiC, nor shall they affect the outcome of any election.
Article IV – Elections BASiC
4.1 Elections BASIC shall be composed of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the
President of the BASiC, and additional Deputy Electoral Officers (DEO) as the
CEO sees fit.
4.2 The President of the BASiC shall only be an advising member of Elections
BASiC.
4.2.1 In the event that the President is intending to participate in re-election or is
sitting on a candidates’ campaign committee, the Executive shall
determine by a two-thirds majority vote which sitting member of
Executive, not up for re-election, shall act as advisor on Elections BASiC.
4.3 Elections BASiC shall administer all candidate elections and referenda as
provided for in the BASiC Constitution and By-laws. If necessary, Elections
BASiC must also run any election(s) from time to time. All elections and
referenda administered by Elections BASiC shall be subject to the BASiC
Constitution and By-Laws.
4.4 All of the officers of Elections BASiC will be volunteers and will not receive a
stipend.
4.5 The CEO shall be appointed by the President, with the aid of the BASiC
Executive, no later than December thirty-first (31st). The CEO shall be
responsible for the general conduct and execution of elections and referenda. He
or she shall fulfill his or her duty with impartiality and cannot have personal
interest or stake in the elections.
4.6 If deemed necessary, the CEO may appoint DEOs via the BASiC listserv. The
DEOs must be ratified by the BASiC executives. The DEOs shall assist the CEO
to the extent designated by the CEO.
4.7 The CEO, on behalf of Elections BASiC, shall submit for the approval of the
Executive the following dates: the nomination period, the extended nomination
period, the campaign period, the polling period, and times.
4.8 Elections BASiC shall arrange and promote a mandatory meeting for all
candidates after the nomination period or extended nomination period, if
applicable and prior to the start of the campaign period.
4.9 No candidate, member of a candidate’s campaign committee, or member of the
press may work for Elections BASiC.
4.10 Neither the CEO nor the DEOs may be a member of the Arts Sci Assembly
throughout the duration of their tenure on Elections BASiC.
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4.11 If necessary, Elections BASiC may have a budget, set by the CEO, to be approved
by BASiC Executive.
4.12 With the exceptions stipulated in Articles 4.1 and 4.2, members of the Executive
may not be a member of Elections BASiC under any circumstances.
4.13 If there is no interest or appropriate candidates for CEO, the Executive may ask
the CEOs (or CROs) of other Faculty associations to assist with the BASiC
elections.
4.14 The CEO is responsible for contacting other associations in order to find a
credible online voting system to use for elections.
Article V – Nominations
5.1 It is up to the CEO to decide what the electoral timeline is. However, a
recommendation is listed below:
5.1.1 The period of nomination for BASiC executive officers shall be a
minimum of five (5) days, closing at 5:00PM on the last day.
5.1.2 The deadline for nominations for any elected position shall be extended by
a minimum of two (2) days if fewer than two (2) candidates are nominated
for that position.
5.1.3 The mandatory candidates meeting should take place right after the end of
the extended nomination period (or the nomination period, if it is not
extended).
5.1.4 The campaign period shall be a minimum of five (5) days.
5.1.5 The voting period shall be a minimum of two (2) days.
5.2 The procedure for nomination (i.e. forms to be filled, locations for submission of
forms) shall be established by Elections BASiC and shall be announced to the
members of the Program in at least one (1) listserv at least one (1) week prior to
the commencement of the nomination period.
5.2.1 It is the CEO’s responsibility to ensure that the President or Vice President
Communications of the Executive sends out these emails to members of
the Program.
5.3 Where no students declare themselves as candidates for an elected position, the
outgoing Executive, along with the incoming Executive, will decide how they
would like to fill the position.
5.4 Elections BASiC shall be empowered to review nomination and referendum
forms after they have been submitted to the BASiC office in accordance with the
by-laws contained herein.
5.5 The following requisite number of valid Program member signatures is necessary
for a successful nomination bid:
i) Thirty (30) signatures for nomination for President;
ii) Twenty (20) for all other elected positions.
5.6 A signature for nomination and petition purposes shall be valid only if it is
accompanied by a corresponding name, student identification number, faculty and
Program year for each student who nominates a candidate or signs a petition.
5.7 In addition, each nomination bid must be approved via signature by the outgoing
executive holding the position at the time.
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5.7.1 Before approving a candidate, the outgoing executive must meet with
him/her to discuss the responsibilities of the position.
5.7.2 All candidates for the position of President must meet with all the
outgoing executive members to discuss the responsibilities of the position.
5.7.3 An executive may refuse to approve a nomination bid if and only if he or
she has reason to believe the candidate does not have the technical skills
necessary to fulfill the duties of the position.
5.7.4 A candidate may appeal to Elections BASiC, who will arbitrate the
decision after examining the executive’s reasons for refusal. The decision
made by Elections BASiC will be final.
5.8 All candidates must be in satisfactory academic standing as defined by University
regulations.
5.9 Members of the Program may present themselves as candidates for one (1), and
only one, elected position within the BASiC. Candidates attempting to seek more
than one elected post in the same electoral period shall be subject to removal from
elections by Elections BASiC.
5.10 A member of the Program may nominate more than one (1) candidate for each
position.
Article VI – General Referenda
6.1 A referendum may be initiated by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the BASiC Executive
Committee or Arts Sci Assembly or by a petition signed by at least fifty (50)
members of the Program and filed with Elections BASiC a minimum of twenty-
one (21) days prior to polling.
6.2 In the case of a referendum initiated by the BASiC Executive or Arts Sci
Assembly, the wording of the referendum question must be ratified by Elections
BASiC, a minimum of twenty-one (21) days prior to the opening of the regular
polling period.
6.3 In the case of a petition based referendum, the signatures must be accompanied by
valid student identification numbers, degree and Program year. The petition must
also include the exact wording of the referendum.
6.4 Referenda initiated by Executive or Arts Sci Assembly or by petition shall be
announced at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the opening of the polls.
Article VII – Referenda to Change the Constitution
7.1 A referendum to change the constitution may be initiated by two-thirds (2/3) of
the BASiC Executive Committee.
7.2 A referendum to change the constitution may be initiated by two-thirds (2/3) of
the Arts Sci Assembly.
7.3 A member of the Program can initiate a referendum question to change the
constitution once both of these conditions are met:
i) Before obtaining signatures, the question must be approved by at least
fifty percent (50%) of the Arts Sci Assembly, where councilors cannot
abstain;
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ii) Must obtain fifty (50) signatures from members of the Program.
Article VIII – Campaigning
8.1 It is up to the CEO to decide how long campaigning will last. However, it should
be a minimum of five (5) days.
8.2 No campaign material may be slanderous, libel, and/or discriminatory toward
another candidate and his or her position. No campaign material may be
unequivocally degrading to any person, organization, or department of the
University or to any outside group in any way.
8.3 Only Elections BASiC shall retain the right to decide whether campaign material
conforms to section 8.2.
8.3.1 All campaign material that has been approved by the CEO must contain a
BASiC Approved Marking.
8.4 Each candidate shall be allowed to post a maximum of one hundred (100) posters
in the following buildings: Leacock, Arts, Stewart Biology, Burnside Hall,
Shatner Building (Student Union), McLennan/Redpath Library, Frank Dawson
Adams, McConnell Engineering, 688 Sherbrooke West, Birks, Ferrier, Peterson
Hall, Otto Maass, and any McGill residence hall (with the exception of MORE
buildings).
8.4.1 Candidates must follow each building’s poster regulations and get their
posters stamped or approved before putting them up.
8.4.2 No posters may be placed in any other building on campus.
8.4.3 No more than ten (10) posters may be placed in any building in one single
day.
8.4.4 No posters may be placed inside classrooms or bathrooms.
8.4.5 No posters may be placed on glass surfaces or doors.
8.4.6 Any campaign material with one of the slate’s members name, photo,
and/or slate name, shall count as one of the candidate’s posters. Slates are not
granted additional posters.
8.5 All posters must include the polling dates in a minimum of 11-point font on the
front side.
8.6 Candidates may make presentations before classes only during the campaign
period, and only with the permission of the instructor teaching the class.
8.6.1 The instructor may limit the time given to each candidate or decline a
candidate the right to speak before his/her class.
8.7 No banners (defined as papers of sizes that you cannot normally print on an
average printer) supporting a candidate, position, slate or referendum committee
are permitted.
8.8 Upon submitting a nomination form, all candidates with on-air positions or
members of the press at McGill University, must forego any and all broadcast
and/or publication duties until the conclusion of polling.
8.9 Any member of a candidate’s campaign committee or referendum committee who
has editorial, Programming, or reporting duties, which report on campus news,
shall forego his or her position throughout the campaigning and polling periods.
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8.10 No candidate, member of a campaign committee, or member of a referendum
committee may use the means of his/her position in a campus group to aid in a
campaign.
8.11 No BASiC funded publication may implicitly or explicitly express anything but
a neutral position towards any candidate or platform in an BASiC election or
referendum until the polls have closed.
8.12 No hand bills shall:
i) be of a size larger than five (5) and one-half (0.5) inches by eight (8) and
one-half (0.5) inches;
ii) have more than one (1) leaf, but two (2) sides are permissible;
iii) be posted.
8.13 Handbills must be handed out by candidates or members of a campaign
committee directly to another individual (i.e. not left scattered on tables and
classrooms).
8.14 All campaign material shall be presented to the CEO prior to distribution. The
CEO shall have the right to prohibit use if the content or distribution contravenes
these by-laws.
8.14.1 Even after the CEO has given permission for campaign material to be
distributed, Elections BASiC may deem it in contradiction to these By-Laws.
8.15 Any campaign material not explicitly referenced in these By-Laws must be
approved by Elections BASIC.
8.16 Candidates may not offer incentives for related to voting. That includes
distributing food or any other gifts in kind for the purposes of campaigning.
8.17 Campaigning shall end at 00:00 hours on the day that the regular polls open.
8.18 All candidates shall be responsible for removing all of their campaign material
before 00:00 on the day that the regular polls open.
8.19 No unsolicited e-mail may be sent. Email is considered unsolicited if the person
receiving the email does not normally receive e-mail from the sender.
8.19.1 Listservs are allowed to endorse candidates if the organization chooses to
do so, following their own regulations, preceded by the By-Laws.
Departmental Associations may be allowed to endorse candidates through
their listserv.
8.19.2 Elections BASiC shall use the standard of a reasonable person when
determining whether an e-mail is solicited or unsolicited.
8.19.3 BASiC may not send out an endorsement e-mail to its official listserv.
8.20 Candidates may establish websites, but there are policies associated with the use
of social networking sites:
8.20.1 Facebook (or other social networking sites) groups or events are permitted
as long as they are created during the campaign period and dissolved by
the end of the campaign period.
i) Facebook groups or events may only support one candidate
(there must be two separate groups for slate campaigns).
Candidates, however, are allowed to endorse one another and
provide links to the other candidates’ pages.
ii) Groups can only be created by the candidate, and not their
campaign team.
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iii) Anyone can invite people to join the campaign group.
Candidates may use the “Message All Members” feature. All
groups must include in their description the voting dates and list
the website.
8.20.2 Candidates and their supporters may place campaign material in their
profile picture. Candidates and their supporters may use their “status” for
the purposes of campaigning. Any profile pictures and statuses which
pertain to the campaign must be erased by the end of the campaign period
by everyone who supported the candidates by changing their display
pictures or posting on their statuses.
8.20.3 No other campaigning may take place on a candidate’s profile page.
Candidates may not use any other Facebook application to campaign.
When in doubt, candidates should have Elections BASiC approve all
online campaign materials.
8.20.4 Candidates could advertise online as long as their budget is under the one
outlined in Article 9.1.
8.21 Current BASiC executives may not publically endorse or defame candidates.
However, past BASiC executives are permitted to make endorsements.
8.22 At its discretion, Elections BASiC may choose to create a candidates page on the
BASiC website, which will be posted and updated during the campaign period.
This page may stay up during the voting period, provided that it is closed to all
new posts and comments at the end of campaigning.
Article IX – Campaign Funding
9.1 Each candidate shall be permitted to spend a maximum of fifty dollars ($50.00)
on materials pertaining directly or exclusively to the campaign.
9.2 A slate shall not be entitled to spend more than the sum of individual members of
the slate on campaign materials.
9.3 Candidates’ campaigning costs are not subsidized by the BASiC.
9.4 Candidates and referendum committees must submit a copy of all of their
expenditures at least 12 hours before polling closes.
9.4.1 Candidates or referendum committees that violate the spending guidelines
as specified in provisions 9.1 through 9.2 shall have their nominations
disqualified by Elections BASiC.
9.5 Each eligible candidate and referendum committee shall be entitled to request an
inquiry into the campaign spending of another candidate within seven (7) days of
the end of the elections period.
9.5.1 Upon investigation, if a candidate was found guilty of violating Articles
9.1 and 9.2, it is up to the CEO and outgoing executives’ discretion to
decide appropriate action.
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Article X – Voting
10.1 The polling period shall last for at least two (2) days.
10.2 All ballots must be cast by the closing of the polls on the final day of voting.
10.3 Members of the Program may only vote once.
10.4 A valid student identification number and/or a valid McGill email address is
required for voting. Only students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts & Science
degree Program at McGill University will be allowed to vote for BASiC elections.
No appeals on this matter shall be considered.
10.5 Associations under the purview of BASiC may choose to run their independent
elections under the purview of BASiC’s CEO, using the same polling method as
Elections BASiC.
10.6 Ballots shall be cast through an online voting system. This system shall utilize the
highest security encryption that is reasonably available to Elections BASiC.
10.6.1 There shall be no voting by paper ballots.
10.7 The web link for the online voting system must be communicated to students via
listservs. The listserv e-mail must be written by the CEO.
10.8 Should the online voting system become faulty or unreliable mid-way through the
polling period, Elections BASiC may indicate a new, fair, method of voting,
which may include holding a separate emergency polling period or extending the
polling period.
10.8.1 Should a new emergency polling period be called, Elections BASiC may
also call for a new campaign period, if they deem it necessary.
10.9 If any problems with the online voting system are detected that may have affected
the outcome of the election, Elections BASiC must call for a new election as soon
as logistically possible.
10.9.1 Any member of the Program with knowledge of a problem with the
online voting system must file a report to Elections BASiC within
10 working days of the conclusion of the election.
10.10 If a candidate or a member of a candidate’s campaign committee is determined to
be involved in any form of tampering with the online voting system, that
candidate is immediately disqualified and barred from holding office.
10.11 Elections BASIC may add any rules or regulations to run the online voting
system, so long as they do not contradict these By-Laws or the Constitution.
Article XI – Tie Votes
11.1 If two or more leading candidates have received an equal number of votes, a
random sample of votes shall determine which of the tied candidates wins the
election.
11.2 If a referendum has an equal number of ‘yes’ votes as ‘no’ votes, the referendum
question fails.
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Article XII – Announcement of Results
12.1 Upon immediate completion of the ballot counting, the CEO shall publicly
announce the official results of the elections and the referenda.
12.2 An email with the election results – including a breakdown of the vote – must be
communicated to the candidates within five (5) hours of polling completion. A
similar email must be sent to the members of the Program within twenty four (24)
hours of the polling completion.
Article XIII – Penalization and Disqualification of Candidates, Invalidation and
Disqualification of Election and Referenda Results, Re-Election, and Appeal
Procedures
13.1 Candidates and members of referendum committees who violate these By-Laws
or the Constitution will be subject to the following penalties:
i) Upon a first infraction, candidates will be notified of their offenses;
ii) Upon a second infraction, candidates and members of referendum
committees will be notified and further warned not to violate the BASiC
Electoral By-laws, in addition to a fine of twenty dollars ($20).
Additionally, Elections BASiC may publicly censure the candidate or
referendum committee member;
iii) Upon a third infraction, candidates should be disqualified by Elections
BASiC. If disqualification is deemed too severe a penalty, then Elections
BASiC must publicly censure the candidate. Additionally, if
disqualification is deemed too severe, Elections BASiC may choose to fine
the offending candidate or referendum committee up to seventy-five
dollars ($75).
13.2 Candidates may be disqualified upon a first or second infraction of the BASiC
Electoral By-laws or BASiC Constitution should the violation be so serious as to
have significantly and irreparably advantaged the candidate or referendum
committee such that a fair result at the ballot would be unattainable.
13.3 Elections BASiC will invalidate an election or referendum if, in its opinion, a
violation of the Constitution and By-laws has adversely affected the outcome of
that election or referendum. In making this decision, Elections BASiC will
consider the conduct of the parties and the seriousness of the violations.
13.4 In the event of an invalidated election, a new election will be held with only the
names of those candidates appearing on the initial ballot, excluding any
disqualified candidates, for only the race(s), which were invalidated. This repeat
election shall be held within ten (10) working days of the final decision of
invalidation, before the end of the exam period.
13.5 All decisions made by Elections BASiC may be appealed to the Judicial Board of
McGill University, as provided in the Constitution of the Bachelor of Arts &
Science Integrative Council, no later than five (5) working days after the election
results have been announced.
13.5.1 The appeal period may not be extended by the BASiC or the Judicial
Board.
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