UC Santa Cruz Student Affairs

Student opinion and viewpoint should be sought on matters affecting both the academic and non academic experiences of students, and especially those decisions which directly affect their welfare, through drawing upon official student representation, as well as additional means for seeking student input as appropriate.

II Campus Policy

Student Affairs will manage consolidated campus elections that consider a voluntary or compulsory fee(s); referenda concerned with establishing or discontinuing student governments; and campuswide student government officer elections and opinion polls.

For a normally scheduled consolidated campus election, Student Affairs will be responsible for:

informing the general campus community about election and voting procedures, and annual election calendar deadlines;
developing an overall election budget;
promoting the election and voting process to interested constituencies;
preparing and distributing impartial educational materials about the ballot measure(s);
working with sponsors of ballot initiatives to coordinate and facilitate informational campus forums;
drafting and/or reviewing the official ballot questions and the accompanying explanatory ballot language;
training precinct staff, ensuring adequate precinct staffing, and supervising voting precincts;
overseeing and validating the voting process and the official tabulation of ballots;

In an unconsolidated election, student government elections and candidates' campaigns will be governed by procedures established by the Student Union Assembly (SUA) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA) election codes for their respective constituencies. The SUA and GSA shall each be responsible for conducting elections to elect officers, to amend its constitution, or to seek constituency opinion on public issues (Section VI).

Student governments shall have the right to address and take positions on public issues as part of an election process, as consideration of such matters serves the university's educational purposes. However, positions on issues taken by student governments shall not be represented as or deemed to be official positions of the university.

III Procedure for Requesting a Special (Unconsolidated) Campus Election

Because there is the possibility of overall reduced voter turnout when multiple elections are held in one academic year, every effort will be made to schedule only one election per academic year and, when feasible, to consolidate all compulsory and voluntary fee referenda with student government officer elections and sponsored opinion polls. Annual elections will normally will take place between the fourth and sixth weeks of the spring quarter. (Note: Elections may not take place in any quarter until official third week enrollment figures have been established.) Therefore:

All requests for scheduling a special (unconsolidated) election must be approved by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs.
All costs for holding special (unconsolidated) elections will be funded entirely by the sponsor of the ballot question(s).
All other election responsibilities normally assumed by Student Affairs (Section II), including responsibility for implementing and overseeing the election process and tabulating the votes, will need to be negotiated and approved on a case-by-case basis, in advance, by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs.
Special elections will not be called solely for the purpose of administering an opinion poll.

IV Procedure for Officially Placing Questions on the Ballot in a Campus Election:

Because there may be costs involved in conducting campus elections, the sponsor of the proposed ballot question and the university organization (account number) assuming financial responsibility must be clarified at the time it is submitted for approval to be placed on the ballot. Sponsors must be a registered campus organization (including official student governments), a unit, a department, or division of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Ballot questions that are sponsored by university units and/or departments must also be approved by the appropriate vice chancellor or dean. Individuals may not sponsor ballot questions in a campus election.

Ballot question and ballot language proposals approved to be placed on the ballot by one of the following (IV.1-3) mechanisms must also be submitted by the sponsor to Student Affairs via an "Election Ballot Form" by the publicized deadline (Appendix B) in order to be considered for inclusion on the ballot. "Election Ballot Forms" are available from Student Affairs.

Questions for an undergraduate student ballot ONLY:
1. A petition signed (or a comparable mechanism for survey response) by at least ten percent (10%) of the undergraduate student body, with no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the signatures from a single college. Petition(s)will be turned in to Student Affairs for verification.
2. A resolution of the Student Union Assembly.
3. A resolution officially endorsed by at least two-thirds of the officially established student councils or governing associations of the colleges (i.e., for eight undergraduate colleges, two-thirds is six). The resolution will be submitted to Student Affairs for verification.
4. A proposal of the vice chancellor, Student Affairs or the chancellor.
Questions for a graduate student ballot ONLY:
1. A petition signed (or a comparable mechanism for survey response) by at least ten percent (10%) of the graduate student body. Petitions will be submitted to Student Affairs for verification.
2. A resolution of the Graduate Student Association.
3. A proposal of the dean of the Graduate Division or the chancellor.
Questions for an undergraduate AND graduate student ballot:
1. A ballot question to be asked of both graduates and undergraduates must proceed through one of the mechanisms listed in paragraph (1.) AND one of the mechanisms listed in paragraph (2.) above.
Questions which (1) establish, eliminate, or modify campus-based student fees or (2) establish or discontinue a student government:
After procedures specified in Section IV.1-3 for placing a question on the ballot have been satisfied, an additional approval process must take place if the question proposes establishing, eliminating, or modifying a campus-based student fee, or establishing or discontinuing a student government. In these cases, the ballot question and ballot language proposal must also be:
1. submitted by the associate vice chancellor, Student Affairs to the vice chancellor, Student Affairs for review; and,
2. submitted by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs to the Office of the General Counsel for legal review of the ballot language; and,
  1. if the ballot question involves a student facilities fee, it will be submitted by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs to the associate chancellor, Planning & Budget for review to ensure that the proposed facility has (a) been approved by all appropriate campus planning and space committees, and (b) that the new or modified facilities fee (as well as any other funding sources listed in the ballot language) is accurate and fiscally sound, and (c) that any proposed facilities planning and/or building committees are consistent with campus policy; and,
3. submitted by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs (with appropriate background information) to the chancellor for approval.

V. Procedure to Ensure Appropriate Student Consultation for Compulsory Campus-Based Fee Proposals

Policy:

To establish or modify a compulsory campus-based fee, the chancellor shall establish in campus regulations, prior to any referendum, procedures for student consultation, and in the case of student fee-funded facilities, procedures for continuing student consultation once the facility is constructed.

Procedure:

Prior to a compulsory fee question being placed on the ballot, those responsible for approving the ballot question (Section IV) will verify that students have been represented and involved in the planning process to develop the fee proposal. Generally, this will include verifying that there was appropriate student representation on a planning committee which was charged with developing need, cost, and viability assessments.
1. It is the responsibility of a planning committee to conduct appropriate needs and interest assessments during the planning phase. These assessments may be obtained by a statistically representative survey, a polling of the student body and student governments, or some other mechanism which ensures that representative consultation has taken place. If the fee and/or facility proposal affects a specific student group, college, or organization, appropriate and significant representatives of those affected populations shall also be consulted.
2. In the case of a student facilities fee proposal, it will be the responsibility of the planning committee to have brought the proposal before all of the appropriate campus space, design, and long-range planning committees for approval.
3. For the purposes of a campus election, it will be the responsibility of the planning committee to clarify who the official sponsor of the fee question will be, and to secure approval for the fee question to be placed on the ballot (Section IV).
In a consolidated election, Student Affairs will coordinate and/or facilitate an open, informational forum about any fee proposals on the ballot to provide opportunity for all campus constituencies to present arguments both in favor and against the proposal, and to ask questions about the proposal (Section II).
If a new student facility fee is being proposed, the SUA and/or the GSA will determine if it is appropriate to require (in order to secure their approval or endorsement) that the ballot language include a provision for the development of:
1. a facilities design committee, which has majority student membership, to transition through all phases of the building/construction project; and/or
2. a facilities governance board, which has majority student membership, to oversee the on-going operation of the facility after it is constructed.
Student representatives shall be appointed to the facilities design committee and the governance board by the SUA and/or the GSA to ensure appropriate student government and graduate student representation and by the ICSA to ensure appropriate undergraduate student representation.

VI Procedure for Student Government Office Elections and Constitutional Amendments

Student government elections and candidate campaigns will be governed by procedures developed by the Student Union Assembly (SUA) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA) for their respective constituencies (e.g., qualifications for candidacy, campaign spending limits, election promotion, educational materials, informational forums, ballot preparation, precinct policies and procedures, ballot tabulations, grievance resolution, election code violation sanctions, etc.). Student government election guidelines and procedures are expected to comply with University policies and campus regulations.
In a consolidated campus election, SUA and GSA election guidelines are overridden by campus election policy. In areas which are not addressed in campus election policy, SUA and GSA guidelines shall remain in effect.
In an unconsolidated campus election, the SUA and GSA each shall be responsible for conducting elections to elect officers and to amend constitutions.

VII Procedure for Funding the Costs of Conducting a Consolidated Campus Election

Student Affairs will be responsible for developing the election expense budget and collecting funds from the appropriate parties. A portion of the election budget may be used for carrying out Student Affairs' campuswide election implementation and oversight responsibilities defined in Section II.

If the sponsor of a ballot question authorizes the use of compulsory student fee income to publish materials advocating or opposing specific ballot questions, the same sponsor will, upon request, provide an equal amount of funding and publication opportunity to any registered campus organization(s) or university office(s) with an opposing argument or point of view. In most cases, these funding arrangements will be made by the associate vice chancellor, Student Affairs with the sponsor of the ballot question, in consultation with the vice chancellor, Student Affairs.

If more than one registered campus organization or office wishes to present an opposing argument or point of view, Student Affairs will encourage the group to collaborate their efforts and to consolidate expenses. In the event the organization(s)/office(s) choose not to work together collaboratively, Student Affairs shall divide the funds equally among or between them.

Sponsors of ballot questions which establish, eliminate, or modify campus-based student fees will be responsible for identifying and providing funds for a proportionate share of the consolidated election expense associated with including the question on the ballot.
Sponsors of opinion polls or surveys will be responsible for identifying and providing funds for a proportionate share of the election expense associated with including the opinion poll or survey on the ballot.
Sponsors of ballot questions to establish or discontinue student governments will be responsible for identifying and providing funds for a proportionate share of the election expense associated with including the question on the ballot.
The SUA and GSA each will be responsible for identifying and providing funds for a proportionate share of the election expense associated with including officer elections, constitutional amendments, or other student governance business on the ballot.

VIII Procedure for Changing or Amending this Policy

Changes and amendments to this policy must be approved by the chancellor.

The vice chancellor, Student Affairs will be responsible for submitting proposals for change or amendment to this Election Policy to the chancellor.

All proposed changes and amendments will be offered for review by the GSA, SUA, the dean of Graduate Studies and Student Affairs prior to submission for approval.

Recommendations from the GSA, SUA, the dean of Graduate Studies, and the vice chancellor, Student Affairs about the proposed changes will be submitted to the chancellor by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs for consideration prior to approval.

Appendix A

Voting Requirements

The official ballot language for each ballot question shall specify the minimum required "voting pool," the "majority requirements" for approval, the eligible voters, and the sponsor of the ballot question.

In a campus election, abstentions will not count toward the establishment of minimum voting pool requirements. The establishment of the minimum voting pool will be determined on an individual basis for each measure on the ballot (i.e. the sum of "yes" and "no" votes on each individual measure must equal or exceed the minimum voting pool required). Therefore, due to abstentions, it is possible that some measures on the ballot will not have sufficient voter participation to establish a minimum voting pool, while other measures on the ballot will.

Policy statements refer to Section 90.00 of the Rule Book (1997-1999): University of California, Santa Cruz - Policies and Regulations Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations, and Students.

I Requirement for Elections to Consider Establishing or Modifying Compulsory Campus-Based Student Fees

Policy:

To establish or modify a compulsory campus-based fee, the chancellor shall establish in campus regulations, prior to any referendum:

voting pool requirements, in which a substantial number of students, as specified by the chancellor in advance of the referendum participate; and,
requirements for at least a majority vote approval.

Compulsory campus-based fees may only be established or increased following a referendum in which students vote in favor of compulsory fees.

All referendum results are advisory to the chancellor and subject to final decision by the chancellor and, in the case of compulsory fees, approval by the President.

Compulsory campus-based fees include fees levied at individual campuses which must be paid by all registered students to which the fee applies to fund student-related services and programs, including, but not limited to, student governments, construction and renovation of student facilities such as student centers and recreations facilities, and student health insurance.

This policy does not apply to university wide fees, fees related to instruction, or other fees requiring presidential approval or campus-based miscellaneous fees requiring the chancellor's approval.

Requirement:

Compulsory campus-based fees may be established, eliminated, or modified in an election in which a majority (50% + 1) of a minimum voting pool of twenty-five percent (25%) of the student body officially registered at the time of the election votes to approve or to modify the fee. Official third week enrollment figures for each academic quarter will be calculated and announced publicly by the Office of Planning & Budget in advance of the election.

II Requirement for Elections to Consider Establishing or Modifying Voluntary Fees

Policy:

The vice chancellor, Student Affairs has been delegated the authority to establish procedures permitting the use of the registration process or other means to collect optional, voluntary fees from students in support of registered student organizations when:

the registered campus organization serves the interests of students enrolled at the university;
the voluntary fee is collected following a referendum in which a substantial number of students participate, as specified by the chancellor in advance of the referendum, and in which at least a majority of those voting vote in favor of the collection of the fee; and,
the voluntary fee is collected using procedures that ensure that each student is not assessed a fee unless he or she elects by means of a positive check off or signed pledge card to pay the fee to the designated registered campus organization.
such procedures shall provide that collection of such a fee does not constitute sponsorship or endorsement of the university of the registered campus organization.

All referendum results to establish or modify a voluntary fee are advisory to the chancellor and subject to final decision by the chancellor.

Requirement:

Voluntary Fees may be established or modified in an election in which a simple majority (50% +1) of a minimum voting pool of twenty percent (20%) of the student body officially registered at the time of the election vote to approve or to modify a voluntary fee. Official third week enrollment figures for each academic quarter will be calculated and announced publicly by the Office of Planning & Budget in advance of the election.

III Requirement for Elections to Establish or Discontinue Student Governments

Policy:

Chancellors have authority to authorize or discontinue student governments as official units of the University of California, responsible for representing student constituencies comprising either the student body as a whole or particular segments of it. Therefore, all referendum results are advisory to the chancellor and subject to final decision by the chancellor

Requirement:

A campus election may also be initiated to establish or discontinue student governments. In such an election, a two-thirds (66.6%) majority of a minimum voting pool of twenty percent (20%) of the student body officially registered at the time of the election must vote to establish or discontinue an authorized student government. Official third week enrollment figures for each academic quarter will be calculated and announced publicly by the Office of Planning & Budget in advance of the election.

IV Requirement for the Elections of Student Government Officers and Student Government Constitutional Amendments

Voting requirements for the election of student government officers and/or the amendment of student government constitutions will be governed by the election codes of the Student Union Assembly and/or the Graduate Student Association.

V Requirement for Opinion Polls

As opinion polls are non-binding, no minimum voting requirements are established.

Appendix B

Deadlines/Timelines

for Consolidated Campus Elections

Normally, one consolidated campus election will be scheduled between the fourth and sixth weeks of the spring quarter. (Note: Elections may not take place in any quarter until official third week enrollment figures have been established.) In order to ensure that all ballot questions and ballot language are appropriately reviewed, the following timeline will be enforced:

Ballot question proposals and accompanying explanatory ballot language must be officially approved for placement on the ballot (Section IV.1-3) by the first Monday in March.
An Election Ballot Form (available from Student Affairs) and draft typewritten text of all ballot questions and the accompanying explanatory ballot language (including student government officer elections and opinion polls) must be submitted to Student Affairs by 4:00 p.m. on the first Monday in March. The associate vice chancellor, Student Affairs reserves the right to edit ballot questions and ballot language in consultation with the sponsor and the vice chancellor, Student Affairs.
Draft texts of all ballot questions and accompanying explanatory ballot language which (1) establish, eliminate, or modify campus-based student fees, and/or (2) establish or discontinue student governments, will be submitted by the associate vice chancellor, Student Affairs to the vice chancellor, Student Affairs for review by the second Monday in March (Section IV.4).
In consultation with the sponsor(s), Student Affairs will review, edit and finalize the official ballot questions and accompanying explanatory ballot language for (1) student government officer elections, and (2) opinion polls by the first Monday in April for publication in official election materials.
Following the specified review and approval process (Section IV.4), edited and finalized text for official ballot questions and accompanying ballot language which (1) establish, eliminate, or modify campus-based student fees, and/or (2) establish or discontinue student governments, will be submitted to Student Affairs by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs by the first Monday in April for publication in official election materials.
Text of all "pro" and "con" ballot statements will be submitted to Student Affairs by the second Monday in April for publication in official election materials. Student Affairs reserves the right to edit these statements as deemed appropriate by the Student Affairs director.

Appendix C

Establishing Official Voting Procedures

Student Affairs, in consultation with the SUA and GSA election commissioners, shall be responsible for approving all voting procedures governing the conduct of a consolidated campus election. Documents outlining a variety of voting procedures are available from STUDENT AFFAIRS.

Official voting procedures for each election shall specify:

how votes will be cast;
how voters will be screened to ensure they are eligible to vote;
how polling places will be accessible to all eligible voters, including voters who are on Education Abroad Programs or Field Study, and those with disabilities;
how the neutrality of polling places will be ensured;
how the authenticity of ballots will be verified;
how ballot security will be maintained and verified;
how voter confidentiality will be ensured;
the designation of specific polling locations;
the dates/times the polls will be open;
the responsibilities of precinct and polling station staff; and
how ballots will be tallied.

STUDENT AFFAIRS will be responsible for publishing the approved voting procedures at least one week in advance of a consolidated campus election.

Following the completion of an election, the STUDENT AFFAIRS director shall be responsible for certifying the ballot tallies, and determining whether the requisite number of ballots were voted to approve an issue.

All campus-based fee referendum results are advisory to the chancellor and subject to final decision by the chancellor and, in the case of compulsory fees, approval by the Regents.

The Student Affairs director will report the results of any fee questions and/or questions regarding establishment or discontinuance of student governments directly to the vice chancellor, Student Affairs, who will authorize release of those results to campus and other media and interested parties.

The Student Affairs director will report the results of Student Union Assembly or Graduate Student Association officer elections and any sponsored opinion polls to the SUA and/or GSA election commissioner(s). The SUA and the GSA will authorize release of those results to campus and other media and interested parties.

Voted ballots, rosters, computer records, and tally sheets will be retained by Student Affairs for at least thirty (30) working days after the election results are announced in case the results or processes are challenged. The election results file shall be retained by the Office of the vice chancellor, Student Affairs in accordance with the University Records Disposition Manual.

Appendix D

Election Complaint/Grievance Process

The time limit for filing a complaint about violations of these election policies and procedures shall expire thirty (30) working days after the election results are officially announced by the vice chancellor, Student Affairs and/or the SUA and/or the GSA election commissioner(s). The ballot material shall inform voters of the process and time limit for filing a complaint.
Individuals who wish to challenge the election process or validity of the election results may file a complaint with the vice chancellor, Student Affairs. A written complaint must include a detailed explanation of the specific action or section of the election policy being grieved, or alleged to have been violated, and the remedy requested.
Upon receipt of an election complaint the vice chancellor, Student Affairs shall, within five (5) working days, appoint an impartial ad hoc election review committee, and provide the committee with a copy of the complaint for investigation. If the complaint is related specifically to SUA or GSA officer elections, their respective election codes govern action.
The ad hoc election review committee shall examine the circumstances of the alleged violation, attempt to resolve the matter informally and shall make a report to the vice chancellor, Student Affairs within fifteen (15) working days. The ad hoc committee will have at least one student member. The committee's authority shall be limited to reviewing matters raised in the written complaint, and to providing a written report of findings (including a recommendation of any remedy) based on that evidence, to the vice chancellor, Student Affairs. For especially complicated investigations, the committee may make a request for extension of time to the vice chancellor, Student Affairs.
The vice chancellor, Student Affairs shall make a decision on the recommendation within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the report from the ad hoc election review committee.
If the vice chancellor, Student Affairs determines that the facts substantiate a violation of election policies and procedures, the maximum remedy for election policy violation shall be withdrawal of certification of the election's results and, if deemed appropriate, issuing a mandate for a second election to be conducted at the precinct or campus level.
If the vice chancellor, Student Affairs determines that the facts indicate a possible violation of the student conduct policy (Section 100.00 of the Rule Book 1997-1999: University of California, Santa Cruz - Policies and Regulations Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations, and Students), that portion of the case will be turned over to the Campus Judicial Officer for adjudication.

APPENDIX E

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Abstention: the choice of an eligible voter, who has received and cast a ballot, not to cast a vote on a specific question on the ballot.

Ballot Language: the impartial, explanatory information accompanying the ballot question in a campus election. Ballot language, in addition to the ballot question, is considered official and binding. Ballot language is sometimes referred to as the "discussion statement".

Ballot Question: a proposition, initiative, resolution, referendum, or measure approved to be placed on the ballot in a campus election (Section IV) as a question to eligible voters. Terms are currently used interchangeably.

Consolidated election: an election in which campus-based fee questions and student government official elections are considered on the same ballot. Ballot questions which serve as opinion polls may also be part of a consolidated election.

Eligible voter: both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to vote on ballot questions which affect all students. Only undergraduate students are eligible to vote on matters affecting undergraduates exclusively (i.e., undergraduate student governance). Only graduate students shall vote on propositions which affect graduate students exclusively (i.e. graduate student governance).

Majority: the percentage margin or degree of difference required to approve a ballot question. The majority required to approve specific ballot questions varies (Appendix A).

Official student enrollment: is certified by the Office of Planning and Budget and is based on the number of students officially registered at the end of the third week of instruction of each quarter.

Opinion poll: a survey conducted as part of the ballot to elicit or express student sentiment or convictions on a particular subject. An opinion poll does not have a direct or binding impact.

Proponent(s): the advocate or group of advocates supporting a ballot question, proposition, resolution or initiative.

Special election: an election which is (1) unconsolidated and/or (2) scheduled to take place independently from the normally scheduled consolidated election in the spring quarter.

Sponsor: a registered campus organization (including official student governments), a unit, department, or a division of the University of California, Santa Cruz assuming responsibility for creating a question to be placed on the ballot in a campus election. Sponsors are also responsible for identifying and/or providing funds for a proportionate share of the consolidated election expense associated with including the question on the ballot.

Student: a person who is currently registered at UC Santa Cruz and has paid registration fees or enrolled in a fee deferment program (as determined by the Office of the Registrar) for the quarter in which the election occurs.

Voting pool: the minimum required voting pool is the specified percentage of the official student enrollment of the applicable voting pool (graduate, undergraduate, or both) for the quarter in which the election takes place required to cast ballots in order to validate the election. The minimum required voting pool to validate the election varies depending upon the nature of the ballot question (Appendix A).

2010 Elections

2009 Elections

Election Information

Campus Elections Policy

Policy and Procedures Governing Campus ElectionsUniversity of California, Santa Cruz

Table of Contents

Policy and Procedures Governing Campus Elections
University of California, Santa Cruz