Overview

This document is a summary of the Student Representative Council (SRC) elections process and contains the policies and procedures for applying and running for a Student Body Officer position.

Student Representative Council (SRC) Stewardship Statement and Objectives:

Members of the Student Representative Council work together with the administration in over 20 administrative councils to ensure that the voice of the students is being heard, and that issues and concerns are resolved in a way that benefits the entire BYU-Idaho community.

SRC volunteers carry out this work with the following objectives:

• Seek to implement students' ideas and solutions
• Represent students by actively participating in university administrative councils
• Research global student concerns and propose viable solutions
• Educate students on current policies

Candidate Qualifications

Info Session: Thursday February 7, 2013 2pm in the Rigby Lower Lounge. (For more information and questions about running) 

President

Candidates for President must serve as a volunteer in the SRC (i.e. regularly attend Student Voice Volunteer Sessions). Service on the SRC can be completed the semester of elections but must start by the fourth week of that semester. Candidates for President must have also served as a director or higher in a different BYU-Idaho student-led organization. Service can be completed the semester of elections with Advisor approval. That service must meet the following conditions:

• Time is compensated through a scholarship or hourly wages
• An experience that requires at least 10 hours of time commitment per week
• Position has title of Director

If the Director experience does not meet the three conditions listed above, the advisor supervising the candidate will be contacted to verify that the experience is comparable to a student Director position on campus.  The Elections Council will then review the Candidate's experience and make a decision regarding a Candidate's eligibility to run for Student Body President.

Vice President

Candidates for Vice President must serve as a volunteer in the SRC (i.e. regularly attend Student Voice Volunteer Sessions). Service on the SRC can be completed the semester of elections but must start by the fourth week of that semester. Candidates must also have served in a BYU-Idaho student-led organization at the "program manager" level or higher. This service can be completed the semester of elections.

Both Candidates

1. Be a current, matriculated, degree-seeking student. Candidates are allowed to run for office during their off-track as long as they are still a current, matriculated student.
2. Must have a cumulative GPA average of 2.5 or higher at the time of running for office and with no more than 110 completed credits before taking office.
3. Completed 38 credits or more at BYU-Idaho by the end of the semester running for office and with no more than 110 completed credits before taking office. The credits that applicants are currently enrolled in will count towards the 110 credit hour limit.
4. Be enrolled and complete a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester during term of office.
5. Have no current restrictions on financial, academic or behavioral records.
6. Be in good standing with the Honor code and the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
7. Individuals previously elected to serve as the Student Body President or Vice President are ineligible to run for office again.
8. Must agree to and maintain the time requirements as outlined during their term of office. Candidates must be able to fulfill the two semester term. Candidates who are able to graduate after one semester cannot run for office.
9. Any candidate that is currently serving as an Area Director or Director the semester of elections must receive approval from the Advisor supervising their leadership experience before they will be allowed to run for Student Body President or Vice President.
10. Candidates must attend the mandatory election meetings as outlined.
11. Candidates must complete the Candidate Application Form prior to running for office.

Method

Candidates run as a team. A team consists of a President and a Vice President. Each member of the candidate pair must submit the Candidate Application Form online. The team voted into office will serve two consecutive semesters (Spring 2013/Fall 2013). 

Positions

Candidate Pair

A candidate pair is two students running together as a team for the positions of SRC President and Vice President who meet all eligibility requirements as outlined in this handbook. Both candidate positions

must be filled for a team to be involved in elections. Both candidates must be able to serve for the entire term (two consecutive semesters).

Candidate Changes/Drop-Outs

In the case that a candidate is found not to meet the requirements established in this handbook prior to election week, his or her qualified partner will be allowed to find a new running mate up to two weeks prior to the start of election week. A new Candidate Application Form must be submitted and approved before the new candidate pair will be allowed to participate in election week. If for any reason either candidate of a pair drops out or is deemed ineligible during election week, the pair will be disqualified with no option for continuation.

Campaign Team

Each candidate pair is allowed to form a campaign team that consists of the following:

1. The candidate pair
2. Campaign Committee which can consist of up to 32 campaign committee members

Campaign Team Approvals

All members of the campaign team must be submitted to the Elections Council for approval by Monday June 11 at 5:00pm. In addition, each member of the campaign team must attend a mandatory campaign committee training in order to participate in Elections Week.

Campaign Committee Member

A campaign committee member is any student that has been recruited to work on a campaign with a specific assignment. Campaign committee member recruitment is not to be used as a campaigning tool prior to active campaigning. Each campaign pair is allowed to select up to 32 committee members. The Candidate Pair can delegate specific assignments to committee members (ex: campaign manager). Delegation of specific duties does not increase the number of allowed committee members. Only a total of 32 committee members are allowed. All committee members must be selected and their names submitted to the Elections Council by June 11, 2012 at 5:00pm. All committee members must attend a mandatory campaign committee training.

Campaign Team Recruitment

Candidates may recruit other students to join the campaign committee after the official announcement of approved candidates on June 4, 2012. Candidates are not allowed to approach anyone to ask them to serve on their campaign committee until after the June 4th announcement of the approved candidates. After the candidates have been announced, campaign committee recruitment is allowed.

Because personally approaching students about campaigns prior to elections week is considered pre-campaigning and is prohibited, please note the specific ways in which recruitment should be handled:

Students contacted prior to elections week for the purpose of joining a campaign committee should be contacted one at a time and in private. They should be given a specific assignment with the campaign that can be fulfilled prior to, or during elections week. Support of a candidate pair in itself is not an assignment. Such actions will be viewed as pre-campaigning which can result in immediate dismissal.

Campaign Team Responsibilities

Campaign team members are expected to continue with their campus responsibilities prior to and during elections and will not be penalized for fulfilling the regular requirements of a current position or employment. However, arrangements must be made by all campaign team members to attend mandatory meetings.

Campaign Team Dismissal

The candidate pair is responsible for making sure every member of their campaign team understands all campaign policies and procedures and are willing to abide by them. If any policy is broken during the course of the elections process by the candidate pair or campaign committee member, the entire campaign team will be considered for disqualification.

Elections Council

The Elections Council directs the organization of the election process. The Elections Council consists of the Dean of Students, Student Support Director, the Student Support Coordinator and the current Student Body Officers. The Elections Council reserves the right to make any necessary clarifications to campaign policies and procedures at any point throughout the elections process.

Campaigning Policies

Social Media Week

Campaign teams are allowed to use social media to promote their Candidate Pair one week prior to elections week and throughout elections week. Social media week will begin on Monday June 17 at 7:00am and is permitted until Friday June 29 at 4:30pm.

Active Campaigning

Active campaigning is defined as any act in which a student is directly or indirectly approached through personal contact with the intent of informing them about a candidate or his or her initiatives. Active
campaigning also consists of distributing flyers, using media to inform others about the candidates, calling attention to oneself or the candidate pair, etc. Campaign team members are required to wear their name tag at all times while they are participating in active campaigning during elections week. Name tags cannot be worn in devotional or at work.

Active Campaign Dates and Times

Active campaigning is limited to election week only. Election week begins Monday, June 25, at 7:00am and ends on Friday, June 29, at 4:30pm. Any active campaigning performed by any member of a campaign team prior to June 25 at 7:00am will be considered pre-campaigning and can result in immediate dismissal of the entire campaign team.

Campaign Hours on Campus

Active campaigning on campus is permitted in approved designated areas during all campus operation hours. On Tuesday active campaigning is prohibited from 1:30pm to 3:30pm due to Devotional. Active campaigning will end at 4:30pm on Friday June 29 and results will be announced at 5:00pm. Any active campaigning on campus that is before or after designated hours can result in immediate dismissal of the entire campaign team.

Campaign Locations on Campus

No active campaigning inside of or within 10ft of any campus building except for the Manwaring Center. Active campaigning is allowed within the Manwaring Center at scheduled booth spaces, but traffic cannot

be blocked in any way. Booths will be reserved for each campaign team by the Elections Council. Details of booth times and locations will be given prior to election week.

Active campaigning is not allowed in the classroom. Passive campaigning is allowed in hallways as long as traffic is not blocked and students are not individually stopped.

Campaign Locations off Campus

Campaign teams are not allowed to participate in public displays of any kind regarding their campaign when off campus. All team members must wear their name tag when campaigning in approved locations off campus. Campaign team members should not campaign inside of businesses or church buildings. Campaigning is allowed at apartment complexes. However, laptop computers or tablets cannot be taken when participating in door-to-door campaigning.

Campaign Budget

A campaign budget of $35 will be provided to each campaign team by way of reimbursement for receipts which are turned in to the Student Support Office (Rigby Hall 272). Campaign teams are not allowed to use personal funds for any campaign materials or related items. Teams are also prohibited from accepting private donations. The campaign budget should be used to purchase all posters, flyers and campaign materials.

Neutrality

No campaign may be sponsored or endorsed by any on-campus or off-campus entity, group, team, body, association, club, council, etc. Preferential treatment on the side of an organizations' leadership is unethical and unacceptable. Campaign team members and supporters may not use their positions, employment, etc. to gain access to resources, discounts, benefits or other advantages for their campaign.

If campaign teams participate in or allow any activity that can be interpreted as preferential treatment, the campaign team may face immediate dismissal.

Remember, only BYU-Idaho students may participate in active elections campaigning. Because SRC is a student organization, faculty, administrators, non-student family members or other friends of candidates are prohibited from actively campaigning on behalf of a candidate or candidate pair.

Upholding Personal Honor

The Elections Council expects all campaign team members to remember who they are and who they represent. It is expected that all campaign team members will refrain from any behavior that is not in line with the "Spirit of Ricks." The elections process will be fair and any behavior that distracts from the Spirit that we strive to maintain on campus will not be tolerated.

All members of the campaign team will be expected to uphold all Honor Code standards throughout the entire campaign process. Campaign teams are prohibited from discrediting other campaign teams in any way. Any violations should be reported directly to the Elections Council.

Personal Conversations

Personal conversations which are held for the purpose of building support for a campaign violate the pre-campaigning rules. All potential candidates and campaign team members are expected to use personal judgment when participating in private conversations that include information about elections. Going door-to-door or speaking to groups regarding elections is not considered to be a private conversation and will also be considered a direct violation of pre-campaigning policies.

Pre-Campaigning

Prior to election week, prospective campaign teams should not participate in any meeting, gathering, door-to-door solicitation or event that could be interpreted as campaigning. Campaign teams are not allowed to use any form of advertising or social media prior to social media week to promote their candidate pair. Any violation of this policy by any member of the campaign team will be reviewed by the Elections Council and can result in immediate dismissal of the entire campaign team.

Publicity Policies

Publicity - Print Media - Designs

All poster and flyer designs must be submitted to the Elections Council via email to src@byui.edu by 2:00pm on Friday, June 15. Designs will be reviewed and approved by the Elections Council.

Publicity - Print Media - Posters

Posters can be displayed in approved campus locations beginning on Monday June 25. Any posters displayed without approval will be considered to be a direct violation of campaign policy and can result in immediate dismissal.

Publicity - Print Media - Flyers

Flyers will be approved by the Elections Council. Campaign teams may only distribute flyers directly to individuals. Flyers cannot be posted on campus, put on cars, left on tables, apartment doors, etc. The distribution of flyers and door to door campaigning at apartment complexes is allowed if given directly to the residents.

Publicity - Email and Texting

Candidates are not allowed to use email for campaigning. Campaign teams are allowed to send text messages and forward messages to those individuals who are in their personal contact list only. Team members should not try to gather lists of phone numbers for the purpose of sending mass texts.

Any violations of privacy by any campaign team member reported to the Elections Council will be reviewed and can result in immediate dismissal of the entire campaign team.

Publicity - Social Media

Campaign teams are allowed to use their individual profile Facebook pages to campaign as well as create a Facebook page for their campaign. Someone from the Elections Council must be an administrator of the Facebook page. During elections week the SRC Facebook page will display photos and information about each candidate pair. Each candidate pair will be equally represented in a positive manner. All comments posted on the page will be carefully monitored by a member of the Elections Council.

A Facebook event page will also be created by the SRC and posted to the SRC Facebook page during elections week. The event page will provide voting information and encourage all students to vote. Campaign teams are allowed to invite their friends on Facebook to the event. Campaign team members are also allowed to post the link to the SRC Facebook page on their personal Facebook profile pages.

Each campaign team is allowed one Twitter page created uniquely for the purposes of campaigning for the candidate pair. It will be carefully monitored by the Elections Council and only the candidate pair is allowed to use the page.

Campaign team members cannot participate in any other forms of social media for campaigning purposes (ex: personal Blogs). Any additional Facebook or social media activity by campaign team members will be considered a direct violation of campaign publicity policy and can result in immediate dismissal of the entire campaign team.

Personal slander against other campaign teams is prohibited and will not be tolerated. A Facebook post that attempts to track the number of votes a candidate pair is receiving is also prohibited.

Violations/Disqualifications/Appeals Policies

Violation of Campaign Policies and Disqualification

Any violations to campaign policy by any campaign team member should be reported directly to the Elections Council at src@byui.edu . Any infraction that is reported to the Elections Council will be investigated and counseled upon to determine the seriousness of the infraction and the intent of the candidate(s) or campaign team member(s) involved. Any decision for consequences or disqualification is ultimately up to the Elections Council.

Appeals Process

If a Candidate Pair has been disqualified due to violation of campaign policy by any campaign team member, they only have 24 hours to appeal the decision. Appeals must be made directly to the Elections Council. A Candidate Pair can only request an appeal if they have additional information that was not
disclosed to the Elections Council at the time a decision was made. Campaign teams are not allowed to campaign or participate in any elections week events while their appeal is pending.

To request an appeal the Candidate Pair must email src@byui.edu to set up a conference call or appointment time with the Elections Council. The Elections Council reserves the right to deny the request for an appeal by the Candidate Pair if additional information cannot be provided that may influence the original decision.

Dismissal/Resignation of Elected Officers

The Elections Council reserves the right to dismiss the elected Student Body President and/or Vice President if position duties and requirements are not being fulfilled. In the event that the Student Body President or Vice President is placed on Suspension by the University they will be immediately dismissed from their elected position. The elected officers also reserve the right to resign from their elected position at any time and for any reason. The Student Support Coordinator and Student Support Director should be notified in person or in writing of any plans of resignation.

If both the Student Body President and Vice President are dismissed or resign from their elected positions, the Elections Council will reconvene and oversee the process of appointing replacements to these positions. The Student Body President and Vice President positions would then be offered to the Candidate Pair with the second highest number of votes during the election. If that Candidate Pair is not able to accept these positions then the remaining Candidate Pairs would be considered in the order of votes received.

If only one member of the Student Body Presidency resigns or is dismissed, the remaining officer will be allowed to stay in office for the remainder of the term. The remaining officer and the Elections Council would then work together to select a replacement for this position. If the Student Body President resigns or is dismissed, the current Student Body Vice President will fulfill the role of President and will work with the Elections Council to select a replacement for the Vice President position.