ASUN Code of Elections

8/14/2019 ASUN Code of Elections

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ASSOCIATED STUDENTS

CODEOF

ELECTIONSOF THE

ASSOCIATED STUDENTS

Revised to May 1, 2009.

Compiled by Vis Lupi Est Grex

together with

Notes of the Reviser

vislupiestgrex.blogspot.com

VIS LUPI EST GREX

RENO : 2010


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NOTE TO THE READER

This compilation represents the best efforts of Vis Lupi Est Grex to

create an up-to-date compilation of the Code of Elections. This

compilation is based on official records on file with the Archives of the

Associated Students. Where the Reviser believes a manifest error is

present, a note is inserted to indicate the error. No change is made to

the literal text of the underlying statutes which are the sources for

the compiled text.


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CODE OF ELECTIONS

Enacted by the Election Regulation Act of 2007 (S. B. 7527; ASUNPublic Law 7525; 75 ASUN STAT. 64), approved December 19,2007. Amended by S. B. 7531 (ASUN Public Law 7528; 75 ASUNSTAT. 91), approved February 4, 2008. Amended by ASUN PublicLaw 7555 (75 ASUN STAT. 160), approved April 6, 2008.

Amended by The Election Revisions Bill of 2008 (ASUN Public Law7617), date of enactment unknown, effective May 1, 2009.

1.Purpose and intent(a)PURPOSE.The purpose of this Code is to provide for the

conduct of all Association elections.(b)EQUAL PROTECTION.This Code is intended to ensure that

each candidate is afforded an opportunity for election equal to that ofany other candidate for that office, and proponents and opponents ofinitiatives, referenda, and other petitions are afforded an equalopportunity for their respective victory.

2.Election Commission(a)ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP; TERM OF OFFICE;VACANCIES;

QUALIFICATIONS;COMPENSATION.(1)There is established a commission to be known as the

Commission on Association Elections (commonly the ElectionCommission). The Commission is composed of a Chair, an Assis-tant Chair, Poll Coordinator, Ballot Coordinator, and PublicityCoordinator to be appointed by the President with the consent of

the Senate, and such other members as may be appointed pur-suant to this Code.

(2)TERMS OF MEMBERS.(A)Members of the Commission shall serve for renewa-

ble terms which shall expire on July 1 succeeding the elec-tion during which they served.

(B)A member of the Commission may serve on theCommission after the expiration of his or her term until asuccessor has taken office as a member of the Commission.

(C)An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurringother than by expiration of a term of office shall be appointedonly for the unexpired term of the member he or she suc-ceeds.

(D)Any vacancy occurring in the membership of theCommission shall be filled in the same manner as in the caseof the original appointment.


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Code of Elections2

(3)QUALIFICATIONS.Members shall be chosen on the basisof their experience, integrity, impartiality, and good judgmentand members shall be individuals who, at the time appointed to

the Commission, are not elected or appointed officers or em-ployees in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the As-sociation.

(4)COMPENSATION.(A)Members of the Commission shall be compensated

for their service. The Senate will annually determine theChairs stipend. Half of this stipend will be paid one monthafter the Chair takes office. The second payment will be dis-bursed two weeks after a final certification of the election re-

sults.(B)The other members shall receive a compensation as

determined by the Senate, which shall be withheld until twoweeks following a final certification of the election results.

(C)If at any time, it can be shown before the JudicialCouncil that a member of the Commission has been grosslyderelict in his or her duties, the Judicial Council shall havethe power to enter an appropriate remedy by ordering com-pensation withheld.

(b)ADMINISTRATION AND FORMULATION OF POLICY; EXCLUSIVEJURISDICTION OF ENFORCEMENT;AUTHORITIES OF THE SENATE.(1)The Commission shall generally administer, seek to

obtain compliance with, and formulate policy with respect to theprovisions of this Code.

(2)Nothing in this Code shall be construed to limit, restrict,or diminish any investigatory, informational, oversight, supervi-sory, or disciplinary authority or function of the Senate or anycommittee of the Senate with respect to elections for Association

office.(c)VOTING REQUIREMENTS; DELEGATION OF AUTHORITIES.All

decisions of the Commission with respect to the exercise of its dutiesand powers under the provisions of this Code shall be made by amajority vote of the members of the Commission. A member of theCommission may not delegate to any person his or her vote or anydecision-making authority or duty vested in the Commission by theprovisions of this Code unless specifically provided for otherwise inthis Code.

(d)No member of the Commission may publicly support or opposeany candidate or petition in an ASUN election while serving on theCommission. Failure to abide by this provision shall be held to begrounds for impeachment and removal from office.

(e)MEETINGS.The Commission shall meet as often as isnecessary for the proper exercise of its duties.


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Code of Elections3

3.Duties of the members of the Commission(a)DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION CHAIR.The duties of the Chair

are as follows:

(1)To take the complete administrative charge for all detailsof ASUN elections and the Commission.

(2)To appoint, with the consent of the Senate, additionalmembers of the Commission as may be necessary for the efficientadministration of the election, which may not exceed four appoin-tees under this paragraph.

(3)To advise the Senate on the financial and practicalimpact of any legislation which may affect the Commission or theadministration of an election.

(4)To be in charge of issuing warnings for violations of theCode of Elections.

(5)To make a regular report to the Senate at a minimum ofevery two weeks.

(6)To coordinate the cleanup of campaign materials follow-ing the election.

(7)To assist the other members of the Commission whennecessary.

(8)To carry out such other functions and duties as requiredunder the Constitution and laws.

(9)To act as the primary liaison between all candidates andthe Commission.

(10)To Conduct1(b)DUTIES OF THEASSISTANT CHAIR.The duties of the Assistant

Chair are as follows:

, or delegate the conduction of, the Candi-dates meeting.

(1)To assist the Chair, to be responsible to the Chair, and toaid the Chair in his or her duties.

(2)To assume the duties of the Chair in the event of theresignation, removal, or temporary or permanent disability of theChair to perform his or her duties, until such time as a successoris appointed.

(3)[Repealed.](4)[Repealed.](5)To design and provide all filing forms.(6)To maintain a file of all Commission records, papers,

forms, reports, or statements filed by each candidate, group, and

to serve as secretary to the Commission.(7)To ensure that appropriate bins for the purpose of

recycling unwanted flyers are accessible during and prior to theElections.

________

1 So in original. Probably should not be capitalized.


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Code of Elections4

(8)To act as the Chief Administrator of the CampaignFinance Limits in accordance with this Code.

(9)To verify the validity of all filing form information,including candidate names, as outlined in this Code and to in-form affected candidates, so far as possible, of any problems orinconsistencies.

(10)To assist the other members of the Commission whennecessary.

(11)To carry out such other functions and duties as requiredunder the ASUN Constitution and laws.(c)DUTIES OF THE POLL COORDINATOR.The duties of the Poll

Coordinator are as follows:

(1)To assist the Chair and to be responsible to him or her.(2)To provide sufficient workers and material for each poll.(3)To conduct or delegate the conduction of a Poll workers

Meeting for the purpose of training the poll workers.(4)To arrange for transportation of ballots and ballot boxes

to and from the polls.(5)To arrange for the setting up and removal of polls and to

arrange for a sufficient number of polling booths at polling loca-tions.

(6)To arrange for a system to ensure that students are ableto vote no more than once in each election.(7)To arrange for all other details related to polls.(8)To organize any orientation materials, writing and copy

for poll worker advertisements, scheduling poll workers, makinga phone list of all poll workers, making a poll worker applicationpacket.

(9)To advertise, interview, and schedule poll workers andalternates and be responsible for last minute substitutions at the

polls.(10)To ensure that proper conduct is maintained in the

vicinity of polling sites.(11)To assist the other members of the Commission when

necessary.(12)To carry out such other functions and duties as required

under the ASUN Constitution and laws.(d)DUTIES OF THE BALLOT COORDINATOR.The duties of the

Ballot Coordinator are as follows:

(1)To assist the Chair and to be responsible to him or her.(2)To design the ballot and arrange for its printing and anyother details which involve the ballot.

(3)To be the official contact for all matters relating toelectronic means of voting.

(4)To ensure a correct count and watch over the ballotswhenever they are being officially handled.


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Code of Elections5

(5)To arrange for the tallying of the ballots.(6)To assist the other members of the Commission when

necessary.

(7)To carry out such other functions and duties as requiredunder the ASUN Constitution and laws.(8)To ensure equal access to voting for people with disabili-

ties, where reasonable efforts will be made to provide accommo-dations to people with disabilities, including, but not limited to,wheelchair accessible polling locations, large-print ballots, andBraille ballots.

(8)1

(e)DUTIES OF THE PUBLICITY COORDINATOR.The duties of thePublicity Coordinator are as follows:To prepare and arrange for the printing, availability, and

receipt of absentee ballots.

(1)To assist the Chair and to be responsible to him or her.(2)To provide extensive publicity of the candidate filing

period and election, in such a manner to ensure that all elementsof the campus community will receive equal notice.

(3)To place at least a 2 column-inch advertisement, orequivalent, in The Nevada Sagebrush every day that it is pub-lished throughout the candidate filing period and during the elec-

tion, and any additional times he or she deems necessary.(4)To send flyers out to all of the residence halls, fraterni-

ties, sororities, academic departments, student activity groups,and anywhere else that he or she deems necessary by the firstday of the filing period and the first day of voting.

(5)To place posters on campus anywhere he or she deemsnecessary throughout the filing period and prior to the election.

(6)To publicize the Filing Period.(7)To provide other such extensive publicity as he or she

deems necessary.(8)To provide extensive publicity prior to the election of all

polling places, and times that each will be open.(9)To clearly mark all polling places so that they will be

easily identifiable.(10)To publish a full statement of any proposed recalls or

petitions at least once prior to the election period in The NevadaSagebrush.

(11)To provide for the publication of the Voters Guide.(12)To assist the other members of the Commission whennecessary.(13)To carry out such other functions and duties as required

under the ASUN Constitution and laws.

________

1 So in original. Probably should be (9).


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4.Elections duties of the Attorney General; recusal whenconflict exists

(a)The Attorney General shall have the following duties withrespect to elections:

(1)To investigate alleged violations of this Code and prose-cute offenders before the Judicial Council.

(2)To prosecute any case, at his or her discretion, filed by athird party, even in cases where the plaintiff seeks to dismiss thecharge.

(3)To act as the representative of the Commission before theASUN Judicial Council.

(4)To ensure that all regulations concerning petitions arefollowed fully.

(5)To deliver all petitions for Initiative and referendum tothe Elections Commission before the Candidates Meeting.

(6)To carry out such other functions and duties as requiredunder the constitution and laws.(b)The Attorney General shall not prosecute any case to which

he or she is a party or in which he or she has an interest in theoutcome. When such a conflict occurs, the Chair of the Commissionshall act as a special prosecutor to act as and perform the elections

duties of the Attorney General insofar as the Attorney Generalsconflict is concerned.

5.Appointment of poll workers; compensation of staff ofAssociation

(a)The Poll Coordinator shall appoint such number of pollworkers as is necessary to adequately staff the polls. The Poll Coordi-nator may deputize staff of the Association, except those who havebeen appointed to the direct service of the President or the Senate.

(b)Regular staff of the Association shall be compensated at theirregular rate during time served as a poll worker. 6.Mechanics of the elections

(a)ELECTION DATES.ASUN Elections shall be held in accor-dance with the constitution.

(b)Polling Locations. the building where polling is taking place.(1)PLACES OF ELECTIONS.Any election of the ASUN shall

have a polling site located within the Student Union, which shallbe open for voting at a minimum between the hours of 8 a.m. and6 p.m., and at any other on-campus location that the Commissionmay determine to be in the interests of the student body: Pro-vided, That such additional locations are open

(A)on each day of polling;(B)to all members of the campus community; and(C)for no fewer than four hours each day.


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(2)The Commission shall place the polls so as to avoidcongestion and provide easy access to the voter.

(3)The locations of the polls shall be well-publicized beforeand during the election.(c)CLOSING OF POLLS.No person in line to vote at the time the

poll closes shall be prevented from voting at that place and time.(d)CONDUCT AT POLLS.The Commission shall determine areas

where campaigning is not allowed prior to the Candidates Meeting.This area shall not have campaign signs, posters, or other literatureand candidates shall not be allowed to campaign in it. Conduct of thepolls is further limited as follows:

(1)There shall be no loitering at the polls.(2)The Commission shall provide sufficient ballot boxes ateach poll to avoid crushing of ballots.(3)No candidate or agent of a candidate shall actively or

passively campaign to any voter from within 25 feet of the pollinglocation.(e)STAFFING OF THE POLLS.Each Poll shall have at least two

poll workers.

7.Voters Guide(a)

P

URPOSE.The Voters Guide shall provide an opportunity tocandidates and proponents and opponents of petitions to express their

opinions on the Elections, and for information to be disbursed to theelectorate about the ASUN, the voting procedures, and the candidatesand petitions.

(b)SPECIFICATIONS.The Voters Guide shall include candidatestatements, the full text of all petitions and constitutional amend-ments, an explanation of voting procedures, and a description of theduties of the Senate and Executive Officers.

(c)D

ISTRIBUTION.The distribution of the Voters Guide shallinclude, but is not limited to, polling locations, living areas (such as

Residence Halls, Fraternities and Sororities), The Nevada Sagebrushand the Disability Resource Center.

8.Candidates(a)ELIGIBILITY.

(1)Each candidate must meet the requirements of eligibilityfor the office for which they are running as stated in the ASUNConstitution.

(2)The Commission shall confer with the Director of ASUNto verify the student status of each candidate.

(3)All candidates declared ineligible to run shall be notifiedby the Elections Commission or their delegate.(b)CANDIDATE NAME.

(1)In any election the name of a candidate printed on aballot may be the given name and surname of the candidate, a


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Code of Elections8

contraction, or familiar form of his given name followed by hissurname. A nickname may be incorporated into the name of acandidate. The nickname must be in quotation marks and appear

immediately before the surname of the candidate. A nicknamemust not be vulgar or threatening and must not indicate any po-litical, economic, social or religious view or affiliation and mustnot be the name of any person, living or dead, whose reputationis known on a campus-wide, statewide, nationwide or worldwidebasis, or in any other manner deceive a voter regarding the per-son or principles for which he is voting.

(2)In any election if two or more candidates have the samesurname or surnames so similar as to be likely to cause confu-

sion, the middle initials, if any, of the candidates must be in-cluded in the names of the candidates as printed on the ballot.

(3)The Assistant Chair shall verify the validity and legalityof all candidate names, as submitted on the filling form by thecandidates, and shall inform all affected candidates of any prob-lems or inconsistencies. This shall be done, as far as possible,prior to the Candidates Meeting, in order to permit corrections.(c)FILING.

(1)The Filing Period for candidates shall open at 8 a.m. onthe seventh Monday before voting begins. The filing period shallclose at 5 p.m. on the Friday during the following week after theFiling Period opens.

(2)Candidates for all positions must indicate their desire torun by completing an official Candidate Filing Form during theFiling Period. The Candidate Registration Form shall be pro-vided by the Elections Commission and made available to thepublic.

(3)Candidate Filing Forms may be filed online on the ASUNofficial website.

(4)Candidates for Senate who are members of multiplecolleges or schools shall file under only the college or school inwhich they first enrolled and are currently enrolled, as reportedby the Office of Admissions and Records.(d)CANDIDATE FILING FORM.Each candidate shall file a Candi-

date Filing Form with the Commission during the Filing Period. TheCandidate Filing Form shall include

(1)the Candidates name as it appears on their University ofNevada, Reno Student Identification, and their name as it is toappear on the ballot;

(2)the office the Candidate is seeking;(3)contact information of the candidate;(4)a student identification number (R-Number);(5)a list of agents of the campaign, persons who are directly

affiliated with the campaign; and


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(A)At any time during the campaign of a copy of theoriginal filing form with additional agents may be submittedto the commission.1 If submitted after the first day that

agents acts2 on behalf of the campaign that date shall be in-dicated for such agents. All agents for a campaign must bereported by and no additions can be made after two weeksbefore the general elections.3

(6)a statement signed by the candidate that he or she isresponsible for all information contained in this Code and the in-formation that will be presented at the Candidates Meeting.(e)DEADLINE FOR WITHDRAWAL.

(1)A candidate may withdrawal his or her name from theelection by filing a written notice with the Election Commissionstating their withdrawal.

(2)The deadline for withdrawing from the Primary shall bethe end of the Mandatory Candidates Meeting.

(3)The deadline for withdrawing from the General Electionshall be five business days prior to the General Election.(f)(1) The Candidates for all positions shall be required to submit

a fifty dollar ($50.00) deposit.(2)The deposit shall be used to coerce compliance by the

candidates with Section 2 Sub-section 144(3)Some or all of the deposit may be withheld pursuant to

Section 15 of the Election Code.

of the Election Code.

(4)The remainder of the deposit will be returned to thecandidates following the certification of the election results if nocases are pending pursuant to Section155

(g)GPA Requirement Verification. (1) A waiver must be signedby the candidate and turned into the commission1 prior to or duringthe mandatory candidates meeting that gives permission only for the

director1 of ASUN to verify the candidates GPA to determine wheth-er that candidate is eligible for elections.

of the Election Code.

9.Qualifications of voters(a)Students shall show their Student ID card at the polling

location prior to voting to prove that the person is a qualified voter.(b)Students shall vote in the college or school in which the

student first enrolled into and is currently enrolled, as reported bythe Office of Admissions and Records.

(c)The student must be a member of the college or school by theclose of the late registration period for the semester in which the

________

1 So in original. Probably should be capitalized.2 So in original. Probably should be act.3 So in original. Probably should be election.4 So in original. Probably should be Section 14.5 So in original. Probably should be a space between Section and 15.


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election is held in order to qualify as a voter in that particular collegeor school.

(d)Students who are members of multiple colleges or schoolsshall vote for the senate1

10.Petitions for initiative and referendumpositions of only one college of their prefe-

rence.

(a)DEFINITIONS.(1)PETITION.A petition is any Initiative or Referendum

which will be placed before the student body in an ASUN elec-tion, in pursuance of constitutional definitions of initiative andreferendum.

(A)Initiative is defined as any item of enactment may beput to a vote of the students by petition. No measure repeal-ing a prior action shall be done by initiative.

(B)A referendum shall be used to repeal any item ofenactment of the Senate.(2)PRIMARY PROPONENT(S) OF A PETITION.A Primary

Proponent of a petition is any student that submits a petition.The Primary Proponent(s) of any petition is responsible for theconduct of the campaign in support of the petition.

(3)P

ROPONENT OF A PETITION.A Proponent of a petition isany person, including the Primary Proponent(s) of a petition, who

acts in support of a petition by delegation, either explicitly or im-plicitly, of one or more of the Primary Proponents of that petition.This shall include any person who circulates or attempts to circu-late a petition. This shall not be construed as to include individu-als who act in support of a petition independently and withoutthe knowledge of the Primary Proponent(s).

(4)PRIMARY OPPONENT(S) OF A PETITION.After the verifica-tion of a petition for an initiative petition or referendum, the At-torney General shall inform the following individuals, in the fol-lowing order, that they may claim the role of Primary Opponent:

(A)The President.(B)All other ASUN Elected or Appointed Officers.(C)Any signatory of an ASUN sponsored Club or

Organization.(D)Any member of the Association.

(5)The Primary Opponent may then submit to the Commis-sion a statement for the Voters Guide, and submit to the Attor-ney General a statement acknowledging that he or she is respon-sible for the conduct of the campaign in opposition to the petition.

(6)OPPONENT OF A PETITION.An Opponent of a petition isany person, including the Primary Opponent(s) who acts in oppo-sition to a petition by delegation, either explicitly or implicitly, of

________

1 So in original. Probably should be capitalized.


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one or more of the Primary Opponents of that petition. This shallnot be construed as to include individuals who act in oppositionto a petition independently and without the knowledge of the

Primary Opponent(s).(b)DATE OF VOTING.The vote on an initiative or referendum

shall take place at the next regular election following receipt of thepetition, provided that the date of receipt is before the end of thecandidate filing period for that election; otherwise, the vote shall takeplace at the next regular election thereafter.

(c)PETITION STATEMENT REQUIREMENTS.The statement of eachpetition must be at most two sentences in length. The first sentencemay state the issue to be voted on in an unbiased manner. The last

sentence shall be a neutrally worded question to which an answer ofyes or no is appropriate.

(d)NOTIFICATION TO THE COMMISSION.It shall be the responsi-bility of the Attorney General to provide all of the petitions for eachelection to the Commission before the Candidates Meeting.

(e)REQUIREDVOTES FOR PETITIONS.(1)Unless otherwise stated in the Constitution or laws, (or in

the case of student fee questions, applicable to University Poli-cies), a favorable vote of a majority of the votes cast for and

against the petition shall be necessary for adoption of the peti-tion.(f)POSITIONS CHANGED BYCONSTITUTIONALAMENDMENT.

(1)In the case where a constitutional amendment will deletean elected position and create a different one with substantiallythe same duties, a person elected to the old position shall be con-sidered elected to the new position if the constitutional amend-ment passes.

(2)The Commission shall indicate that such a case exists bytitling the position, on the ballot and in its other literature, witha juxtaposition of the old and new titles (e.g. Officer TitleX/Officer Title Y).(g)SUBMISSION OF PETITION TOATTORNEYGENERAL.

(1)Prior to circulating any petition, the Proponent(s) shallsubmit to the Attorney General the proposed question.

(2)The Proponent(s) shall submit a statement to the Attor-ney General that he or she is the Primary Proponent of the peti-tion, and is responsible for the conduct of the campaign in sup-

port of the petition.(3)The Attorney General shall certify that the question is an

impartial and accurate description of the proposal, and shall as-sign the petition an Official Name of Number. If the petitioncreates a law, the Attorney General shall prepare an OfficialSummary of the petition. The Attorney General shall confer with


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the office of Legal Counsel or his or her designee for approval oflanguage on questions of student fees.

(4)The Attorney General shall create the petition and returnto the Primary Proponent three copies of the petition.

(5)Attorney General shall be available to assist any studentinterested in writing a petition.(h)CONTENT OF PETITIONS.

(1)The petition shall contain the full title and statement ofthe petition as it is to appear on the ballot on each page on whichsignatures are to appear.

(2)The petition shall contain the Official Summary of thepetition on each page on which signatures are to appear in Ro-

man type not smaller than 12-point.(3)The petition must have room for the signature of each

petition signer, his other printed name, and University of Neva-da, Reno, Student Identification Number. Signature spaces mustbe consecutively numbered commencing with the number 1 foreach page.

(4)Attached to each page of the petition on which signaturesare to appear shall be any other material not in the text of thepetition which is directly relevant to the petition.

(i)CIRCULATION OF PETITION.(1)The petition may be circulated by many different peoplecarrying separate, identical Sections.

(2)Petitions may be circulated only by registered Universityof Nevada, Reno, undergraduate students.

(3)Each petition circulator who obtains signatures mustcomplete a declaration attached to the petition stating

(A)that he or she is a registered University of Nevada,Reno, undergraduate student;

(B)that the circulator witnessed the appended signa-tures being written;(C)that to the best of his or her information and belief,

each signature is the genuine signature of the person whosename it purports to be; and

(D)the printed name, address, and telephone number ofthe circulator soliciting the signatures.(4)If any information given under this statement is false, the

entire Section of the petition shall not be used.

(j)PETITION SIGNATURES.(1)Each signer must personally place on the petition his orher signature, printed name, and University of Nevada, Reno,Student Identification Number.

(2)None of the above may be preprinted on the petition. Anysignature line which is not legible or complete shall not becounted.


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(3)Each signer may sign a petition only once.(k)PRESENTATION OF COMPLETED PETITION.

(1)A petition shall be considered presented when it has beenphysically presented to the Attorney General.

(2)To prevent unauthorized petitions from circulating andunauthorized persons from filing petitions, only the PrimaryProponent(s) of a petition, and persons authorized in writing byone or more of the Primary Proponent(s) may submit Petitions tothe Attorney General. Any other petitions submitted will be dis-regarded by the Attorney General.

(3)Once submitted, petitions may not be amended except byorder of the Judicial Council.

(l)VERIFICATION OF THE PETITION.(1)The Attorney General and the Ballot Coordinator shallverify that there are a sufficient number of valid signatures oneach petition, by checking the student status of each person whosigned the petition. Any signatures or pages of signatures not incompliance with this section shall not be counted towards theminimum number of signatures necessary for qualification.

(2)If the verifying official discovers that the petition submit-ted lacks sufficient valid signatures, the Attorney General shall

immediately notify the Primary Proponent(s) and no further ac-tion is taken on the petition.

(3)The Attorney General must preserve the petition for thesame time period as the Commission preserves the ballots for theelection for which the petition qualified or attempted to qualifyfor placement on the ballot.

(4)If a petition has not been verified in time for the Candi-dates Meeting, the petition shall be treated as valid until the ve-rification is complete.

(m)PLACEMENT OF PETITION ON BALLOT.Once a petition hasqualified for the ballot, the Attorney General shall transmit thepetition to the Ballot Coordinator for inclusion on the ballot.

(n)ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS FOR CONSTITUTIONALAMENDMENTS.A petition for a constitutional amendment shall be filed with theAttorney General in the same manner as a petition for initiative orreferendum, who shall submit it to the Senate of the AssociatedStudents once it has been qualified. No constitutional amendmentshall be placed on the ballot without action of the Senate.

11.Recall elections(a)Before a petition to recall a public officer is circulated, the

persons proposing to circulate the petition must file a notice of intentwith the Attorney General.

(b)After the notice of intent has been filed the petitioner maybegin collecting the constitutionally required number of signatures toinitiate a recall election.


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(c)If the number of signatures is achieved the special electionshall be held in accordance with the Constitution by the Commission.

(d)The Recall Election shall be held in compliance with this Codeas deemed appropriate by the Commission. 12.The informational session

(a)The Commission may hold an optional, non-committal,Informational Session in the one week preceding the closing of theFiling Period. The time, location, and agenda of this meeting shall beposted on the Association website.

(b)FUNCTION OF THE INFORMATIONAL SESSION.The function ofthe Informational Session is to

(1)acquaint all students with the basic structure, functions,and authority of the ASUN;

(2)acquaint students with the culture of the ASUN electionsprocess; and

(3)answer any and all of the questions students may haveabout the ASUN and how to become involved within it.

13.The candidates meeting(a)The Commission Chair shall hold a mandatory Candidates

Meeting on the first Tuesday of classes following the end of the Filing

Period. All candidates are responsible for all information that isdisseminated at the meeting. The time, location, and agenda of thismeeting shall be placed on the ASUN website the week prior to itsoccurrence.

(b)FUNCTION OF THE CANDIDATESMEETING.The function of thecandidates meeting is as follows:

(1)To acquaint all candidates with the basic structure,functions, and authority of the ASUN and of the Election Code.

(2)To discuss problems which have arisen in past elections.(3)To discuss ASUN Judicial Council decisions and policies

regarding elections, specifically the list of punishable infractionsand their respective punishments, as set forth in section 15.

(4)To discuss the administrative details of the election;(5)To explain requirements for each candidate statement for

the Voters Guide.

14.Campaign rules(a)The purpose of this subsection is to hold candidates and

petitioners responsible for malicious assault on the most fundamentalfoundation of democracy, and to define and provide equitable remedyfor the same. Any person, candidate, proponent, or opponent of apetition found before the ASUN Judicial Council to have committed amalicious assault on the most fundamental foundation of democracythrough the following act shall be subject to punishment by theguidelines as set forth in section 15:

(1)Interfering with the proper tallying of votes.


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(b)The purpose of this subsection is to hold candidates andpetitioners responsible for serious ethical breaches which threatenthe validity of the ASUNs commitment to fairness, democracy, and

the legal institutions empowered to protect that democracy, as well asto define and provide equitable remedy for the same. For this reason,any person, candidate, proponent or opponent of a petition foundbefore the ASUN Judicial Council to have committed the seriousethical breaches stated in this section through the following acts shallbe subject to punishment by the guidelines as set forth in section 15:

(1)Willfully violating a lawful order from the ASUN JudicialCouncil or the Commission.

(2)Intentionally falsifying information on any Commissionforms, or in the Voters Guide.

(3)Refusing to appear before the ASUN Judicial Council, ifsubpoenaed by the Council; the candidate shall be exempt fromappearing before the Council if he or she can show a valid excuse.It shall be the Judicial Councils obligation to ascertain the valid-ity of any claim as to the above.

(4)Soliciting unpaid political advertising in an ASUN-Sponsored Publication.

(5)Using ASUN authority, facilities, funds, or resources forcampaign purposes, including for long term or bulk storage ofcampaign materials.

(6)Knowingly and actively campaigning within 25 feet of thepolling location.

(7)Badgering or threatening witnesses subpoenaed for aJudicial Council hearing or Judicial Council members them-selves.

(8)Obstructing an investigation by the Commission or theAttorney General.

(9)Exceeding the campaign finance spending limits asdefined in section 15.(10)Violation of an election rule promulgated by the Resi-

dence Hall Association or Department of Residential Life, Hous-ing and Food Services.(c)The purpose of this subsection is to hold candidates and

petitioners responsible for interfering with the mission of the ASUN,and for threatening the safety of the campus, and to define andprovide equitable remedy for the same. For this reason, any person,

candidate, proponent or opponent of a petition found before theASUN Judicial Council to have interfered with the mission of theASUN or threatened the safety of the campus through the followingacts shall subject to punishment by the guidelines as set forth insection 15:


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(1)Willfully destroying ,1

(2)Willfully destroying ,1 defacing, covering, moving orremoving from their places, posters, signs, banners, leaflets orflyers which advertise functions, meetings, events, or existence of

ASUN sponsored student groups and publications.

defacing, covering, moving orremoving from their places, posters, signs, banners, leaflets orflyers of ASUN groups or business operations which bring reve-

nue to the ASUN.

(3)Willfully destroying ,1 defacing, covering, moving orremoving from their places, posters, signs, banners, leaflets orflyers of other candidates for office in the ASUN election.

(4)Persistently blocking any entrance or tight space, orotherwise significantly restricting the flow of vehicular or pede-strian traffic on campus.(d)The purpose of this subsection is to hold candidates and

petitioners responsible for violations of important legal protocolswhich transcend the internal processes of the ASUN, and to defineand provide equitable remedy for the same. For this reason, anyperson, candidate, proponent or opponent of a petition found beforethe ASUN Judicial Council to have committed violations of importantlegal protocols through the following acts shall be subject to punish-

ment by the guidelines as set forth in section 15:(1)Filing malicious, frivolous, or bad faith charges against

any candidate. If another candidate engages a third party to filesuch charges, both parties shall be held responsible.

(2)Using e-mail lists or posting boards to campaign, withspam, which is defined as e-mail that does not meet any of thefollowing conditions:

(A)The author has a pre-existing relationship with therecipient(s).

(B)The author has permission from the leadership of theorganization.(C)The author is a member of the organization.

(3)Claiming an endorsement of an individual, group, orparty without consent. Candidates should, but are not required,to obtain endorsements in writing.(e)The purpose of this subsection is to hold candidates, and

petitioners responsible for violations of ASUN Elections Protocol andof University Guidelines, and to provide equitable remedy for the

same. For this reason, any person, candidate, proponent or opponentof a petition found before the ASUN Judicial Council to have commit-ted violations of ASUN Elections Protocol and of University Guide-lines through the following acts shall be subject to punishment by theguidelines as set forth in section 15:

________

1 So in original. Probably should not be a space before the comma.


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(1)Posting campaign literature of any candidate on re-stricted bulletin boards or any structured or natural feature ofthe campus such as, but not limited to, doors, windows, buildings,

surfaces of walkways or roads, fountains, posts, waste recep-tacles, fences, or trees. This rule does not limit posting on campuspublic access bulletin boards and kiosks, or in areas in which theproper permission has been obtained.

(2)Failing to file two copies of all campaign material withthe Commission, or in the event that an actual copy cannot besubmitted, one picture of each campaign material, within 48hours of dissemination. The intent of the requirement to turn incopies of campaign material is to make sure that in the event of a

Judicial Council case, there will be a record of all relevant litera-ture.

(3)Attaching or leaning sandwich boards, picket signs, orother displays against campus vertical features including but notlimited to buildings, doors, fountains, posts and fences, waste re-ceptacles, and trees.

(4)Willfully placing campaign material in any Universitybuilding, including classrooms, libraries, bathrooms, and onchalkboards, but excluding the posting of campaign material on

public access bulletin boards and kiosks within University build-ings.

(5)Failing to attend and participate in the Mandatory Clean-up day that shall be established by the Commission on the Sat-urday following the election, unless campaign materials arecleaned up prior to the Clean-up day.

(6)Claiming endorsements without bearing the disclaimer,Titles for Identification Purposes Only in the same size font asthe majority of the text of the endorsements is written.

(7)Failing to turn in Campaign Finance receipts, as requiredby section 20.(8)Interfering with, or campaigning within 10 feet of any

official Commission sandwich boards or banners.(9)Unintentionally falsifying information on any Commis-

sion forms or in the Voters Guide.(10)Failure to meet the deadline for withdrawal.

(f)TEMPORARYRULES.Temporary rules may be implemented bythe Commission Chair where an urgent situation necessitates

temporary additions, amendments, or a suspension of a portion of thisCode, provided all candidates are affected equally. A Temporary Ruleshall not take effect until approved by a majority vote of the ASUNJudicial Council with at least three members present. These rulesmust be posted in a designated area of the Joe Crowley StudentUnion so that all candidates have access to them.

(g)CONDUCT OF CAMPAIGN.


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(1)A candidate shall be considered guilty of a violation of theCampaign Rules by an agent of that candidate acting within thescope of his or her delegated authority.

(2)A candidate may deny the action of any individual whoviolated the Campaign Rules in favor of some candidate or groupby denying said violator is his or her agent within 24 hours afterthe violation has been discovered and reported by the Commis-sion to the candidate. This shall be done either in written form orverbally to the Commission.

(3)It is the intent of this subsection to hold a candidateresponsible for violations committed by his or her agents if thoseagents are involved in that general area of the campaign.

(4)If any Proponent of a petition is found to have violatedthis Code, the petition shall be assessed the corresponding sanc-tion, up to and including the disqualification of the petition.(h)PUBLIC POSTING OF CHARGES AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR COR-

RECTINGVIOLATIONS.(1)Charge sheets, Judicial Council decisions, and out-of-

council settlements related to violations of this Code shall beposted in a designated public location in the Joe Crowley StudentUnion. Candidates, and all others cited shall be notified by the

Attorney General, and are responsible for correcting all viola-tions, if possible to correct, immediately upon notification.

15.Punishment for violations of campaign rules(a)The Judicial Council shall be vested with the authority to

hear and decide allegations of violations of section 14, pursuant to itsrules and regulations as set forth in ASUN Rules.

(b)Punishment for violation of section 14(a)(1) shall be in theform of withholding fifty dollars of the Candidates deposit. All

candidates are warned of the consequences of these actions at theCandidates Meeting, pursuant to section 13(b)(3).(c)A finding of violation of the conduct prohibited by section 14(b)

through (e) shall be punishable by withholding a portion of theCandidates deposit no less than five dollars or an alternative mini-mum to be determined by the Commission prior to the Candidatesmeeting.

(d)In addition to the authority granted the Judicial Councilherein, it shall have equitable power to assure that the punishment

levied fits the violation found to occur so as to assure a fair and justresult.(1)Sanctions for any acts or violations by a candidate,

whether before, during, or after the Judicial Council hearing,which are not specifically addressed in the ASUN Rules shall notbe imposed by the ASUN Judicial Council at any time.(e)DEFINITIONS.


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(1)Badgering is defined as interfering with a witnesstestimony, attempting to prevent a witness from providing hon-est testimony, or interfering with the processes that the Judicial

Council abides by to arbitrate a case in a fair manner.(2)Threatening is defined as Expressing an intention to

inflict pain, injury, or punishment to another party if the partytestifies a certain way.

(3)Intentional is defined as Committed deliberately.(4)Willfully is defined as Having prior knowledge of the

consequences of the violation and intentionally committing it insuch a way as to undermine the fairness of an election.

(5)Malicious is defined as Deliberately harmful or spiteful.(6)Frivolous is defined as Inappropriately silly or trivial.(7)Bad faith is defined as Intentional dishonesty or decep-

tion.(f)A candidate will be disqualified if the entirety of the Candi-

dates deposit is withheld.(g)A finding of violation of the conduct prohibited by section

14(e)(5) shall be punished by withholding a portion of the Candidates1deposit no less than 20 dollars or an alternative minimum to bedetermined by the commission2

(h)punishmentprior to the Candidates Meeting.

3

16.ASUN Judicial Councilfor a violation of the conduct prohibited by

section 14(e)(10) shall be in the form of disqualification as well as thepunishments pursuant to Section 15(c).

(a)JURISDICTION.The ASUN Judicial Council shall have solejurisdiction in all cases arising under this Code.

(b)SANCTIONS.The ASUN Judicial Council shall be empoweredto impose the sanctions specified for violation of the Campaign Rules

in this Code.(c)CONTEMPT OF COUNCIL.The imposition of sanctions forcontempt of council for violations of campaign Rules shall be imposedby the Judicial Council after a hearing at which the offending partyappears and is heard.

(d)SETTLING OUT OF COUNCIL.For a violation of section 14 asanction can be imposed by mutual written agreement of the AttorneyGeneral, the Commission Chair, and the individual being chargedrather than having a Judicial Council hearing. The agreement must

contain a waiver preventing any of the signatories or parties theyrepresent from bringing the case before Judicial Council in the future.Any such agreement must be accompanied by a written explanation

________

1 So in original. Probably should be Candidates.2 So in original. Probably should be capitalized.3 So in original. Probably should be capitalized.


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of the circumstances surrounding the violation and must be approvedby the Judicial Council.

(e)STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.(1)Sanctions may be assessed against an individual forviolating this Code at any time, whether the individual has filed

for candidacy yet or not. Any sanctions imposed shall be accumu-lated only until the regularly scheduled ASUN election of thatyear.

(2)The Senate may amend these rules at any time duringthe year. It is the responsibility of the campaigner to obtain thecurrent rules and procedures for campaigning.

(3)No amendment to section 14 (Campaign Rules) approvedafter the Candidates Meeting shall take effect until after theRegular ASUN Election for that semester.

(4)All ASUN Officers shall be obliged ex-officio to answersubpoenas issued by Judicial Council or shall be barred fromrunning in future elections. This stipulation shall apply to anycase arising under their term in office. The officer subpoenaedshall be exempt from appearing before the Council if he or shecan show a valid medical excuse, out-of-town commitment, deathin family, employment obligations or exam or paper due 24 hours

following the case. It shall be the Judicial Councils obligation toascertain the validity of any claim as to the above.

17.The ballot(a)EXECUTIVE OFFICES.The order of the names on the ballot

shall be alphabetically listed by the last name of the candidate forexecutive office.

(b)SENATE OFFICES.The order of the names on the ballot shallbe arranged in alphabetical order by last name, first name, middle

initial.(c)FORM OF BALLOT.The elections shall be held in a form thatdoes not conflict with this Code.

(d)PAPER BALLOT.Persons wishing to cast their vote by papershall not be denied that ability.

(e)NONE OF THEABOVE.An option of none of the above shallbe placed at the bottom of the ballot for each Senate college. In theevent of this option receiving more votes than a candidate, thecandidate with the next highest amount of votes shall be elected.

(f)P

ETITIONS.Ballots for petitions shall be presented separate-ly, as not to include multiple petitions on one page or screen.

(1)Ballots shall begin with the petition title and petitionquestion, as approved by the Attorney General

(2)Ballots for petitions shall include options, vertically, foryes, no and abstain.

(3)Voters shall not be able to proceed without marking oneof the options on the ballot.


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(4)No option will be selected by default when the ballot ispresented to the voter(g)ABSENTEE BALLOT.The Commission shall develop and

promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to allow voters whoare absent during the election to cast a ballot, so as not to disenfran-chise the voter. The regulations required under this subsection mustbe promulgated no later than the date of the Candidates Meeting.

18.Tallying of votes(a)BALLOT TABULATION.

(1)Preliminary ballot tabulation shall commence within onehour following the closing of the final day of voting. This section

does not prohibit the filing of new charges by the Attorney Gen-eral for Campaign Violations occurring after the commencementof ballot tabulation.

(2)If any candidates should be disqualified following thepreliminary tabulation, second and final ballot tabulation willcommence following all decisions and settlements of lawsuits re-garding elections by the Judicial Council.

(3)Ballot tabulation shall be supervised by the CommissionChair and the Attorney General or their representatives.

(4)After the preliminary tabulation, the results of theelections shall be released by the Commission Chair and the At-

torney General of the ASUN as soon as possible. The results shallbe posted on the ground floor of the Joe Crowley Student Unionas well as in other relevant places so that all persons shall haveaccess to these results. They shall be clearly marked as prelimi-nary and uncertified results.

(5)The election results for all elected officials positions, ascertified by the Commission, shall become effective by their being

read into the Minutes of a Senate meeting.(6)The election results for all elected official positions maybe certified separately from all petitions.(b)HANDLING OF INCOMPLETE AND INVALIDVOTES.

(1)A vote shall be declared invalid, and excluded from thecounting in a particular race, only if there is not one distinguish-able preference, determined according to this section, including ifthe ballot is blank, either in whole or for the particular race. Theinvalidity of a vote in one race shall not affect its validity in

another race.(2)Valid, but incomplete, ballots shall be dropped fromfurther consideration in the counting procedure at the pointwhere all or part of the votes value must be allocated to its nextpreference, and there is not further distinguishable preferencelevel.(c)TABULATION OFVOTES.


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its mismanagement of the election, or the mechanism of thecount, prior to the expiration of the Statute of Limitations statedin section 16(e).

(2)The Judicial Council shall review the case and submit itsfinding to the Senate.(3)If the ASUN Judicial Council rules that there was

mismanagement, or that there was an unpunished violation, theASUN Judicial Council may void the election on the grounds thatthe mismanagement or the unpunished violation substantiallyaffected the outcome of the election.

(4)The ASUN Judicial Council may not void an election onany other grounds or by any other procedure, as stated in subsec-

tion 3 above.(5)Only the ASUN Judicial Council may void an election.(6)If the Judicial Council voids a general election, the

Judicial Council shall order a new special election to be held on aWednesday and Thursday of instruction no later than one weekfrom the Councils decision to settle the outcome of the affectedportion of the elections.

[(7)]1

20.Campaign finance rules and regulations(a)INTENT AND DEFINITIONS.

(1)The Rules contained in this section are intended toimplement the campaign finance regulations.

(2)Campaign material is defined as material initiated by acandidate, with the intent to contact voters publicly, that explicit-ly speaks, pleads, or argues in favor of the election or defeat of acandidate.

(3)Further, materials that are controlled by a candidatescampaign that mention a candidates name, a candidates ballotnumber, or the office a candidate is seeking, shall be defined asexplicitly speaking, pleading, or arguing in favor of the election ofa candidate. Therefore, it will be included in the definition ofcampaign material.

(4)Electronic mail and telephone calls will be assessed a costof zero.

(5)News or editorial articles in a publication not run by acandidate, not controlled by candidate, not receiving a significant

portion of their funding from a candidate, or not operating undera specific agreement between the publication and a candidate,shall not be included in the definition of campaign material.

________

1 Section 11(b) of ASUN Public Law 7617 makes reference to what would be this

paragraph. However, the language of the statute states the nonexistent section is being

amended. Therefore, the amendments made by section 11(b) of the statute cannot be

executed.


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(6)Any material produced by a group or organization not runby a candidate, not controlled by a candidate, not receiving a sig-nificant portion its funding from a candidate, or not operating

under a specific agreement between the publications and a can-didate, shall not be included in the definition of campaign ma-terial.

(7)Material in which a voter initiates contact, such as a Website, instant message away message, or telephone request for in-formation, shall not be included in the definition of campaign ma-terial. Any funds used for the purposes of designing content on aWeb site that falls under section 20(a)(2) of this Code shall be in-cluded in the definition of campaign material.

(8)Any negative campaigning shall count toward the budgetof the candidate that produced the material.(b)ENFORCEMENT.

(1)Enforcement of the campaign finance regulations shall bethe responsibility of the Commission. The Assistant Chair is thechief administrator of campaign finance restrictions. The publichas the right to obtain any candidates spending information, butthe information is not required to be widely disseminated by theCommission.

(2)It shall be the responsibility of the candidate to providetwo copies of all campaign material to the Commission and a re-ceipt for the purchase of said material within 48 hours. If unableto provide a receipt, they may indicate so and instead provide anestimate of fair market value. Receipts must be provided begin-ning with the Candidates Meeting and thereafter.

(3)The Commission shall have the responsibility of deter-mining fair market value for any campaign material not accom-panied by a receipt. The interpretation of fair market value may

be appealed to the Judicial Council.(4)Campaign materials that count as part of a candidates

spending, must have been produced, or authorized, by the candi-date.

(5)Any campaign material advocating, by name, officeseeking, or ballot number, more than one candidate, shall haveits cost divided equally among all candidates listed on the ma-terial.

(6)The candidates or parties involved in the election shallhave the responsibility of providing the Commission with all do-cumentation and receipts. Receipts must include information onwhat was purchased and the amount spent.

(7)As with any other violation of the ASUN campaign rules,the ASUN Attorney General shall be responsible for investigat-ing alleged violations of these rules and prosecuting them beforethe ASUN Judicial Council.


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(8)All disputes or arbitration that arise over these rulesshall be handled by the Judicial Council.(c)SPENDING LIMITS.Candidates running for election are

limited to spending as follows:(1)Presidential candidates, $500.00.(2)Vice Presidential candidates, $400.00.(3)Senate candidates, $200.00.

21.Primary electionIn the event there are more than two candidates running for an

Executive Office there will be a primary election held on the Wednes-day and Thursday one week prior to the general election.

22.Posting policyMaterial as defined in section 20(a)(2) is prohibited from being

posted before the Wednesday following the mandatory CandidatesMeeting.

23.Administration of electronic filing of documentsThe Commission may allow for the electronic filing of documents

and shall provide such regulations as may be necessary.

ASUN Code of Elections

Documents

Transcript of ASUN Code of Elections