Coastline Community College Associated Student Government Election Code Purpose The purpose of the Election Code is to establish rules and regulations for conducting Associated Student Government Annual Election. Failure to comply with any articles or clauses of the Election Code may lead to disqualification from an ASG Election and/or penalties as indicated in this document. Article I: Appointing ASG Election Committee 1. It shall be the responsibility of the voting ASG board members to appoint and revise the members of the Election Committee by the beginning of the second week of spring semester. It should consist of at least three (3) ASG board members, including the Chair. The ASG Annual Election shall be held in April and the activities of the Election Committee shall be held beginning in January and continuing through the end of the Election. 2. The Public Relations Commissioner will serve as the Election Committee Chair. 3. At least three (3) Election Committee members must be present for a quorum. 4. No member of the Election Committee may run for an office at the same time he/she is serving on the Committee. 5. Election Committee members cannot publicly support, campaign, oppose, or work for any candidate, or ballot issues in the election. Article II: Committee Authority and Duties All decisions made by the Election Committee are final with a 2/3 vote of the ASG. Other actions by the Election Committee can be denied and/or deferred to Committee for further review with a motion, second, and 2/3 vote from ASG. 1. The Election Committee will set dates for all of the following: i. Voting Dates for Election (one year in advance i.e., in spring 2015, setting the election dates for 2016-2017 s ASG Election.) ii. Candidates Meetings iii. Onsite voting stations at the 3 Coastline centers: Le-Jao, Newport Beach, and Garden Grove iv. Election Committee meetings; and v. ASG Area Representatives will be responsible to post the Election Calendar at their respective centers.
2. The Committee is responsible for redrafting and distributing all Election materials, including the Election timeline, fliers, candidate packets, and online Election content. 3. Once the voting poll is opened, ASG cannot interfere with the voting process unless there is a critical issue that is not addressed by the ASG By-laws and/or Election Code. Article III: ASG Positions 1. There are five (5) Executive Board positions. The ASG positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Public Relations Commissioner shall comprise the Executive Board of ASG. The Executive Board is responsible for the orderly conduct of all ASG meetings and ASG activities. 2. The positions of Student Area Representatives (for Newport Beach, Garden Grove Center, Le- Jao Center locations, Distance Learning, Military Programs, and Legislative Affairs Representative, and any other as deemed necessary by the organization), shall be known as Officers of ASG. Minimum of five (5). Article IV: Requirements for ASG Officer and Executive Board Member Candidates CCC students may serve on the CCC ASG Council provided they meet the following criteria: 1. Each Executive Board member and all officers shall serve for a term of no more than one (1) year in that position; 2. Continuously enrolled in Coastline Community College for at least five (5) credit units during their active term in the fall and spring semesters (CA Ed Code 76061 (a)(b)); 3. Be of good academic standing with a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA earned while attending Coastline Community College (CA Education Code Section 76061 (a) (b) and Coast Community College District Board Policy # 4250); 4. All potential members should have attended Coastline Community College for one full semester before consideration for a position within ASG. This is to ensure members have a familiarity with Coastline and its Student Body. 5. Be of good standing in the District and at Coastline with no disciplinary record with the District; not be convicted of any felony or of a crime involving Moral turpitude; and have good standing in the community as one who supports the purpose history of good moral standing, ethical integrity, and good reputation. 6. Must be a member of the Coastline Associated Student Government holding a valid Coastline Student I.D. Card and has paid the current Student Activities Fee. Article V: Operational Procedures 1. Any currently enrolled Coastline student interested in being considered for a CCC ASG Board position must declare intent of candidacy before the deadline for accepting applications.
2. Applications must be submitted through http://studentelections.coastline.edu/ or turned in to the ASG advisor. 3. Candidates can run for only one office per Election. 4. Applications will be filed 2 days after the deadline for accepting applications. 5. All candidates must go to a mandatory meeting prior to their Election campaign. The date and time of the meeting will be determined by the Election Committee. 6. Failure to meet one of the items above may result in a candidate being disqualified from the Election. 7. All withdrawals must be written, signed by the candidate, and given to either the Election Committee Chair or ASG Advisor. Once a candidate has withdrawn, he/she will not be allowed to reenter the campaign. Article VI: Computer Voting Stations Coastline students can cast their ballot anywhere through the Coastline Student Elections website during the designated election dates. 1. Ballots for Student Government positions shall be processed via a web-based program, Survey Monkey or similar process, which shall be distributed to currently enrolled Coastline students. 2. http://studentelections.coastline.edu/ is the correct website for Coastline Student Elections. 3. It is the responsibility of the Election Committee to clearly define the ASG voting locations and times at the 3 learning centers. 4. It is the responsibility of the Election Committee to define campaigning parameters. 5. Candidates will not be allowed to harass and/or deliberately serve as physical obstruction to students during voting. Article VII: Voter Qualifications 1. Only votes with an individual CCC ID number will be included. 2. In no event shall a student vote be counted more than once. 3. Using another student s ID number is prohibited and may disqualify vote and possibly result in disciplinary actions from the College. Article VIII: Campaign Regulations 1. All campaign material must be pre-approved, for funding and publicity, by the ASG advisor and Election Committee Chairperson. 2. Candidates will be reimbursed up to $50.00 for purchase of campaign materials. In order to obtain reimbursement, original receipts and any other documentation must be submitted to the Election Committee within one week after the Election closes.
3. Unauthorized campaigned materials will be removed by ASG board members and/or College staff. 4. Students must follow the student Codes of Conduct policy of the District. 5. Campaigning near any voting station is strictly prohibited during the voting period. Unauthorized removing any Election Committee approved publicity materials is prohibited. 6. Only current Coastline Community College students are allowed to participate and/or campaign in the Election and are responsible to follow rules and regulations set forth by this document and the Election Committee. Article IX: Potential Penalty Assessments 1. The Election Committee may reserve the right to have security contact any person who is trying to interfere with voters and the Election 2. When any candidate violates the Election Code and Campaign Policy, he/she shall be required to appear before the Election Committee and the Election Committee will determine the validity of the violation. The potential penalty assessments will be: a. Any candidate campaigning at the Center where voting station is present will disqualified. Candidates will be disqualified if they are caught urging administrators, faculty, or classified staff to campaign for them. b. Penalties for other violations that are addressed throughout this Election Code will be determined by the Election Committee. 3. An appeal of the decision of the Election Committee may be brought to the ASG for final decision. Article X: Election Results 1. Any candidate that is running opposed and receives the most votes in the Election will be declared the winner of that election. 2. All Election results must be posted in openly accessible areas at each of the Coastline learning centers and the College Center building. 3. All official copies of the Election results must be signed by the members of the Election Committee and ASG Advisor. 4. In addition, a notice to the student body must be sent out electronically (either through the Coastline Community College website or on MyCCC). 5. In case of a tie, the top two (2) candidates must present at a special ASG meeting to give a statement. Before that meeting concludes, the ASG board must vote by secret ballot and the winner by simple majority (50% plus one) will be appointed to the position by the outgoing ASG President. 6. If any individual would like to appeal the results of the voting poll, a written appeal must be submitted and received by the Election Committee by 5:00 p.m. on the next school day following the posting of the Election results.
7. All appeals of Election results must be reviewed by the Election Committee within 72 hours of receipt. A recommendation must be delivered to the ASG Executive Board to disqualify any results, but the validity of the Election itself will not be affected. Article XII: Process for New Officers 1. Each newly elected ASG officer must attend the Annual ASG Installation Dinner where they will be sworn into their new position. If a new officer cannot be in attendance, they can be sworn in at a regular or special ASG Meeting at a later date but can only begin service once sworn in. 2. All new officers are expected to attend one mandatory training. Article XIII: Special Election 1. A Special Election shall be an election that is held either onsite and/or online to poll the student body to elect any vacant ASG board member positions. 2. Unlike the Annual Election, a special election may be held at any time throughout the fall and spring semesters. 3. A special election must be announced at least two (2) weeks in advance 4. Special election regulations shall comply with those of the Annual Election. Article XIV: Volunteers 1. All current students at Coastline Community College are eligible to volunteer at the voting stations. 2. Election volunteers must follow all election procedures which will be indicated in the volunteer acknowledgment form. 3. No candidate is allowed to volunteer in any of the voting activities of the Election. 4. At least one Election Committee member will serve as an election inspector to manage each voting station. 5. No voting station shall have more than 10 election officials (volunteers, committee members, ASG staff, etc.) 6. All election volunteers are eligible to receive certificates at the end-of-year recognition event. 7. Election Committee Chair and ASG president must sign all volunteer certificates. Article XV: Revising Election Code The ASG By-laws Committee is granted authority to revise this document by the third week of spring semester and ASG must approve the revision by the fourth week of spring semester. (Approved by ASG 3/6/2015)