Election Guidelines

Guidelines Section

• Campaign publicity must be in accordance with the publicity policy as stated in the Student Handbook of Southwestern University.

• No candidate may send official, campus-wide, voice or electronic mail. No opponent’s name shall appear on any campaign materials or in speeches. No campaigning or campaign materials are allowed in the area, as dictated by the Parliamentarian, where elections are taking place on Election Day. 

• Any destruction of an opponent’s materials could result in disqualification of the voter’s candidacy. The Elections Committee will review the case and a final decision will be made by a 2/3rds majority vote. 

• Candidates may schedule campaign appearances prior to the campaign period officially beginning, but all scheduled meetings must fall within the Elections Campaign period.

• The elections committee shall be empowered to make additional rules and regulations.

Qualifications & Eligibility Sections

• In the case that a student’s class year and credit hours differ, they may choose which class year position to run for but are limited to choosing only one.

• Super-seniors shall qualify to run for Senior Representative.

• All Presidential candidates running for Executive positions must have served on the Student Government Association for at least one semester.

• You must be eligible to be a member of the Student Government Association to run for an elected legislative or executive position.

Presidential Nomination Process

• After confirmation, during the same General Assembly meeting, a Presidential candidate shall select a Vice Presidential candidate who meets all requirements as established in the Constitution and by the Elections Committee.

• Official nominations for President must be ratified by the Student Government Association through a majority vote of confidence.

• After confirmation, during the same General Assembly meeting, a Presidential candidate shall select a Vice Presidential candidate who meets all requirements as established in the Constitution and by the Elections Committee.

Misc. Sections

• Students who are abroad may not run, be elected, or be appointed to a legislative or executive position.

• No one person shall hold, or be elected to, more than one seat in the General Assembly.

• No one person shall hold, or be elected to, or run for both a legislative and executive seat.

• No one person shall hold, or be elected to, or run for more than one seat in the Executive.

This list is non-exhaustive. Instead, it is intended to present all the most relevant information to candidates and voters.

Please view the Constitution for all guidelines. For reference, Article X is the section entitled "General Elections".

1. A candidate for Vice President on a ticket shall not be required to have served previously in the Student Government Association.

2. You must follow Student Activity publicity guidelines, which include, but are not limited to:

(a) Approval to put up posters;

(b) A prohibition on leafletting student dorms;

(i) For further clarification contact Evan Alexander (alexande@southwestern.edu) about permissible communications on campus.

3. Students who are studying away may not run.

4. A student may not run for office if their term begins after they have already graduated, making them illegible to be a member of the SGA.

5. Serving as an interim executive, appointed member after the first session, or legislative proxy shall not count toward the one semester in SGA eligibility requirement to run for President.

6. While the President and Vice President are both on one ticket, both are permitted to submit statements for voters to access via the ballot.

7. Instances of two ticket Presidential races will also utilize ranked-choice voting to better introduce voters to the concept in other ballot issues.

8. The ballot may be modified in compliance with administration request so that it shall be sent to all students.

9. Ongoing referendum results shall be accessible to the administration upon request.

10. Voter Identification for valid votes must be from your official Southwestern.edu Gmail account and identifiably have your name.

11. Candidates for homecoming court are prohibited from publicly campaigning for a position in the homecoming court, whether through physical, electronic, or other means.

12. Per the constitution, after clerical error rectification by the Parliamentarian, if there is a tie then the General Assembly shall convene to break the tie between said candidates.

This is the comprehensive list of elections committee rules and regulations.

1. All students elected or selected for Royalty, who are not First-Years, must possess a 2.50 cumulative GPA or higher at the time of election/selection.

2. All students elected or selected for Royalty must be full-time students at Southwestern University.

3. Students may self-nominate or nominate a peer. Students are limited to one nomination.

4. Students shall have the right to decline nomination between the closing of signups and before voting begins. The Student Government Association (SGA) Elections Committee shall contact all those nominated to inform them of their prospective inclusion on the ballot.

5. No qualification shall be imposed on nominees based on gender.

6. Campaigning is prohibited for Southwestern University Homecoming Court Royalty nominees. Royalty nominees who campaign may face disqualification by the SGA Elections Committee.

7. All classes shall have two elected Royalty, except the Seniors who shall have three.

8. The Senior with the most votes shall be the King or Queen of Homecoming.

9. The Seniors will have two appointed Royalty, who shall be determined by a committee of three administration staff and two SGA leaders.

10. Voting shall be conducted via ranked choice vote.

11. Voters shall vote for the candidates among their cohort.

This is the comprehensive list of elections committee rules and regulations on homecoming royalty.