/Institutions/Northwestern-Health-Sciences-University/json/2022-2023-University-Catalog/University-Student-Handbook-local.json

/Institutions/Northwestern-Health-Sciences-University/json/2022-2023-University-Catalog/University-Student-Handbook.json

Article III – Elections, Recall, Replacement

Section A – Officers

Individual nomination petitions shall be the nominating forum for Senate officers, which will be distributed by the Student Senate Parliamentarian. Election of the nominees shall be within two (2) weeks following nominations, not later than one week prior to the beginning of final exams. Elections shall be held in March with the newly elected officers to take office at the beginning of the summer trimester. The election should be announced two weeks in advance, with the location and voting hours posted. A student running for an executive office must obtain twenty-five (25) student signatures in order to be nominated for that office.

The election shall be held in the University Auditorium Foyer. All students voting shall be checked off a master registration list for each class and program. The elections shall be on a minimum of two consecutive days with at least one day that accommodates upper level trimester students of all programs with their schedules in the public clinics.

Campaigning, activities directed at being elected by or on behalf of the candidates, may not commence until after the due date for the nomination forms. The candidate must remove campaign posters and cease campaigning by 6 pm the day before the elections commence. Violations of these rules will result in disqualification. Enforcement of these rules is the responsibility of the parliamentarian and election committee.

Section B – Senators

A reasonable attempt to notify all class members must be made at least two (2) weeks before the election or replacement of Senate representatives. A student running for senator must obtain ten (10) student signatures from members of his or her class.

All Senators are elected within the first two weeks of the summer trimester. Trimester 1 students who begin in either the Fall or the Winter trimester will be elected within the first two weeks of the trimester they enter, and must be re-elected the following March.

Section C – Election Committee

An Election committee shall be composed of three non-candidates chosen by the Student Senate two weeks prior to election date. The election committee must be represented by at least two (2) different class levels and at least two different programs. The duties of the election committee shall include preparation of ballots, ballot distribution, poll watching, final vote tabulation and reporting, and incidentals germane to the performance of these tasks. The committee shall not open the ballot box for tabulation until all eligible students have voted. The committee shall store all the ballots in a secure administrative area before, between, and after the polls are open and keep the marked ballots in a secure administrative area when the committee is not in the process of counting votes. The committee shall determine the absentee voting procedure with the stipulation that all absentee ballots shall be paper ballots.

Section D – Vote Tabulation

The election process will be supervised by the Parliamentarian. The counting of the ballots must be within three (3) class days of the election. Such a count shall be performed by the election committee

Section E – Replacement Of Officers

1. Resignations: All resignations must be presented to the Senate in writing. Upon resignation of an office, regardless of when in the course of a term it may occur, and in the absence of a previously delineated succession, replacement shall occur by solicitation of qualified student constituent for the position. A quorum Student Senate vote will be utilized to replace the office.
2. Dismissal: Officers may be dismissed by the Dean of Students and Alumni Services or by a majority Senate vote for violations of University policies, Student Senate bylaws, or for failure to fulfill his/her officer responsibilities.

   An officer will be dismissed by the Parliamentarian of the Student Senate if three unexcused absences from Senate meetings are incurred in a single trimester. An excused absence may be granted at the discretion of the Parliamentarian. Notification of the reason for absence must be made to the Parliamentarian the day of the meeting or earlier if possible.

Section F – Replacement of Senators

1. Resignations: All resignations must be presented to the Senate in writing. Upon resignation of a senator, the class represented can elect a replacement to finish the term of office.
2. Dismissal: A dismissal petition must be signed by a majority of the students of the class represented. Such petition must be presented to the Senate. Once the Senate is informed, the class shall hold an election coordinated by the respective programs Vice-President and the Student Senate Parliamentarian.

   A senator will be dismissed if three unexcused absences of Senate meetings are incurred in a single trimester. Once a senator has been dismissed, he/she is no longer eligible to represent their class. An excused absence may be granted at the discretion of the Parliamentarian. Notification of the reason for absence must be made to the Parliamentarian the day of the meeting or earlier if possible.