NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT SENATE

88^TH SESSION, 2008-2009

 

Government Bill 45

 

A BILL TO BE ENTILED AN ACT MODIFY ELECTIONS STATUTES

 

 

 

Short Title: Fair And Clean Elections Act

Sponsors: Pro Tem Rogers; Senators Webb(corresponding), Cooper, Donnelly, Clark, Lindh,

     Gregory

Signatories: Senior Class President Compton, Elections Commission Chair Tucker

Referred to:  Committee on  Elections Reform

Version: (insert either committee version, as amended by Senate, etc.)

First Reading:                                                                                    Second Reading:

 

 

WHEREAS, there must be continual improvement to the elections statutes to produce the best

elections possible, now therefore be it;

 

ENACTED,    by the North Carolina State University Student Senate that:

 

Section 1.        Statutory Authority.  This bill is adopted pursuant to the provisions of Article II, Sections 5(d) and 5(e) of the Student Body Constitution, and Chapter 2, Rule 17(b)(3) of the Student Body Statutes.

 

Section 2.      The entirety of Chapter 7 shall be reviewed, and all errors relating to sequential section and list numbering shall be corrected.

  

Section 3.       Student Body Statutes §7-1.16 ("Qualifications for Student Senator Candidates") shall be amended as follows:

                       

                        §7-1.16. Qualifications for Student Senator Candidates.

(a)    Candidates must be currently enrolled in the constituency from which they seek election. Candidates shall run for their current classification, unless they are a Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior, in which case they shall run one classification greater than their current classification.

(b)   Those candidates who are currently enrolled in multiple colleges shall be given the option of choosing which college they seek election to. In exercising this option, the candidate must adhere to SBS §7-1.23.

(c)   For the purposes of first-year Senate seats, a student shall be considered first-year if they enrolled in the University after the date of the immediate previous Fall General Election

 

 

Section 4.       Student Body Statutes §7-2.7 Deliberative Duties of the Commission shall be amended as follows:

                        §7-2.7.  Deliberative Duties of Commission.

                        In addition to other duties specified in these Statutes, the Elections          Commission                       shall, as a deliberative body: 

                           

                            (a) Hear all allegations that a candidate or candidates have violated campaign                      rules; 

                            (b) Provide a governing interpretation of the regulations of this chapter upon                          request of any candidate, campaign, or Student Government Official; 

                            (c) Remove unqualified candidates from the ballot once verifying of the lack of                     qualification; 

                            (d) Certify petitions for Student Body Referenda; 

                            (e) Grant or deny ballot access to College Councils not inconsistent with Senate                            decisions on the same access; 

                            (f) Adopt a budget of funds appropriated to the Board of Elections; 

                            (g) Hear appeals of an election; 

(h)   Certify the elections results;

(i)     review and modify reported monetary values of expensed campaign materials

 

Section 5.       Student Body Statutes §7-3.4 ("Reporting Alleged Violations") shall be amended as follows:

§7-3.4. Reporting Alleged Violations.

All reports of violations shall be submitted in writing to the Student Government Office no later than two (2) full class days after the violation allegedly occurred. A report shall be sent to Elections Commission Chair and a hard copy shall also be sent to the Student Government Advisor. The report must include the time, date and location of the alleged violation and must bear the name, email, and phone number of the person reporting the alleged violation. If a date cannot be firmly established, the Elections Commission is empowered to make a determination if the report was filed in a timely manner. Any candidate accused of a violation shall be notified by the Elections Commission within twenty-four (24) hours.

 

Section 6.       Student Body Statutes §7-3.8 ("Fines") shall be amended as follows:

 

§7-3.8. Fines.

(a) The Commission shall be empowered to assess fines on candidates concurrent with warnings, if the Commission believes the violation was particularly blatant or damaging to the elections.

(b) Fines shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100). The fine will not be deducted from the campaign spending limit. All proceeds from fines shall be deposited in to the Student Body Funds, and shall be set aside for defrayment of the cost of future elections.

 

 

Section 7.       Student Body Statutes §7-4.6 ("Handbills") shall be amended as follows:

 

§7-4.6. Handbills

Handbills shall be considered any objects with campaign information that are typically delivered by hand to a voter. No handbills may be piled in a public place with the intention that voters will pick them up except outside of organized forums of debate and discussion, where permitted by forum organizers and made available to all candidates. Any campaign found in violation of this statute will be subject to a minimum fine at the discretion of the Elections Commission. Any fine is subject to SBS §7-3.8(b).

 

Section 8.        Student Body Statutes §7-4.26. (“Joint Expenses”) shall be struck and be amended as follows:

 

§7-4.26. Joint Campaign Expenses

All candidates wishing to run in a joint campaign shall file a joint campaign notification to the Election Commission prior to books closing.  The joint campaign will be held liable for any actions of individual candidates listed on the joint campaign. Joint campaigns may file a single joint campaign expense report. No candidate for a Student Body position may form a joint campaign with a candidate for a non-student body officer position.

 

 

Section 9.        Student Body Statutes §7-4.20 Standard Rate Expenses shall be struck and be amended as follows

                      

                          §7-4.20 Expensed Materials

                        Candidates shall document the actual cost of materials used insomuch as possible.  When an in-kind donation of materials is made to any campaign, or when the campaign is reusing materials, the campaign shall report the monetary value of that material if sold.  The elections commission shall reserve the right to review and modify the value of all reported materials to fair market value. The value of all materials as approved by the Elections Commission shall be subtracted from the candidate’s spending limit.

 

Section 10.      Student Body Statutes §7-4.21 (“Frequency of Financial Reports”) shall be struck and be amended as follows 

 

                        §7-4.21 Frequency of Financial Reports

                        (a) All campaigns for any campus wide or class wide position shall submit a

                                    weekly expense report

                        (b) Candidates shall be required to submit an expense report by 5:00 PM each

                                    Monday class day between the All Candidates meeting and last general election of which they are a candidate.  Such a report must detail all financial activity for at least the time period between the last financial report and 5:00PM the preceding Friday. Each report shall meet the requirements of SBS §7-4.22a, §7-4.22b and §7-4.22c.

                        (c) Candidates shall submit a final financial report no later than 9:00 AM the day

                                    after polls have closed.  Such a report shall be comprehensive of all of the campaign, regardless of date of expenditure.  No candidate shall assume office until the final campaign financial report as been submitted and inspected.

 

Section 11.        Student Body Statutes §7-4.22 shall be struck in its entirety and shall be replaced with the following.

 

                        §7-4.22A  Financial Reporting

All campaigns shall submit complete and open financial reports with the Board of Elections via the Student Government office. All reports shall be available for students per 7-4.23

                       

The report shall contain:

                                    (a) Expense sheets and worksheets from the elections packet; and

                                    (b) Original receipts for a final report or copies of receipts for a weekly

                                    report provided that original receipts are available upon request of the

                                    Commission

                                    (c) A list of and receipts for all expenses made by the campaign or on

                                    behalf of the campaign, whether used or not;

                                    (d) A list of and receipts for donations with name and contact information

                                    of donor disclosed; 

                                    (e) A listing of and receipts for any in-kind donations of materials and the

                                    contact information of the donor;

                                    (e) An estimated monetary value of any donated materials that shall be

                                    approved or modified by the elections commission;

                                    (f) A quantified listing of all materials made with the intended purpose of

                                    advertising the candidate or candidate’s campaign;

                                    (g) Any items printed on personal or non-charging equipment shall be

                                    noted as such and expensed at Wolfcopy’s lowest rate;

                                    (h) The gas price and hours of use for any vehicle that is used as a

                                    campaign advertisement;

                                    (i) A list of all fundraisers conducted by or on behalf of the campaign and

                                    the amount of funds raised;

                                    (j) A total for expenses for the prior campaign period as well as total for

                                    the campaign period;

                                    (k) Totals shall include direct expenses, in-kind donations, re-used

                                    materials, and cash/cash-equivalent donations;

 

                        §7-4.22B Receipts

                        As noted in 7-4.19A, each financial report shall include original receipts for a final report or copies of receipts for a weekly report provided that original receipts are available upon request of the Commission.  Receipts must be provided for both purchased and donated items.  Receipts shall contain an accurate name and phone number for the business or individual where the items were purchased or donated from.

                       

                        §7-4.22C Regulation of Fundraising

          

                        (a) Disclosure of Funding Sources Required. All campaigns shall disclose, as part of their financial reports, the source of all campaign funds, including cash and in-kind contributions. No campaign shall knowingly participate in any scheme to obfuscate or otherwise conceal the actual source of funds.

                        (b) Regulation of Fundraising Activities . Activities designed primarily to raise funds for a campaign shall be expressly exempted from the Official Campaign Start restrictions. All fundraising events, and online solicitation shall be  submitted to the Elections Commission for approval at least three (3) days before the event date.  No fundraising events shall take place 30 prior to books opening. In the event a majority of statutory Elections Commission members is not appointed and approved, the Government Operations Committee has the authority to authorize such events. To qualify for this exemption, the activity must be clearly labeled as a fundraiser and funds must be sought from substantially all of the participants therein. Advertisement of a fundraiser is permissible three(3) days prior to the fundraiser, and is limited to stating the candidate’s name and other biographical facts, the office to sought, the nature of the fundraiser, and that the activity is a fundraiser.

                        (c) Disposition of Campaign Funds. Following a campaign, campaign funds not expended shall either be returned pro-rata to donors or contributed to the Student Body Funds, set aside to defray the costs of future elections. Loans to campaigns may be handled on their own terms.

 

 

Section 12.      Student Body Statutes §7-4.23 shall be amended as follows

                       

                        7-4.23 Availability of Financial Reports

                        Campaign financial reports shall be considered public records, and any individual may have access to information contained in the sheets upon request.  Copies of financial reports for each campaign shall be made available by the elections commission on the Elections Website.

 

Section 13.      Student Body Statutes §7-4.24. ("Penalties Concerning Expenses”) shall be amended as follows:

 

§7-4.24. Penalties Concerning Expenses.

(a) Failure to submit expense reports on time shall be a violation, and shall be brought to the attention of the commission by the chair.

(b) Upon the receipt of each expense report, the Chair shall designate himself or herself, or another member of the Commission to review the report. The reviewer shall inspect each item in the report, seeking clarification from the campaign as necessary, and shall report any issues of concern to the full commission for consideration.

(c) Falsifying information in an expense report is punishable by the Judicial Board and grounds for a direct disqualification hearing.

(d) Exceeding the expense limit for the campaign will result in a direct disqualification hearing.

 

Section 14.    This bill, upon enrollment shall be considered effective starting from date of enrollment. The Board of Elections shall not hold responsible any candidate retroactively from date of enrollment. Furthermore, the Student Senate waives the provision of §7-1.3 (c ) to accommodate the engrossment of this bill. All candidates who filed after the statutory filing date, as allowed by the Board of Elections, shall be considered candidates for election for their respective office.