For Candidates

By declaring for candidacy, you agreed to submit two key deliverables in order to claim your position if you win your election. And one more if you are a political party or its representative.

 

Final Expense Statement
Required for Independent Candidates and Political Parties. Documents all financial expenditures during the election cycle in an itemized list. Failure to submit a complete Final Expense Statement by 12:00 p.m. following the election constitutes a Schedule 1 Violation. Candidates and Political Parties have until 4:00 p.m. on the following Tuesday to correct deficiencies. Failure to submit a complete statement by the Tuesday deadline constitutes a Schedule 4 Violation and may result in disqualification.

  • 1st Deadline: 12:00 p.m. Friday following Election Day
  • 2nd Deadline: 4:00 p.m. the following Tuesday

Campaign Contribution Statement
Required for Independent Candidates and Political Parties. Document all contributions, donations, dues, goods, services, and other in-kind contributions you have received by the campaign up to the date of submission.

  • Deadline: 12:00 p.m. Monday, starting Campaign Week

Financial Recap Summary
Required for political parties. Documents all collected funds throughout the academic year preceding the election, including donations, candidate dues, merchandise sales, fundraising, and other forms of income.

  • Deadline: 12:00 P.M. Friday following Election Day

How does the Election Violations and Penalty Point System work?

The Election Violation process begins when someone makes an alleged violation against another party, and from there the process branches out depending on whether the person admits guilt or appeals the allegation to a “higher court.”

  1. If an alleged violation is made, the alleged party and all witnesses will be informed within 24hours by the Supervisor of Elections via email after review.
  2. If the alleged violation is forwarded to the Elections Commission by the Supervisor of Elections, the respondent may contest the allegation or admit responsibility. Students may represent themselves, choose a third-party representative, or request appointment of a law student through the Supreme Court.
  3. If the accused wishes to do so, decisions of the Elections Commission may be appealed to the Student Supreme Court within thirty-six (36) hours after the decision and accompanying opinions are passed.

To report an election violation, you must have all of the following information:

  • The name of the party or individual alleging the violation
  • The name of the party or individual who allegedly violated the Election Code
  • The specific statute (s) in the Election Code that were violated
  • Any and all evidence to support the claim of a violation
  • A short plan statement detailing the violation and what happened

Only with this information and “clear and convincing evidence” can a person report a valid alleged violation using the link above to begin the Election Violation process.

Penalty Point System
In Chapter 710 of the Election Code, there are certain actions and behaviors that violate the Election Code and have corresponding penalties if you are found guilty of committing them. To read exactly what constitutes a violation, please refer to Chapter 710 of the Election Code.

Schedule 1 Violation:

  • First finding: 1 Penalty Point
  • Second and subsequent findings: 3 Penalty Points

Schedule 2 Violation:

  • First finding: 3 Penalty Points
  • Second and subsequent findings: 4 Penalty Points

Schedule 3 Violation:

  • Always 10 Penalty Points

Schedule 4 Violation:

  • Disqualification

Beyond a Schedule 4 Violation, if individuals, candidates, or political parties accumulate penalty points past a specific threshold, it will result in disqualification of the candidate or political party.

  • Candidates and Individuals: 15 Penalty Points
  • Political Parties: 25 Penalty Points

Election Days

There will be in-person voting for two days along with an online voting portal available from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. The Election Results will be revealed on the second day of voting after polls close and announced in the Lower Levels of the Student Union.

Rank Choice Voting
When three or more candidates appear for a seat, voters will be able to rank candidates in order of preference.

  • If no candidates receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and ballots are redistributed to the next ranked choice.
  • The process continues until a candidate receives a winning majority.

Last Updated: 07/09/26