General Elections OFFICIAL RULES 2012-2013 Edition Harvard Undergraduate Council Election CommissionELECTIONS FOR GENERAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES These rules are issued by the Election Commission in accordance with Section 72.2 of the Bylaws and are in governance of the election of representatives to the Harvard Undergraduate ‘Council. Part |: Districts 11 First-Year Districts. The four first-year districts shall be (1) Oak Yard, consisting of Canaday and Thayer Halls, (2) Ivy Yard, consisting of Holworthy, Hollis, Lionel, Massachusetts, Mower, Stoughton, Straus Halls and Apley Court; (3) Crimson Yard, consisting of Greenough, Hurlbut, Pennypacker, and Wigglesworth Halls, and (4) Elm Yard, consisting of Grays, Matthews, and Weld Halls 1.2 Upperclass Districts. Each of the twelve residential houses shall constitute an upperclass district. 13 Special District, Dudley House shell constitute a special district. 1.4 Modification of Districts. The Election Commission may make minor shifts in district designs if absolutely necessary for the completion of the election 1.5 Membership in a District. An individual shall be considered a member of a district if the records of the Registrar of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences reflect that that individual is assigned, residentially or administratively, to a building or house in that district at the time of the election. The Election Commission shell adjudicate any disputes in regard to district membership Part II: Rules of Procedure 2.1 Number of Representatives. Three representatives from each first-year district shall be elected, In upperclass districts, the number of representatives elected shall be equal to three minus the number of Executive Board members currently representing the district. One representative from Dudley House shall be elected 2.2 Bligibility for Candidacy. Any student enrolled in Harvard College at the time of the election shall be eligible for election to the Council as a representative for the district of which thet student is a member. 2.3 Declaration of Candidacy. Any person intending to run for election to the Council must declare their candidacy by e-mailing the Election Commission Chair at harvarducelections@gmail_com between 12:00 PM on Sunday, September 9, 2012 and 12:00 PM on Friday, September 14, 2012. The Election Commission will list all declared candidates as of this time on the ballot, and will not list any candidates who declare their candidacy after this time 2.4 Means of Election. Delegates to the Council will be elected by the Hare-Clark proportional voting system, Each eligible voter shall rank candidates for election in order of preference‘The result of the election shall be determined by the Election Commission through the online election software. 2.5 Write-In Candidates. Voters may choose to vote for a candidate not on the official ballot by entering that individual's name into the online election program in accordance with the instructions provided at the time of voting, A write-in candidate may be ranked preferentially along with other candidates, Write-in candidates must confirm their willingness to serve prior to installment as representative, if an elected write-in candidate is not willing to serve, the candidate receiving the next most votes shall serve instead. Any write-in votes for ineligible individuals will be excluded 2.6 Conduct of Blection. The Election Commission will conduct the election by electronic ballot from 12:01 PM on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 through 11:59 AM on Friday, September 21, 2012. 2.1 Bligibility for Voting The persons eligible to vote in the elections for each district shall be those whom the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Registrar's Office defines to be both registered undergraduate students and affiliated with that district at any time during the election, If a person is determined by the Registrar’s Office to be eligible to vote in any district, he or she may not later be declared ineligible or later be declared eligible in a different district. Potential voters shall be responsible for confirming their status with the Registrar's Office prior to the commencement of the election 2.8 Results. Upon tallying the results and the affirmative vote of at least four members, the Election Commission shall certify the returns and inform all candidates and the public as to the outcome. The Election Commission reserves the right to decertify the results for up to 72 hours after releasing them ifit becomes aware of any voting discrepancies or campaign rule violations in the intervening period, If the Election Commission has not certified the results within 168 hours of the c certify the results independently. mpletion of voting, the Executive Board may vote to Part III: Rules of Conduct 3.1 Compliance with Harvard College Rules. Candidates will abide by all rules and regulations of Harvard College, of the several Houses, and of the City of Cambridge, in addition to any applicable Local, State, and Federal laws 3.2 Unsolicited messages. Candidates may not send unsolicited campaign-related messages via email or any other online system, Unsolicited messages are any messages sent to individuals whom the sender does not know personally and who has not specifically requested information from the candidate. Students may only send messages to groups of which they are amember, and such messages must conform to the community standards of that group. Such messages may only be sent once a day by candidates to each individual email list. The Election Commission shall be the final arbiter of what constitutes unsolicited messages, and candidates are encouraged to ask questions before sending