Call for Candidate Statements

Statements of 200 words or less are due by 5 pm on Tuesday, April 14.

E-mail statements to ainsley@gwmail.gwu.edu.

Elected Executive Board positions include:

• Chairman
• Vice-Chairman
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Director of Political Affairs
• Director of Membership
• Director of Public Relations
• Director of Publications

Election Day is Thursday, April 16 at 7 PM.

Click more to read position descriptions and election rules.

Elected Executive Board positions include:

The Chairman is the executive officer of the club. He shall preside over all meetings of the Executive Board, serve as the official spokesman of the club and must approve all outgoing publicity or correspondence. He shall have the power to select all appointed officers, committee members, and Federation Representatives with Executive Board approval. He shall be an ex-officio member of all committees and shall call all meetings of the membership and Executive Board.

The Vice-Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman in his absence, and serve on all standing and ad hoc committees of the club. He shall also supervise special events and assist in matters of budget and finance.

The Secretary shall carry on all intraclub correspondence, keep minutes of all Executive Board and voting membership meetings, provide each Executive Board member with copies of these minutes, and maintain a permanent file of these minutes.

The Treasurer shall collect dues, maintain accurate financial records of club transactions, present a monthly financial statement for the Executive Board’s approval, co-sign checks with the Chairman, and submit budget proposals to the George Washington University Student Association. He shall be responsible for recording and managing all income entering into the club’s account with the approval of the Chairman and the advice and consent of the Board, and shall be responsible for any other assigned duties.

The Director of Political Affairs shall serve as chairman of the Political Affairs Committee which shall coordinate political activities (i.e. rallies, protests, debates, guest speakers).

The Director of Membership shall serve as chairman of the Membership Committee which shall coordinate the recruitment and involvement of new members, and maintain a membership list as specified in Article III, Section 5.

The Director of Public Relations shall serve as Chairman of the Public Relations Committee which coordinates the following: all press releases distributed to the Administration, student organizations, and non College Republican print; community service and relations; and club-related verbal correspondence and communication. He shall also be a member of the Information Committee.

The Director of Publications shall be Editor-In-Chief of the CR newspaper, chairman of the Information Committee, and a member of the Public Relations Committee. The Information Committee is charged with creating and distributing all materials for mass awareness (i.e. posters, Hatchet ads, signs).

FAIR ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

Section 1 – General Election Procedures

1. 1. Definitions
      1. A candidate shall be defined as any member of the College Republicans who submits a statement of candidacy to the FEC by the specified deadline.  All candidates must meet the constitutional requirements for office.  Any candidate who fails to meet the requirements for office will be notified by the FEC and permitted to run for an office which he/she is eligible and to amend their statement to reflect the new office sought.
      2. A write-in candidate shall be any member of the College Republicans who fails to meet the definition of candidate stated above.
   2. Candidate Statements
      1. All candidate statements must be submitted to Ainsley@gwmail.gwu.edu by 5pm on Tuesday, April 14^th. Candidate statements submitted and the names of candidates shall be confidential until that deadline.
      2. Candidate statements shall not exceed 200 words.  Statements that exceed 200 words will be truncated.
      3. Candidate statements shall be emailed out to the CR membership after the submission deadline.
      4. Any candidate who submits a statement after the deadline shall not appear on the ballot.
   3. An individual may not be a candidate for more than one office.
   4. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of valid votes cast for their position.  If no candidate receives a majority, a run-off election shall be held between the 2 individuals receiving the most votes.  A valid vote shall be defined as a vote cast for an individual eligible to assume office.
   5. All candidates shall be held responsible for the actions of anyone who is campaigning on their behalf.
   6. A candidate violating these rules shall be subject to removal from the ballot or other sanctions imposed by the FEC.

Section 2 – Campaigning

1. 1. No candidate may campaign at any CR-sponsored functions/events, except as permitted below:
      1. Candidates may distribute literature/palm cards about themselves at the Election meeting only.  This material must be submitted to the FEC for approval no later than5pm on Tuesday, April 14th.  Electronic copies may be sent to Ainsley@gwmail.gwu.edu.  The FEC shall review the literature only to ensure that there are no personal attacks or false and misleading statements.
   2. No resources of the College Republicans may be used for campaign purposes.  This includes, but is not limited to, the CR listserv and the CR office.  The only exception is that all candidates will be provided with a list of the paid members eligible to vote in the election.
   3. While candidates are permitted to contact CR members, if any member reports to the FEC that they are being harassed or are contacted after informing a candidate that they no longer wish to be contacted, the candidate making such contact may be removed from the ballot.

Section 3 — Additional Rules

3.1 The Committee reserves the ability to create additional rules.  The Committee will notify the candidates if new rules are created.
Election Night Procedures

The FEC intends to follow these procedures for running the election night meeting:

Literature Distribution:

Candidates may distribute literature at the election meeting.  However, any such literature must have been submitted to the FEC in accordance with the election rules and approved or it may not be distributed.  The FEC will not approve literature the night of the election meeting.

Speaking Limits & Questions/Answers:

For Chairman, each candidate will be allowed to give a 2 minute speech.  After all the candidates have spoken, they will be asked 2 questions, and have 1 minute to answer them.

For all other positions, each candidate will be allowed to give a 1 minute speech.  After all the candidates have spoken, they will be asked 1 question, and have 1 minute to answer them.

Procedures for Questions:  In order to ensure that all questions are directed at all candidates running for a position and do not include any personal attacks or false and misleading statements, the FEC will collect all questions from the audience, randomly choose 2, screen them for the criteria listed above and then ask them to the candidates.  If no questions are received, the FEC may pose its own questions.

Ballot Counting

The FEC will count the ballots for those races which have 3 or more candidates first.  If no candidate receives a majority in any of those races, the FEC will conduct a run-off election between the 2 candidates receiving the greatest number of votes.  All run-offs shall be completed prior to the winners for any other races being announced.

Eligible Voters

Only paid members of the CRs who have paid their dues by April 9, 2009 shall be eligible to vote.  Any member who is not listed as a paid member shall not be eligible to cast a vote.  If they wish to appeal, they must show documentation to the FEC that they became a paid member of the CRs prior to the constitutionally mandated deadline.  The membership list shall be presumed to be accurate, and the burden of proving it to be inaccurate is with the member contesting his/her status.

Members must be present at the election meeting to vote.  Absentee ballots, votes via email or other means, etc., shall not be permitted.