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Biology Graduate Student Association

Election Procedure

  1. Nominations
    1. Before beginning the nomination process, the Secretary will ensure the list of officers and duties on the BGSA website is accurate in conjunction with the President and IT Representative.
    2. In the fourth week of March, the Secretary will send an email to the graduate student listserv to open nominations for positions. Both self-nominations and peer-nominations will be accepted and recorded using doodle. There is no limit to how many officer positions an individual can nominate themselves or be nominated for, however see step 3a.
    3. To be considered for an Executive Board position (President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary), the nomination must include a brief statement (up to 75 words) summarizing interests and skills for the position. These statements will be made available to BGSA during voting (see step 2a).
    4. Nominations will remain open for two weeks.
    5. At the end of the nomination period, invididuals that have been peer-nominated will be contacted and will need to answer positively to be considered during the voting process.
  2. Voting
    1. The Secretary will conduct the election through an online survey site that allows votes to remain anonymous. Each graduate student has one vote.
    2. Graduate students will have one week to vote.
    3. New officers are selected with a simple majority vote. The only exception is for the Green Team, for which the person with the most vote will be considered the Team captain, the following 3 will constitute the team.
  3. Finalizing elected officers
    1. The Secretary will contact any individuals who have been elected to more than two officer positions to request that they accept only two officer positions.
    2. In the case of a tie for any position, the Secretary will conduct an election between the tied nominees using the voting procedure above.
    3. The Secretary will send the final list of newly elected officers to the graduate student listserv. The Secretary will also coordinate with the IT Representative to post this list on the BGSA website.
  4. Vacancies
    1. If the steps above do not produce a sufficient number of officers for each position, the new President will recruit needed officers prior to summer and/or at the start of the fall semester (see step 4c).
    2. If at any time during the year an officer cannot fulfill their duties due to an irresolvable scheduling conflict, they should contact the President as soon as possible to coordinate filling the vacant position. It will be the departing officer’s duty to replace himself/herself (see step 4c).
    3. To fill vacancies, an announcement should be sent to the graduate student listserv requesting volunteers by a specified deadline. If there is more than one volunteer for the position, the President will select the new officer by random drawing.
  5. New officers
    1. The newly elected President will consult with the former President to begin the transition before the end of the spring semester.
    2. The newly elected President will contact the new officers to begin their duties as needed (in the summer or fall as appropriate).
    3. Newly elected officers are encouraged to consult with the former officers (listed on the BGSA website) regarding their duties.
  6. Modification of election procedures
    1. Modification of the current election procedures will be discussed at a BGSA meeting prior to implementation.

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