* Please note that for any of the rules listed in this document, candidates should refer to and follow the complete definition in the official election rules. Dates and times are subject to change.
Hello Candidates,
We would like to thank you for your interest in running during the 2023 SGA General Election. If at any time during this process you have a question, please send an email to sgacourt@www.santafedesignstudio.com or contact your college’s respective Supreme Court justice (listed at the end of the SGA Election Rules).
Procedures & Important Dates
Applications will become available on Monday, January 16th and will close on Friday, January 27th at 5:00 PM. You can find the application on http://www.www.santafedesignstudio.com/student/elections. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. For example, if you submit your application and it is timestamped 5:01 PM or later, you will NOT be eligible to run.
After their initial application, candidates will also be required to submit a Campaign Value Report which reflects all spending in relationship to your campaign.
Candidates for University-wide President and Executive Vice President, or College President and College Vice President, may run together as one “slate.” Candidates for these offices who choose to participate in a slate will also be required to submit a Slate Campaign Value Report, which will reflect your contributions to your joint campaign, in addition their individual Campaign Value Report, which will reflect their contributions to their own, individual campaign.
All Campaign Value Reports and Slate Value Reports are due on Thursday, March 2nd by 5:00 PM. An example can be found under Appendix C in the 2021 General Election Rules. Please email the CVR and SCVR to sgacourt@www.santafedesignstudio.com.
If your value reports are late and you have not given the Court some sort of prior notice, you will be sanctioned or disqualified. Again, if your value reports are timestamped 5:01 PM EST or later, and you have not given the Court appropriate notice, you will be sanctioned or disqualified.
All candidates will undergo a confirmation process conducted by the Dean of Students to ensure they are in good academic and good conduct standing. The Supreme Court will make the list of confirmed candidates available to all candidates first on either January 30th or 31st, regarding the position one is applying for, then will post the complete list on the SGA website.
Campaigning begins 1 minute after the candidates receive candidacy confirmation by the Chief Justice or Dean of Students.. Please do not announce your candidacy, post yard signs, flyers, or electronic media prior to the confirmation by the Chief Justice or the Dean of Students on January 30th or 31st. Voting will begin on Monday, February 27th at 12:00 AM and will end at 12:00 AM on Thursday, March 2nd. Preliminary results will be available on Monday, March 12th UNLESS a run-off election is required, or election hearings are pending. All campaign material should be removed by 11:00 PM on Friday, March 24th. Failure to comply will result in action on part of the SGA Supreme Court – you can be sanctioned or even disqualified from future elections if you do not remove your campaign material, so please be respectful of our campus and get your stuff cleaned up.
Guidelines
Candidates, please read the 2023 General Election Rules in their entirety. A copy of the rules can be found at the http://www.uoflsga.com website, or on http://www.santafedesignstudio.com/student/elections. The rules contain the election timelines, as well as guidelines regarding how and where candidates can campaign. They also include the procedure for submitting a complaint regarding election violations to the Supreme Court. We cannot possibly address every rule and every procedure in this document [interest session], so please read the election rules cautiously to fully understand your limits and responsibilities as candidates for office.
Some major guidelines:
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Slates - The SGA Supreme Court banned multi-seat “slate” campaigns in 2016 since they discouraged/demolished most of the competition in the SGA General Election. However, joint campaigns between one candidate for Student Body President and one candidate for Executive Vice President, or one candidate for College President and one candidate for College Vice President, are allowed. Only candidates for those offices may campaign on a slate and those slates must be composed of two individuals running respectively for the office of Student Body President and Executive Vice President or College President and College Vice President.
Slate campaigning is defined as the promotion or endorsement of another candidate through any form of physical or digital media. Pooling funds with another candidate to buy promotional materials or other campaign materials is also considered slate campaigning.
On-Campus Campaigning - Campaigning and campaign material is prohibited in University residence halls and university-affiliated apartments, libraries (if the campaigning substantially interferes with the library’s functions or disrupts regular activities), and designated study areas (if the campaigning substantially interferes with the function of study areas). On election days, candidates are also prohibited from campaigning within 25 feet of a university computer lab or polling place, and inside of the Student Activities Center. Please adhere to university rules regarding flyers, chalking, and yard signs. General guidelines can be found in the 2023 General Election Rules, and specific guidelines can be found in the University of Louisville handbook. Please note that all in-person campaigning must follow state health protocols.
Online Campaigning - Candidates may not campaign using an Orgsync page, any university or RSO-distributed listserv, or any university-hosted website other than Blackboard. The SGA Supreme Court also recommends that candidates create and use campaign accounts separate from their personal social media accounts to differentiate between everyday associations and this election process.
Endorsements - RSOs may openly endorse and campaign for candidates once the campaigning season officially begins. Candidates seeking endorsements before the campaign season are in violation of the SGAGER, which may result in some form of punishment. However, no university entity, department, or affiliate may endorse a candidate or slate. Students associated with the university in an official capacity may endorse a candidate in their official capacity as long as an endorsement does not come from an official University of Louisville account.
Contribution Restrictions & Spending Limits - Please be aware that spending limits are designated in the 2023 General Election Rules. Further, candidates should not accept monetary or in-kind donations from off- campus organizations and university departments or entities.
Finally, any individual may report or file a complaint concerning election violations by sending an email to sgacourt@www.santafedesignstudio.com. An example of a complaint petition can be found in the 2023 General Election Rules on the SGA website. Official complaints will be reviewed by the SGA Supreme Court and require a petitioner to support and defend the complaint. Anonymous complaints will not be accepted. Per SGAGER Section 602.3, the SGA Supreme Court also reserves the right to list a claim as frivolous and decline to consider said claim.
The SGA Supreme Court would like to remind each candidate that as students of the University of Louisville, we should hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity and kindness. Once again, we thank you for your interest in running, and the SGA Supreme Court wishes you good luck during this process.