The Senate of Michigan Technological University


PROPOSAL 9-67

ELECTION PROCEDURES -- MTU SENATE

 

Senate Election Committee

  1. The Council of the Senate shall appoint annually an ad hoc committee to be charged with responsibility for conducting elections to fill vacancies in the Senate as provided by Article III, Section D, of the Senate Constitution.
  2. The Committee shall be called the Senate Election Committee, herein after referred to as the Committee.
  3. The Committee shall consist of four present senators not eligible by reason of constitutional provision for candidacy in the current year's election.

Eligibility of Electors and Candidates

  1. All members of the General Faculty* shall be qualified electors for the purposes of these election procedures.
  2. All members of the Academic Faculty shall be qualified to be candidates for election as either Senator-at-Large or Senator-Representative provided that they (a) meet the residence requirement of Article III, Section A, of the Senate Constitution, (b) do not exceed the re-election limitation of Article III, Section B, of the Senate Constitution, and (c) are not present members of the Senate with continuing terms of office.

    *For purposes of this procedure only, and until such time as the Senate shall have adopted an official definition, the term "General Faculty" shall be construed to include those persons within each academic or research department who shall be designated by their department as being members of the General Faculty.

Election of Senators-at-Large

  1. The Committee shall identify from Senate records the number of Senator-at-large vacancies which will occur in the current year, whether by reason of expiration of prescribed term of office or otherwise.
  2. The Committee shall request each department to submit a list of all members of its staff who are eligible as of the end of the Winter Term of the current year to be candidates for election to the Senate.
  3. The Committee shall compile an unofficial composite list of eligible faculty members as designated by such departmental lists.
  4. The Committee shall submit by mail to all members of the General Faculty the unofficial composite list of eligible faculty members, together with appropriate directions for primary secret balloting by mail to select candidates for a final election.
  5. Each such primary ballot cast may designate no more than three candidates for each Senator-at-Large vacancy to be filled.
  6. The Committee shall count the primary votes cast for each eligible faculty member and certify successively as candidates for final election those persons who shall have received the highest number of votes cast, until a number of candidates shall have been certified equal to three candidates for each Senator-at-Large vacancy to be filled (or more in case of a tie vote for the last candidacy certified.)
  7. Concurrent with certifying each candidacy for final election, the Committee shall confirm the assent of the faculty member to his candidacy, and shall pass over any person unwilling to be a candidate in certifying the proper number of candidacies.
  8. The Committee shall submit by mail to all members of the General Faculty the list of certified candidates for final election, together with appropriate directions for final secret balloting by mail to select a Senator-at-Large for each such Senate vacancy to be filled.
  9. Each final election ballot cast may designate not more than one choice for each Senator-at-Large vacancy to be filled.
  10. The Committee shall count the final election votes cast for each candidate and certify successively the election as Senator-at-Large of those persons who shall have received the highest number of votes cast to the number of places equaling the vacancies to be filled.
  11. In the event that a tie vote prevents certification of the exact number of Senators-at-Large required to be elected, the Committee shall conduct a run-off election among only those candidates tied for election to the vacancy or vacancies still unfilled, in the same manner as was employed in the preceding putative final election.

Election of Senators - Representatives

  1. The Committee shall identify from Senate records those departments for which a Senator-representative vacancy will occur in the current year, whether by reason of expiration of prescribed term of office or otherwise.
  2. The Committee shall request each such department to elect, by whatever procedure it may deem appropriate but in accordance with Senate eligibility requirements, its Senator-representative to fill the vacancy.
  3. The Committee shall certify the election or re-election of each such Senator-representative pursuant to notification by the department concerned.
  4. Failure of a department to designate its Senator-representative to fill a scheduled vacancy in accordance with the election schedule shall preclude the seating of that department's Senator-representative until the Winter Term following.

Election Schedule

  1. Final election of Senators-at-Large shall be completed not later than two weeks prior to the second regularly scheduled Spring Term meeting of the Senate.
  2. Election of Senators-representatives shall be communicated by the departments concerned to the Committee not later than the second regularly scheduled Spring Term meeting of the Senate.

Unscheduled Senator-Representative Vacancies

  1. Vacancies in Senator-representative membership created by resignation or otherwise of a regularly elected incumbent, subsequent to the second Spring Term meeting of the Senate and before the Spring Term following, may be filled by appointment by the departments concerned until the next election, at which time such vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms by election.
  2. Such temporary appointments shall be certified by the Council of the Senate pursuant to notification by the departments concerned.

 


Proposal Adopted by Senate: 8 November 1967