Questions:

•1.       When do YFS elections take place?

•2.       Who is eligible to run?

•3.       Who is eligible to vote and how does it work?

• 4. Where can nomination packages be picked up?
• 5. What is considered to be campaign material?

•6.       Why do campaign materials need to be approved by the CRO?

•7.       Who administers the elections?

•8.       Where are polling stations located?

•9.       Where are the ballot boxes stored after a voting day?

•10.   Who counts the ballots?

•11.   If elected, when does the term begin?

•12.   Where are the ballots printed?

•13.   How are the CRO (Chief Returning Officer) and DRO's (Deputy Returning Officers) selected?

•14.   How are poll clerks selected?

•15.   Why does the YFS use a paper ballot voting system?

•16.   Are off-campus volunteers allowed to campaign for candidates?

•17.   Are slates/teams allowed in the YFS elections?

•18.   Can an entire slate/team be penalized for the actions of one individual?

•19.   How does voting work?

•20.   What happens if a student tries to vote twice?

•21.   How is the vote counted?

•22.   What is a spoiled ballot?

•23.   What happens if there are campaign materials at the polling station?

•24.   What happens when a ballot box is closed?

Answers:

•1.       When do YFS elections take place?

The YFS elections take place during the winter semester as decided by the Board of Directors.
There is a nomination period of from February 1, 2020 to February 12, 2010, where, each potential candidate is required to collect nominations from their appropriate constituencies.

Following an all-candidates meeting for eligible candidates, there will be a two week campaign period which, ends in 4 days of voting from February 22, 2010 to March 5, 2010.

•2.       Who is eligible to run?

All members of the York Federation of Students are eligible to stand as candidates.
Membership of the York Federation of Students consists of all registered undergraduate students at York University.

•3.       Who is eligible to vote and how does it work?

All members of the York Federation of Students are eligible to vote once at a polling station during the prescribed voting period. 
Membership of the York Federation of Students consists of all registered undergraduate students at York University.

In order to vote, students will be required to present valid photo identification.

Voting is done by paper ballot. At the polling station, students will receive up to 7 ballots, 5 for each contested executive position and 2 for the faculty and college directors.

Each ballot will consist of the candidates for the specific position, students will be asked to select one per ballot.

• 4. Where can nomination packages be picked up?
  Nomination forms are available to be picked up from the YFS Office as soon as the nomination period opens from February 1, 2010 to February 12, 2010 during regular hours. Completed nomination packages can be dropped off until the close of nomination period Friday, February 12, 2010 at 4p.m.

A member who fails to submit a proper nomination form is treated as if they submitted no nomination form. A completed nomination form includes the completion of all pages and sections of the nomination package in full.

A Director Candidate nomination form must be signed by at least thirty (30) Union members in the relevant constituency and submitted to the CRO or designate, by the close of the nomination period.

An Executive Candidate nomination form must be signed by at least one-hundred (100) Union members from any constituency and submitted to the CRO, or designate, by the close of the nomination period.

All potential candidates must attend the All Candidates Meeting on Friday February 12, 2010 at 6p.m.

•5.       What is considered to be campaign material?

All campaign material must be approved by the CRO, if campaign material is not approved, the candidate will be penalized.
Campaign material shall mean any item, design, sound, symbol, or mark that is created or copied in any form in order to and/or likely to influence at least one voter to cast a ballot in favour or in opposition of a candidate.

Campaigning shall mean any attempt by an individual or organization to encourage a student to cast a ballot in favour or in opposition of a candidate. This may occur with or without campaign material.

Campaign materials can include posters, leaflets, newspapers , candy or anything that is handed out as well as facebook, websites, and  youtube.

•6.       Why do campaign materials need to be approved by the CRO?

The approval of campaign materials is to ensure that the information given is fair and not slanderous. It is also to ensure that candidates are remaining within their appropriate limitations be it financial or otherwise.

•7.       Who administers the elections?

The elections are administered by the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) on behalf of the Elections Committee.

•8.       Where are polling stations located?

The locations of the polling stations are determined by the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) and will always include high traffic areas such Student Centre, Central Square, Vari Hall and Glendon College.

•9.       Where are the ballot boxes stored after a voting day?

At the end of a voting day, each has to option to be present (or have a representative present) in order to sign off on each ballot box and accompany the ballot box to York security at the William Small Centre. The ballot boxes are then stored in safe and secure location which is only accessible to the Chief of Security and the CRO. The ballot boxes are not to be moved until the day of counting.

•10.   Who counts the ballots?
The ballots are counted by the poll clerks upon the completion of the election. Each candidate is able to send a representative on their behalf to scrutineer the vote count.

•11.   If elected, when does the term begin?
The term for all elected candidates begins May 1, 2010 until April 30, 2011.

•12.   Where are the ballots printed?
The ballots are printed at a print shop on-campus or off-campus. Ballots can only be ordered by the CRO or the head of the elections committee.
Each printed ballot is stamped and signed by the CRO prior to being released to a polling station

•13.   How are the CRO (Chief Returning Officer) and DRO's (Deputy Returning Officers) selected?
The CRO is appointed by the YFS Board. The DRO's are hired by the CRO.

•14.   How are poll clerks selected?
Poll clerks are hired by the DRO's.

•15.   Why does the YFS use a paper ballot voting system?
The YFS Elections Procedures code allows for either online voting or paper ballot however, traditionally paper ballot creates a larger voter turnout than online voting.

•16.   Are off-campus volunteers allowed to campaign for candidates?
Yes. However, candidates are responsible for the actions of all volunteers.

•17.   Are slates/teams allowed in the YFS elections?
Yes, candidates can choose to run in a team or as individual candidates.

•18.   Can an entire slate/team be penalized for the actions of one individual?
Yes, if the individual is acting on behalf of the candidate(s), then the entire team is liable for the individuals actions.

•25.   How does voting work?

When a poll clerk arrives at the polling station they must be logged into the voting system before they are able to open the station.  This requires a password and login, only the CRO, DRO and Chair of the Elections Committee have access to these passwords. When a student arrives at the polling station they must present their ID to the poll clerk, each polling station has two poll clerks.  The poll clerk ensures that the student matches the id that is presented and then enters the students name and student number in the voting system. When the information is entered the system tell the poll clerk what faculty and college the student is in. the student is then given five executive ballots, one for each executive candidate and then one ballot for their corresponding faculty and college. Each ballot is initialed by the poll clerk prior to it being given to the student. Once the ballot is given to the student they are marked as voted in the system and they are automatically removed from the voter's list in real time at every polling station. The student then goes behind the voting screen and casts their ballot.  The ballots are then place in the ballot box.

•26.   What happens if a student tries to vote twice?

In some cases the system will say that a student has already voted (their name cannot be accessed on the voters list) in some cases this is a clerical error when the system cannot read a hyphen or apostrophe in a name, the students name is not on the list provided by the university or the student has already voted and is attempting to cheat the system.  If it appears that a student has already the poll clerk will inform the student of this, if the student is adamant that they have not voted that are allowed to vote. The student is given their ballots and two envelopes.  The student fills out their ballots and then places them in the smaller of the two envelopes.  The student then places the smaller envelop in the larger envelop and seals it.  Over the seal of the envelop they print their first and last name and student number.  The ballot is then placed in the ballot box. When the ballot box is opened the "double enveloped" ballots are pulled aside and the names and student numbers are compared to a master list to see if a student had indeed voted twice. If the student has not voted the ballot is removed from the larger envelop and the smaller envelop is placed with the ballots as they are being sorted the ballot is then opened and sorted with the rest of the ballots, this ensures that the vote remains confidential.  If the master list indicated that the student has already voted, the ballot is not counted. If the students name does not appear on the list at all, these ballots are set aside and the names and student numbers are then sent to the registrar's office for review to ensure that they are legitimate students. If they are students their votes are entered and added to the count.  This is why the votes are originally released as "unofficial results". During the entire review process scrutineers for all candidates are present and are observing everything.

•27.   How is the vote counted?

The vote count is done is a very that is very thorough which is why it can sometimes take quite a bit of time. Each slate is permitted to send one scrutineer per counting table to observe the counting process.  Each independent candidate is allowed to send one scrutineer.  The scrutineers are there to ensure that everything is in order and to challenge if a vote is spoiled or not. A ballot box is brought to the sorting table where it is inspected by the scrutineers to ensure that it has not been tampered with. (when a ballot box is sealed, it is signed by representatives from each slate and independent candidates, the boxes are provided by elections Canada and are near impossible to tamper with.) The box is then opened and the ballots are sorted based on position.  Once all the ballots have be sorted they are brought to a counting table.  At the table there are a minimum of five individuals that review the count.  Once counter who counts the ballots, two counters who tally the vote and usually a minimum of two scrutineers.  Each ballot is independently counted and if a scrutineer believes that there is not a clear indication of a vote on a ballot they may challenge the ballot.  At this point all counting stops and the CRO approaches the table and makes a ruling on whether or not the ballot will be counted. From there the count continues. Once the count is done, the two counters must have the same number on their counting sheet.  If they do not, the ballots are counted again. If the tally sheets match the CRO is called and the totals, with the tally sheets and the ballots are brought to the elections committee chair who enters the totals into a spreadsheet. Scrutineers are present for this entire process.  The ballots and tally sheets are then put back into the ballot box from which they were removed. When the entire box is counted, the box is resealed with the seals signed by the scrutineers. This process is then repeated for each ballot box. It is a lengthy process because each student gets seven ballots and each ballot needs to be counted. So if 8,000 students vote then there are 56, 000 ballots to count.

•28.   What is a spoiled ballot?

A spoiled ballot is any ballot that does not have a clear indication for an individual candidate. Examples are blank ballots or ballots with more than one candidate selected.

•29.   What happens if there are campaign materials at the polling station?

Sometimes students will bring campaign materials with them to the polling stations and leave them there after they leave.  Poll clerks instruct students not to bring their materials with them but occasionally it does happen. To be clear materials are left for all teams.  Poll clerks regularly check the voting area for materials and then remove them.  If you see materials you should inform the poll clerk and they will remove them immediately.

•30.   What happens when a ballot box is closed?

When a ballot box is closed a representative from each team or independent candidate is called to the polling station.  The box is sealed in all areas then the seals are then signed by the representative present. The signature indicates that they believe the ballot box is secure and ready for transport. A photo is also taken of the ballot box with the representatives for additional records. The ballot box remains at the polling station until the end of the voting day when it is transported with the rest of the boxes, under the scrutiny of the candidate representatives, to the secure location.