Election Timeline:
- 3/20 – 4/3: Nomination Period
- 4/9: Deadline to accept nominations
- 4/17 – 4/24: Voting
- 4/29: Results expected
- 5/7: Transition Meeting
Expectations of Nominees:
All nominees and candidates for GSA positions must currently be enrolled as a full-time student at UC Merced and continue to be enrolled full-time during the term in which they are elected. All nominees and candidates must declare potential conflicts of interest with other individuals if any exist.
No one should feel unsafe to nominate, or run for office, nor should they feel unsafe voting for the candidates of their choice. Peers are allowed to endorse nominees. However, forms of slander including the spread of rumors and or shaming of any nominee, candidate, or affiliate are unacceptable and will be reprimanded. Monetary approaches to endorsement and/or campaigning for any nominee or candidate are also prohibited.
As future faculty and professionals, we are setting an example to our student body and thus need to be democratic about the election process at all times.
Contact the GSA Elections Commission (gsa@ucmerced.edu) for any questions and concerns about the election criterion in this page, including any violations of these election criterion.
If you feel harassed or targeted, please contact the UC Merced Ombuds Office (209-228-4410).
Eligibility for Office:
Only current UC Merced graduate or professional students can run for positions in the Graduate Student Association at UC Merced. All Executive Council offices are open to all current UC Merced graduate and professional students. Delegate Assembly positions are available in each respective graduate group at UC Merced and are open to students independently in each graduate group. For example, a graduate student in the Bioengineering graduate group is eligible to run for a Bioengineering Delegate Assembly position. However, a Bioengineering graduate student is not eligible to run for a Sociology Delegate Assembly position because the student is not a graduate student in the Sociology graduate group.
Individuals concurrently serving on the GSA Elections Commission are not eligible to run for a position in the GSA during the election cycle in which they are serving as commissioners.
All candidates for positions in the GSA must be in good academic and judicial standing at the time of the election cycle and at the time of appointment to office.
Nomination Eligibility:
Only current UC Merced graduate or professional students may nominate an individual for any of the positions available in this election cycle. The GSA Elections Commission will only recognize nominations if they are submitted during the nomination period as stated in the timeline.
Acceptance of Nominations:
Only current UC Merced graduate or professional students can accept nominations to run for positions in the GSA at UC Merced. Any current graduate or professional student nominated for an Executive Council position can accept their nomination to run for that position. A student in a particular graduate group can accept a nomination to run for a Delegate Assembly position corresponding to that graduate group. For example, a graduate student in the Bioengineering graduate group can accept a nomination to run for a Bioengineering Delegate Assembly position. However, a Bioengineering graduate student cannot accept a nomination for a Sociology Delegate Assembly position because the student is not a graduate student in the Sociology graduate group.
All nominations must be accepted electronically via UC Merced email or other UC Merced identity management service to serve as an electronic record. Nominated individuals will be given instructions on how to accept their nomination to run for the position for which they have been nominated. This will include submitting a bio and a headshot to be added to the ballot. Individuals who have accepted their nomination and submitted the required material before the deadline to accept nominations as stated in the timeline will be added to the ballot as candidates. The GSA Elections Commission will only recognize an acceptance of nomination if the required material is submitted prior to the deadline for accepting nominations as stated in the timeline.
Being nominated for a position, including self-nominations, does not automatically constitute an acceptance of nomination. All nominated individuals must comply with the same instructions as all other nominees.
Candidates may only accept one nomination for office per election cycle. Should a candidate choose to accept a nomination for a second position up for election, their nomination acceptance for the first position will be cancelled. Candidates who wish to withdraw their nomination acceptance must do so at least 24 hours before voting begins.
Voting:
Only current UC Merced graduate or professional students can vote in the GSA election at UC Merced.
All current graduate and professional students at UC Merced may vote for one candidate per Executive Council position. Each graduate group will independently vote for Delegate Assembly candidates corresponding to their graduate group. The number of votes allowed for students in a particular graduate group is equal to the number of Delegate Assembly positions available in that graduate group.
All current graduate and professional students at UC Merced may vote on proposed GSA constitutional amendments and proposed referenda pertaining to graduate students at UC Merced.
A plurality vote is needed to be elected for each position in GSA. Delegate Assembly candidates with the next-highest plurality vote will be elected as “Alternate” Delegates for their respective graduate group. If there is a tie, the GSA Elections Commission will work with the relevant candidates to decide on how to resolve the tie.
Any proposed GSA constitutional amendment will pass if at least 2/3 (two-thirds) of non-abstaining votes support passage of the proposed amendment.
Any proposed referenda will pass if at least 20% of all eligible graduate students cast a non-abstaining vote and a majority of non-abstaining votes support passage of the proposed referenda, in accordance with the University of California PACAOS Section 80.00: POLICY ON COMPULSORY CAMPUS-BASED STUDENT FEES.
