Elections - Student Community & Leadership Development

Three students in discussion outside the second student centre

Elections at York

Student Organizations that have mandatory membership (E.g. college/faculty governments) or that receive a levy are required to hold annual elections in a manner that ensures that members will have ample opportunity to participate and must be conducted through the use of the University’s electronic voting system YU Vote, or a comparably secure system to which the Vice-Provost, Students has given prior approval in writing.

Student Organizations elections processes must be prescribed in their respective constitutions and require the appointment of a trained Chief Returning Officer (CRO).

Are you looking to Host or Vote in an Election

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What is a Student Government?

Student governments provide both academic and social supports to the students at York University. They facilitate social events designed to help students integrate and acclimate to the York University community while building new and meaningful relationships. Such events include, but are not limited to Orientation Week, end of year formals, and group trips.

Student governments also provide academic support through peer mentorship programs, conferences, and other events like case competitions.

Student governments represent the voice of the student community on pan-university issues and commit to creating an atmosphere that is inclusive
and welcoming to all.

What Are the steps to hosting an election on YU Vote?

Reminder: Theses steps only apply to Student Organizations that have mandatory membership (E.g. college/faculty governments) or that receive a levy. For more detailed information on hosting elections check out our Guide to Student Organization Elections

Your Chief Returning Officer (CRO) will be responsible for all aspects of your elections, ranging from ruling on difficult election matters to completing the administrative tasks required to run an election.

A good CRO is someone that is organized, ethical, decisive, diplomatic, able to handle conflict, has a great attention to detail and can conduct themselves in an impartial manner

SCLD will provide student organizations with a recommended election timeline each term. Please see below for a sample timeline:

Stages in Election Process	Timeline
Promotional Period	Week 1
Nomination Period	Week 2/3
All Candidates Meeting	Final Day of Nomination Period
Campaign Period	Week 4/5
Debates (optional)	Held during Campaing Period
voting Period	week 6

Sample Timeline that can be used for fall/winter/summer

This information will provide SCLD with the necessary information to prepare for your elections. You can find who the eligible voters are for your election by checking the constitution. i.e. “Only first year students can vote for first year reps” “All students affiliated with Vanier college”

The ballot will list the positions being contested, the candidates who will be running for each position and the number of candidates that are to be selected for each position.

Note: Administrative offices close at 4:30 p.m.

Note: Information on the ballot cannot be changed once the election has started. Any
changes will result in any votes that were already submitted being lost.

NOTE: Information on the ballot cannot be changed once the election has started. Any changes will result in any votes that were already submitted being lost.

Only the elections that you are eligible to vote in will show up on your screen once you log into YU Vote. You cannot change your vote once you’ve submitted your ballot.

Once your elections conclude email the ERO (ero@yorku.ca). SCLD will provide the election results to the CRO. Within one week of the conclusion of the election, the CRO should submit the results of the election to their student organization. The election results will list the positions, the names of the candidates and the final vote count for each candidate.

CRO’s will typically generate a final report at the end of their elections to submit to their organization. It is recommended that organizations share this report with SCLD for record keeping. Reports may include:
• Election’s timeline
• Names of all candidates
• Positions that were filled
• Vacant positions
• Election results
• Summary of any major issues and complaints that arose during the election period
• Voting statistics (percentage of eligible voters who participated)
• Any recommendations for future changes to the process

How to vote in an election.

Head over to your college, faculty, or levy groups website to find information on upcoming elections.

Voting takes place on the YU VOTE platform where members log in using their Passport York. YU VOTE will only display the ballots in which a student is eligible for

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