Petitions

1. Form
   1. A petition shall be divided into packets. Each packet shall consist of a series of informational pages and signature pages. All informational pages and all signature pages shall be securely bound before the circulation of that petition packet.

   2. The informational pages shall contain the name of the appropriate candidate, slate (and the names of its members), or sponsor (and the organization requesting the Special Fee or the title of the ballot measure); their mailing address; their telephone number; and any additional information specified by the Constitution, these By-Laws, or the Special Charge of the Commission.

   3. Any missing informational pages shall invalidate a packet.

   4. The signature pages shall consist of a series of signatures, associated with the appropriate printed name and student identification number of each petitioner.

   5. The top of at least one side of each signature page of a packet shall state the name of the proposed candidate (and the district which they are a candidate from, if appropriate), slate (and its members), sponsor of and organization making a Special Fee request (and the amount requested), or sponsor and title of the ballot measure, whichever is appropriate.

   6. At the bottom of the first page of each packet the appropriate candidate, slate members, or sponsor, along with any member of the Association responsible for circulating the petition, shall attest that ``the signatures obtained in this packet were obtained in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Campaign Practices Code, and, to the best of my knowledge, all petitioners are members of the Association and have signed this petition only once.''

2. Prior Approval
   1. Candidates, slates, and sponsors shall have the option of submitting a sample petition packet to the Commission for their approval as to form.

   2. The Commission shall examine any sample petition packets thus submitted for their compliance with all relevant provisions of the Constitution, these By-Laws, and the Special Charge of the Commission within forty-eight hours of their submission (seventy-two hours if over a weekend), and shall either approve such petition packets as to form or shall state what modifications would be necessary in order to receive such approval. Any such approval, or any statement of necessary modifications, shall be made in writing. Before making such a determination, the Elections Commission shall seek the advice of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the Financial Manager concerning all Special Fee budgets which have not previously been approved by the Senate for placement on the ballot.

   3. Any petition packets which have been approved by the Commission as to form, or which were modified before their circulation so as to meet the requirements specified by the Commission and subsequently resubmitted and given final approval in writing by the Commission, shall be deemed to have met all relevant specifications of the Constitution, these By-Laws, and the Special Charge of the Commission. No such petition packet shall be invalidated for failure to meet these specifications, even if such failure is subsequently discovered.

   4. The Commission shall retain on file a copy of all petitions submitted or resubmitted for approval, and of all statements of necessary modifications.

3. Circulation
   1. Only members of the Association may circulate a petition packet. The member of the Association circulating a packet must be easily and immediately available to answer questions from potential petitioners, and is responsible for ensuring that each petitioner signs the petition correctly and legibly.

   2. No petitions shall be circulated before the first day on which declarations of intent for the relevant election may be filed.

   3. The member of the Association circulating a petition packet, or the sponsor, candidate, or slate for whom the petition is being circulated, may strike the name of any petitioner. No printed names or student identification numbers may be added or amended except if provided by the petitioner, provided that no such additions or amendments shall be made after the deadline for filing petitions.

   4. Any member of the Association may withdraw their name from a petition before its verification by notifying the appropriate candidate, slate, or sponsor, and by notifying the Commission.

   5. No petition packets shall be circulated in any University class; in lecture halls, or libraries (excluding lobby areas); in the public computer terminal areas of any building; or in the laboratory areas of any buildings (except with the consent of the occupants).

   6. Petition packets may be circulated at public events on the Stanford campus, provided that the member(s) of the Association circulating the petitions are available to answer any questions, and that the process of collecting signatures does not disrupt the planned event.

   7. No petition packets shall be circulated in any manner which impedes the normal operations of the University.

   8. The Commission shall have the authority to impose additional regulations governing the circulation of petitions only in extraordinary circumstances.

   9. Circulation of petitions in violation of these rules shall be grounds for the invalidation of such petitions. The Commission shall use its discretion in determining whether or not to invalidate a petition when an act constituting grounds for disqualification has occurred.

   10. For any petition which is believed to have been circulated in violation of these rules, the Commission shall determine whether or not to invalidate that petition. Notice of any such invalidation(s) shall then be posted in a public location announced in advance by the Commission. The Commission shall also make a reasonable effort to notify any candidate, slate, or sponsor whose petition was invalidated of that fact in a timely manner.
       1. For the Spring quarter general election, this determination shall be made, and the required notice posted, no later than seven days after the final deadline for the submission of petitions.

       2. For special elections, this determination shall be made, and the required notice posted, by a deadline specified in the Special Charge of the Commission, or, failing that, in the Election Timetable to be presented by the Commission to the Senate.

   11. No petition shall be invalidated by the Commission for violation of these rules unless an appropriate determination has been made, and the required notice posted, by the deadline specified.

4. Appeals
   1. Any candidate, slate, or sponsor whose petition has been invalidated by the Commission for violation(s) of the rules governing petition circulation may appeal such a decision to the Hearings Committee.

   2. Any candidate, slate, or sponsor wishing to appeal the invalidation of a petition shall file a written notice of appeal with the Council of Presidents no later than seventy-two hours after notice of the invalidation has been posted.

   3. Once such an appeal has been filed, the Commission shall proceed with the verification of the contested petition, and shall take all actions required to protect the rights of the appealing candidate, slate or sponsor to appear in the Elections Handbook and on the ballot, pending resolution of the appeal. However, should the petitions be found invalid for reasons other than violation(s) of the rules governing petition circulation, the appeal shall be declared moot and no hearing need be held.

   4. The Council of Presidents shall then notify the Chair of the Hearings Committee, who shall convene the Hearings Committee to hear the appeal. The relevant candidate, slate, or sponsor shall be given at least twenty-four hours advance notice of the time and place of the hearing.

   5. At the hearing the appropriate candidate, slate, or sponsor may be in attendance. Otherwise all hearings shall be closed to the public, but an accurate transcript of all proceedings shall be kept by a secretary appointed for this purpose by the Hearings Committee.

   6. At the hearing, the Elections Commissioner shall present the Commission's reasons for invalidating the petition, including the specific act(s) constituting violation(s) of the circulation rules alleged to have been committed and the reasons for believing they constitute grounds for invalidation.

   7. At the hearing, the candidate, slate, or sponsor appealing may present whatever evidence desired to the Hearings Committee. All members of the Association shall cooperate with any reasonable request for information made by this candidate, slate, or sponsor.

   8. Members of the Hearings Committee shall have the right to request any and all information they deem appropriate, including additional testimony, and all parties shall receive such information and have the right to challenge it.

   9. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearings Committee shall meet and determine whether or not a violation of the Campaign Practices Code or of a ruling of the Hearings Officer which justifies invalidation of the petition has occurred. However, the Hearings Committee shall have the discretion to determine the applicability and enforceability of rulings of the Commission. Only the three voting members of the Committee shall be present at this meeting.

   10. In making this determination, the Hearings Committee shall consider whether or not the alleged acts were in fact committed, whether or not they constitute a violation of the Campaign Practices Code or a ruling of the Hearings Officer, and whether or not they are sufficiently serious or affect a significant enough number of petition packets to justify invalidation.

   11. Should the Hearings Committee determine that invalidation was not justified, then the appeal shall be granted and the appropriate candidate, slate, Special Fee request, or ballot measure shall appear in the Elections Handbook and on the ballot, provided that all other requirements for appearance on the ballot have been satisfied. If the invalidation is found to have been justified, then the appeal shall be rejected and appearance on the ballot shall not occur.

   12. Should the Hearings Committee fail to conclude a hearing and make a determination as to whether to grant or reject an appeal in a timely fashion, responsibility for hearing the appeal shall devolve on the Council of Presidents. The Council shall then be responsible for conducting a hearing and making a determination following the procedures outlined above.
       1. For the Spring quarter general election, responsibility for hearing the appeal shall devolve on the Council if the Hearings Committee has not granted or rejected the appeal by 5:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of Spring quarter.

       2. For special elections, responsibility for hearing the appeal shall devolve on the Council if the Hearings Committee has not granted or rejected the appeal by a deadline specified in the Special Charge of the Commission, or failing that, in the Election Timetable presented by the Commission to the Senate.

   13. Should both the Hearings Committee and the Council of Presidents fail to either accept or reject an appeal on a timely basis, then the appropriate candidate, slate, Special Fee request, or ballot measure shall appear on the ballot, and in the Elections Handbook, provided that all other requirements for appearance on the ballot have been satisfied.
       1. For the Spring quarter general election, the deadline for either the Hearings Committee or the Council to accept or reject the appeal shall be noon on the second Tuesday of Spring quarter.

       2. For special elections, the deadline for either the Hearings Committee or the Council to accept or reject the appeal shall be specified in the Special Charge of the Commission, or, failing that, in the Election Timetable presented by the Commission to the Senate.

   14. Any decision by a candidate, slate, or sponsor to expend funds on campaign expenses in anticipation of the granting of an appeal shall be at the risk of that candidate, slate, or sponsor.

5. Verification
   1. The Commission shall verify all petitions as they are submitted, provided that an appropriate declaration of intent is on file.

   2. All petition packets that do not meet the specifications detailed in the Constitution, these By-Laws, and the Special Charge of the Commission shall first be declared invalid. All other petition packets shall be declared valid. The Commission shall have the authority to waive any defects in the form of a petition, if in their opinion the defects were not so serious as to prevent members of the Association from making an informed decision as to whether or not to sign that petition.

   3. The number of signatures submitted in support of the petition shall be the total number of signatures submitted in each valid petition packet, less any signatures not clearly associated with a printed name and student identification number.

   4. Petitions supported by fewer than the number of signatures required shall be declared invalid; otherwise the signatures shall be verified.

   5. Petitions of candidates and slates supported by no more that twenty-five signatures shall have all of the signatures verified. Petitions of candidates and slates supported by more than twenty-five signatures shall have a random sample of twenty-five signatures verified. Petitions for Special Fee requests and ballot measures shall have a random sample of fifty signatures verified.

   6. Verification of a signature shall consist of looking up both the associated printed name and student identification number in a list of registered students prepared by the Registrar. If the exact student identification number is in the list and the printed name reasonably matches the corresponding name in the list, or the exact printed name is in the list and the student identification number reasonably matches the corresponding number in the list, and if the individual in question is a member of the appropriate district or class, then that signature shall be considered valid. Otherwise, it shall be considered invalid. An ``exact match'' of a name shall consist of a last name, and either a first name or a middle name which exactly match those found in the printed list.

   7. In determining whether names or numbers ``reasonably match'', those verifying shall, within the limits of the relevant rules, err on the side of accepting a signature that seems to have been made in good faith by someone entitled to sign the petition. In particular, poor but legible handwriting, different word orders, and use of informal names shall not necessarily prevent names from ``reasonably matching'', and differences in up to two digits do not necessarily prevent student identification numbers from ``reasonably matching''. If the Registrar is in the process of changing student identification number format, either format shall be considered valid.

   8. If the fraction of valid signatures in the sample, multiplied by the total number of signatures supporting the petition, exceeds the number of signatures required for that petition, then the petition shall be declared valid; otherwise the petition shall be declared invalid.

   9. The Commission shall prepare a written report stating, for each petition submitted, the number of signatures submitted, the number of signatures verified, the number found to be invalid, and whether or not the petition as a whole was valid or invalid. For the Spring quarter general election, this report shall be transmitted to the Council of Presidents and the Senate Chair no later than the last day of Dead Week during Winter quarter.

6. Reverification
   1. Any candidate, slate, or sponsor may request a reverification of a petition by filing a reverification request within seventy-two hours after the announcement by the Commission of the results of the initial verification of the petition.

   2. All reverification requests shall contain the name of the requesting party, his/her local address and phone number, and either a $50bond (for candidates and slates) or a $250bond (for sponsors), to be placed on deposit with the Students' Organizations Fund.

   3. A request shall be considered filed upon receipt by the Elections Commissioner of the request and by the Students' Organizations Fund of the bond.

   4. The Commission shall then verify each signature submitted in support of the petition.

   5. If there are fewer valid signatures in support of the petition than required, then the petition shall be declared invalid and the bond credited to the budget reserve of the Commission; otherwise the petition shall be declared valid and the bond refunded.

   6. If on the basis of the reverification a petition is declared valid, when it was initially declared invalid, or if a petition is declared invalid when it was initially declared valid, then the bond shall be refunded by the Students' Organizations Fund; otherwise the bond shall be forfeit, and shall be credited to the budget reserve of the Commission.

7. All petitions shall be kept for three months, after which time they shall be destroyed. However, one or more sample copies of the information pages for each petition submitted for a Special Fee request or ballot measure shall be retained as a permanent record.