These rules serve as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, the relevant Bylaws of the Association, the Undergraduate Senate and the Graduate Student Council (“the Bylaws”). All candidates, candidate slates and special fees groups petitioning this year (“Petitioners”) are expected to know and abide by the information presented in the Bylaws, and if any information on this page contradicts the information in the Bylaws, the Bylaws are controlling.
Special Fees petition thresholds vary based on the circumstances of each group’s petition. This quarter there are 6779 undergraduate students, 482 co-terminal students and 8102 graduate students on campus (these figures were obtained from the Registrar in January 2008). As co-terminal students may sign either undergraduate or graduate petitions, there are 7261 students eligible to sign undergraduate petitions, 8584 students eligible to sign graduate petitions and 14881 students eligible to sign joint petitions. As such, the following thresholds apply:
The Elections Commission defines a petition to be the section of the database on which the data for a given petition are stored, together with the web interface associated with the petition. Each Petitioner will be assigned a web page that will be pre-approved as a petition instrument when it is assigned. Only the signatures in the database will be counted by the Elections Commission.
For undergraduate candidates who are petitioning, the thresholds are: 100 signatures for Undergraduate Senate Candidates; 100 signatures for Class President Slates; and 200 signatures for Executive Slates. Once the threshold has been reached for a Petitioner, his/her petition will be considered "submitted," as the term is defined in the Bylaws.
The Elections Commission defines a petition to be the section of the database on which the data for a given petition are stored, together with the web interface associated with the petition. Each Petitioner will be assigned a web page that will be pre-approved as a petition instrument when it is assigned. Only the signatures in the database will be counted by the Elections Commission.
Petitioning for candidates will begin as soon as possible after a candidate submits the Declaration of Intent, but no earlier than 12:01a on Tuesday, February 19, 2008. Petitioning for each Special Fees group will begin as soon as possible after the group's submission of the necessary documentation. Any petitions for matters other than candidates or special fees will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. All candidates must complete petitioning by Noon on Monday, March 3, 2008; all other petitioning must be complete by Noon on Friday, March 7, 2008.
A confirmation email will be sent to each student whose signature gets placed in the database for each petition. Petitioners are encouraged to remind students signing their petitions that signatures have not been considered received until the confirmation email is sent, and that any irregularities in the process should be reported to the 2008 Elections Commission. The confirmation email will also include information on how to report unauthorized signature collection or placement on petitions. Petitioners are advised that these allegations will be taken very seriously by the 2008 Elections Commission and are asked not to risk invalidation of their petitions by violating the rules listed here or in the Bylaws. In addition, Petitioners are asked to show respect for members of the Stanford community in the manner in which petition signatures are collected. In particular, to the extent possible, Petitioners are asked to adhere to accepted social norms and university policies regarding soliciting signatures in person and over the internet.
Petition website - http://petitions.stanford.edu
Elections website - http://elections.stanford.edu