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SGA Election Rules

Thank you for your interest in SGA. Running for a seat on SGA can be both an exciting and rewarding experience. Getting elected is a great way to get involved and make a difference at Monmouth University.

The Senate is comprised of elected members that include a President and Vice President, 6 Senior Senators, 6 Junior Senators, 6 Sophomore Senators, 6 Freshmen Senators, 4 Senators At-Large, and 2 Commuter Senators. Upon being elected, the incoming President and Vice President will also select a number of Senators as well as Monmouth students to serve on the Executive Board. The Executive Board is comprised of the President and Vice President, along with the Chief Justice, President Pro-Tem, Budget Director, Director of Specialty Funding, Director of Student Affairs, Director of Events Programming, and Director of PR/Advertising.

Undergraduate and graduate students may run for office (Senator at Large and Commuter Senator) during the spring election or when vacancies become available.

If you plan to run for a seat on SGA and intend to hold a campus wide campaign, you need to thoroughly review the election rules listed below. Candidates and/or their supporters MUST adhere to these rules. If a candidate (and/or their supporters) is found in violation of any of these rules that candidate may be disqualified.

Election Timeline

  • Candidate Applications: . Candidates for President and Vice President are required to submit a mission statement (250 words maximum) to bfariell@monmouth.edu by the deadline noted.
  • Candidate Photos: Candidates will include an appropriate head shot of themselves as part of the online candidate application.
  • Campaign: Will take place on the SGA social media platforms and begin at .  No new campaign material may be posted once the election begins.
  • Election: Will be online and begin .

Candidate Eligibility

  • Candidates running for President and Vice President MUST schedule a meeting with the current SGA President and Vice President before the campaign begins
  • Graduate students may run for the following positions (Senator-at-Large and Commuter Senator).
  • A first year student running for sophomore office must have 29.5 earned credits by September 1.
  • Sophomores running for junior office must have 59.5 earned credits by September 1.
  • Juniors running for senior office must have 90 credits earned by September 1.
  • Candidates for Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Commuter Senator and Senator At-Large must have an overall GPA of 2.75 or better by the start of fall 2023 fall semester in order to hold office.
  • Candidates for President and Vice President must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better by the start of the 2023 fall semester in order to hold office.
  • Candidates for President and Vice President must have at least (1) one full academic year of service on the Senate; must have completed or be in the process of completing 24 credits at Monmouth University; and must not have been removed from the Senate for attendance or disciplinary actions in the past.  Each candidate must have held at least 1 committee head/chair/director position with SGA for (1) one full academic year.
  • Candidates may not be on academic or disciplinary probation.
  • Each undergraduate candidate must be registered for at least 12 Monmouth University credits and each graduate candidate must be registered for at least 9 Monmouth University credits (registered means carry and maintain).
  • Candidates who have been removed from the Senate (2) two times for attendance or academic violations or who were impeached from the Senate (1) one time are not permitted to run for office.
  • Winning candidates have until September 1 of the year they are to serve on the Senate to make sure that they have the necessary credits and overall GPA as required in the Student Government Association Constitution and Senate Bylaws.

Election Committee and Chairpersons

  • The Elections Committee shall be responsible for interpreting all the rules of the election.
  • The Elections Committee shall be responsible for deciding whether or not a candidate is eligible to run for office.
  • The Elections Committee shall develop and implement a voting system to carry out Senate related elections. The Elections Committee Chairpersons shall be responsible for the enforcement of election rules, the investigation of election complaints, and the only people to officially post election results, and any official statements concerning elections.

Methods of Campaigning for Candidates/Supporters

  • Campaigns are limited to the Monmouth University campus.
  • Examples of the campaign materials must be submitted to the election committee before it can be displayed. Non-interactive websites are permitted as part of the campaign.
  • Facebook Groups and Events are permitted as part of the campaign. However, the wall MUST BE DISABLED so that people cannot leave comments. No more event invitations can be sent after elections have begun.
  • Twitter is allowed during campaigning week, but CANNOT be used during the election.
  • Digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are permitted
  • During elections, NO NEW campaign materials can be posted online OR on the campus. Candidates and their friends CANNOT place Facebook statuses or tweets that ask students to vote for them. They can only say “Don’t forget to vote in the SGA election on…...” If you are in doubt whether something is allowed, ask the elections committee before you do it. It’s better to be safe than to find yourself disqualified.
  • Where possible, candidates should disable comments on any social media post, group or event.
  • Promoting a candidate or soliciting votes in any of the academic or administrative buildings is prohibited. (The only exception to this is having a poster hanging on approved bulletin boards.)
  • Campaign events that promote a candidate are permitted both inside and outside the Student Center and Magill Commons Dining Hall, with prior approval from the Elections Committee.
  • Requests to post campaign materials (example: posters) on University property MUST be submitted to the Office of Student Activities, located on the 2nd Floor of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center for approval and stamp.
  • Materials posted in the residence halls and apartments MUST be approved and stamped by the Office of Residential Life, located in Pinewood Hall. Residence hall stairwells, restrooms, and halls are all permitted for posting, with approval from the Office of Residential Life. If you wish to dorm-storm you must also get prior permission from the Office of Residential Life.
  • Requests to post notices or advertisements of any kind in Boylan Gymnasium, The OceanFirst Bank Center, Kessler Field, or any other athletic facility are not permitted.
  • The posting of any flier of any kind on vehicles on University property is strictly prohibited.
  • The use of e-mail for the posting of advertisements or notices will not be permitted.
  • Fliers may be posted on approved bulletin boards. Fliers may be posted on residence hall room doors if permitted to do so. Fliers may not be posted on windows, elevators, wood surfaces, and walls.
  • The posting of materials on trees, lampposts, or building exteriors is not permitted. Thumbtacks must be used in posting materials on bulletin boards. Candidates may not use staples when posting fliers on the bulletin boards. Campaign material that is deemed obscene, libelous, racist, sexist, in poor taste, or offensive to the diverse University community will not be permitted.
  • Any infraction of the posting rules by a candidate or a party connected thereto may result in the disqualification of that candidate. All candidates found in violation of these rules will be subject to loss of future posting privileges, charges for any damage that may occur as a result of such postings, and charges may be filed under the University’s Student Code of Conduct.

Methods for Removing Campaign Materials

  • Candidates/supporters may not attempt to solicit votes or hold campaigning events after the election has begun.  This means you cannot stand outside asking people to vote for you, have friends dorm-storm or pass–out flyers, etc.  Please recall the above rules regarding Facebook, Twitter, posters, and flyers, as well. Facebook Groups and Events MUST have a DISABLED wall so people cannot leave comments. During elections, NO NEW campaign materials can be posted online OR on the campus (i.e. posters). Candidates and their friends CANNOT place Facebook statuses or tweets that ask students to vote for them. All infractions of these rules could cause your disqualification.
  • Campaign materials are to be removed by the candidate/supporters within 24 hours of the conclusion of the election.

Election Days Procedures

  • Elections will take place over a 24 hour period, to be set by the election committee.
  • Students will cast their votes on-line using their Monmouth University Portal.
  • The entire student body will cast votes for the respective candidates running for President, Vice President, Sophomore Senator, Junior Senator, Senior Senator, Senator-At-Large, and Commuter Senator.

Complaints

  • When a candidate believes that campaign procedures may have been violated, a written compliant along with all necessary evidence must be emailed to the Elections Committee Chairpersons BEFORE the polls close. A complaint(s) must be signed by the candidate and a witness. The Elections Committee will not consider any complaints unless the person(s) appear before the Elections Committee.
  • A complaint will be considered after the polls close only if reasonable cause can be shown for the late submission.
  • The Elections Committee shall then review the complaint to see if it is valid and determine what action should be taken.

Disqualification

  • A violation of any of the election rules by any candidate or a party connected thereto may be reason enough for disqualification.
  • The disqualification of a candidate will be determined by the elections committee.
  • In the event that a candidate is removed from the election process, the candidate with the next highest vote total will (a) assume the disqualified candidate’s position on the Senate or (b) move up one position in the final vote candidates.

Results

  • The Elections committee will review the ballots after the polls close. At least (1) one Senate Advisor will be present during this process for compliance purposes.
  • The candidate with the highest number of votes for each office shall be deemed the winner.
  • Candidates who run for President or Vice President will need a simple majority of votes to be considered the winner.
  • The election results will be posted through an e-mail to all current students. This e-mail will be sent out as soon as the vote count has been verified.
  • When there is a tie by two or more candidates for any vacancy, a run-off election will be held no later than (1) one week from the date of the original election.

Questions?

  • Candidates should thoroughly review the SGA ELECTION RULES AND REGULATIONS, before the campaign and election takes place.  If a candidate has a question regarding the election process it should directed to the Elections Chairperson(s) BEFORE the campaign begins.  Any changes or modifications to the rules and regulations listed above will not be considered after the campaign begins.  All questions should be submitted to the Election’s Committee in writing to the following email address:  sgaelections@monmouth.edu.