Voting

PURPOSE

This procedure sets how membership votes are administered: who runs them, the permitted methods, notice and the roll, how voting is conducted, and how results are declared and challenged.

1. ADMINISTRATION

1.1 Internal Affairs administers every membership vote. Where Internal Affairs has a conflict of interest, the President appoints another executive. Where both are conflicted, the Board appoints an uninvolved Active Member. The administrator shall not campaign.

2. METHOD

2.1 A vote may be held in person, at a meeting held in person, online or both, or online by Discord poll or online form. The permitted methods for each kind of vote are:

2.2 A Discord poll shall be run only in a channel restricted to voting members and set up from the register under SOP-ADM-06. Each member votes from their own account only. Internal Affairs records the result before the poll closes and keeps a screenshot.

2.3 An online form shall allow one response per voting member, verified by SFU email, and shall keep secret ballots anonymous.

2.4 An online vote remains open for seven days. A vote at a meeting is decided at the meeting.

2.5 The President may require a stricter method than this section permits, but never a less strict one.

3. NOTICE AND THE ROLL

3.1 Notice shall be given fourteen days before a vote on an amendment, with the full text, or on dissolution, and seven days before any other vote, including removal of an executive or the President, exclusion and expulsion. A general meeting requested by member petition under Constitution §7.7 shall be held within thirty days of the petition. The notice states the question, method, roll cut-off date, voting times, thresholds and a contact, and is sent to every voting member through an official channel.

3.2 The roll lists the Active Members, Members on Leave and General Members as of the cut-off date. Candidates, Probation Members and Advisors are never on the roll. Objections may be made up to 48 hours before voting opens, and the President decides them.

3.3 No change of status takes effect between the cut-off date and the close of the vote.

3.4 The turnout base is the number of Active Members on the roll plus any other voting member who casts a vote. For example, with 20 Active Members, 5 Members on Leave and 8 General Members, of whom 3 Members on Leave and 2 General Members vote, the turnout base is 25.

4. CONDUCT OF THE VOTE

4.1 Each member has one vote. Proxy voting is not permitted.

4.2 Ballots offer For, Against and Abstain, or Ratify, Reject and Abstain. Abstentions count toward turnout but not toward passing.

4.3 In-person ballots are counted by two uninvolved tellers. A call vote uses a roll call.

4.4 An online voting period may be extended once, by up to seven days, for low turnout. It shall never be shortened.

5. RESULTS

5.1 Thresholds are set in Constitution §7.4, and a tie fails. Where turnout is not met, the vote may be held again once; if it fails again, a general meeting decides whether to pursue the matter.

5.2 Within 48 hours, the administrator shall publish the turnout base, the turnout, the votes for, against and abstaining, and whether each threshold was met. For a vote concerning an individual, only totals are published.

5.3 Records of votes concerning an individual or the Constitution are kept permanently. All other voting records are kept for two years.

5.4 A dispute is raised with the President within seven days, on the grounds of defective notice, an incorrect roll, a breach of method, or a miscount. The President confirms the result, orders a recount or holds the vote again, with reasons. The result stands unless set aside.

REVISION HISTORY