Undergraduate Student Government

Fall 2022 Election Packet

Thank you for your interest in joining the Undergraduate Student Government at the Storrs Campus of the University of Connecticut. The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is one of the largest student organizations on campus, with an annual budget of over $1.5 million. The primary duties of USG include allocating that money to different student groups and representing the student body to the administration, town, and state. USG also spearheads and assists in the development of initiatives to benefit the student body.

In this packet, you will find a description of USG as a whole, a description of the different positions that you can run for, rules and regulations governing the elections for those seats, and a series of forms that you must complete in order to appear on the ballot. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to reach out to the Chief Justice at judiciary@usg.uconn.edu. 

Table of Contents

Open Positions -  3

Elections Timeline - 4

About USG - 6

Open Position Descriptions - 7

Applicable Policies -  10

How to Get on the Ballot -  10

Open Positions for the Fall 2022 Election

Student Senator (open seats indicated below)

Open Residential Senate Seats

• Apartments (Charter Oak, Hilltop, Mansfield, and Northwood Apartments) - 3
• Alumni Mailroom (Alumni Quadrangle) - 1
• Buckley Mailroom (Buckley and Shippee Hall) - 1
• McMahon Mailroom (McMahon and West Campus) - 2
• Northwest Mailroom (Busby Suites, North Campus, Northwest Campus) - 5
• Putnam Mailroom (Garrigus Suites, Hilltop Halls, Werth Tower) - 3
• South Mailroom (South Campus) - 1
• Towers Mailroom (East Campus, Towers Quadrangle, Husky Village) - 3
• Off Campus - 11

Open Academic Senate Seats

Ac  ● ACES - 2

● CAHNR - 3

● CLAS - 2

● Business - 2

● Education - 1

● Engineering - 3

● Pharmacy - 1

● Fine Arts - 1

Open Multicultural and Diversity Senate Seats

• MCD - 3

Fall 2022 Elections Timeline

Monday, August 29

• Election Packet released

12 p.m., Friday, September 23

• Intent to Run form due

12 p.m., Tuesday, September 27 to 12 p.m., Thursday, September 29

• Election Voting Period

12 a.m., Friday, September 30

• Deadline to file Election Violations

6:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 5

• Swearing-in at Student Senate

6:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 12

• Senator Orientation at Caucus

Virtual information session(s) shall be scheduled and further campaign materials shall be released before and after the Intent to Run form is due. Stay up to date about such information through the USG website, social media, and email. Please contact the Chief Justice with any questions.

August 2022

September 2021

October 2022

About USG

The Undergraduate Student Government is broadly organized into three branches:  executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch consists of the President, Vice President, Comptroller, Chief of Staff, Chief Diversity Officer and any other persons that may be appointed to carry out the tasks of the Undergraduate Student Government.

The President is responsible for guiding the direction of the organization and nominating persons to fill different positions, including the student-held positions on University administration task forces and committees.

The legislative branch is led by the Speaker and their Senate Leadership team. Senators are members of the legislative branch and vote on crucial matters that come before the Undergraduate Student Government. Additionally, Senators must each sit on at least one committee where they assist with the various initiatives that the committee undertakes.

The judicial branch is led by the Chief Justice and a number of Associate Justices. The Judiciary is responsible for resolving conflicts within the Undergraduate Student Government such as funding appeals and sanction hearings. The Chief Justice and the judicial branch oversee USG elections.

Open Position Descriptions

Senator

Senators in the Undergraduate Student Government:

• Represent the interests and advocate on behalf of the specific represented constituency or as well as the student body as a whole.
• Actively seek the views and input of the student constituents.
• Establish and maintain frequent contact with the constituent population, including having regular weekly office hours.
• Motivate and involve constituents on issues pertinent to students’ quality of education and quality of life at UConn.
• Select a specific area of interest, and work tirelessly on advancing that focus for the benefit of the student body.
• Work with fellow Senators to advance legislation reflecting the interests of their constituents and the entire student body.
• Be an active and enthusiastic member of the Senate and USG as a whole.
• Attend and actively participate in all required USG training and development

programs.

• There are three different kinds of elected Senate seats:

• Residential Seats mean you represent the residential area in which you live on campus or you represent the interests of commuter/online students. These seats are up for election in the fall elections. Undergraduate students are only able to vote for a residential seat if they live in the area the seat represents or if they are a commuter voting for a commuter seat.
• Academic Seats mean you represent the school or college that you are a member of. These seats are generally up for election in the spring, with any vacancies being filled by the fall elections. Undergraduate students are only able to vote for Senate seats in their school or college.
• Multicultural and Diversity Seats are filled by members of communities that feel they are not being well represented in Student Government. Any member of any community may run, and you do not need to identify with that community at any point. These seats are up for election when vacant and are voted on by the entire student body.

Senator is an unpaid position expected to attend biweekly Senate and Caucus meetings held from 6:30pm to adjournment on Wednesdays, hold one office hour a week, and attend the meetings of one of USG’s advocacy committees.

Applicable Policies

USG Constitution: USG Constitution - Article VII, Section II, Page 19

USG Bylaws: Bylaws of the Undergraduate Student Government - Bylaw XV, Page 31

Campaigning and Advertising:

All campaign and election activities should strictly adhere to University Guidelines, most applicable guidelines are outlined below for campaigning and running for office.

In line with University guidelines, in-person campaigning on campus is permitted outside and inside buildings, including classrooms and academic locations. Acceptable activities include, but are not limited to:

• A candidate enrolled in a class announcing their campaign in that class (with the permission of all instructors)
• Creating a candidate account on social media
• Dorm-storming or dorm canvassing (when a candidate knocks on doors of dorms or apartments to campaign) will be allowed with the permission of the Residence Hall Director
• Hanging up campaign flyers in residence halls after applying through Residential Life

• Campaign flyers must be emailed to the Chief Justice for approval before being distributed or displayed

Candidates must receive written permission from the presiding Residence Hall Director in order to campaign in a residence hall. Such permission must be forwarded and confirmed by the Chief Justice before a candidate may participate in any campaign activity taking place in a residence hall.

Candidates are reminded to take precautions and exercise good judgment to ensure the safety and health of those on campus. Reckless behavior and discourteous behavior in general shall be penalized. A candidate’s personal conduct, as well as that of their campaign, should preserve the spirit and integrity of USG election rules and processes. If you have questions about appropriate campaign activities and guidelines, please contact the Chief Justice.

Senator candidates may print 100 copies at the USG Student Organization Center in the Student Union at no charge. If you would like more information about printing flyers or posters, please contact judiciary@usg.uconn.edu.

Reach out to the Chief Justice with any additional questions about campaign finances. Candidates will NOT be reimbursed for any costs spent because of their campaign.

Eligibility to run:

All fee-paying Storrs undergraduate students are eligible to run for the positions listed above. If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact the Chief Justice.

Write-in requirements:

Any candidate running a write-in campaign for a Senate seat must receive at least 10 write-in votes to be eligible for a position.

Meetings with the Chief Justice:

The Chief Justice will reach out to all candidates to offer an orientation meeting once their Intent to Run is submitted. Further meetings may be scheduled at the request of the candidate at any time during the election process to clarify policies and answer questions, as well as handle logistical concerns.

How to get on the Ballot

Intent to Run Form:

The Intent to Run form indicates that you want to run for one of the available positions. By filling it out you are promising to follow the rules and procedures listed above, and will therefore be on the ballot come the voting period. The form can be found here. 

If you plan on running for a position, the Intent to Run form must be filled out by 12 p.m. (noon) on Friday, September 23. The Chief Justice will reach out to confirm your candidacy.

Signatures, Budgets, and Rosters:

Signatures

No signatures shall be required to run for a Senate seat this fall. Please contact the Chief Justice with any questions.

Campaign Rosters

Senator campaigns will be required to submit campaign rosters in the Intent to Run form. The campaign roster will have all other UConn students (if any) campaigning on the prospective Senator’s behalf. Any actions taken by these members will be representative of the campaign at large and therefore, violations by members of a campaign staff can result in cases filed against the respective candidates.

Here is a link to a sample roster:

USG reserves the right to waive this requirement for uncontested elections and extenuating circumstances.

Voting Period:

The voting period will be from 12 p.m. on September 27th to 12 p.m. on September 29th on UConntact. During this period, all undergraduate students will be able to vote for MCD Senate Seats, as well as for the Senate seats that represent their residential and/or academic constituency.

If contested, the candidates with the most votes will win their race. If you have any questions about the election period or what happens if election rules are violated, please contact the Chief Justice.

Election Violations:

Allegations of election violations must be submitted to the Judiciary within 12 hours of the election period’s closing, by midnight on Friday, September 30th. Additional information about election violation submissions can be found in Bylaw XIV, Section 1.b. Specific questions about violations should be directed to the Chief Justice (judiciary@usg.uconn.edu) via email.

Changes to this packet:

This election packet is subject to change without notice; please refer back to it frequently over the course of election season. Thank you.