Listed below is a detailed calendar of events for the General Election process in the Brooklawn Student Council. The process begins in late February with the B.L.T. Saturday Leadership Training Conference and Candidate Training Course to prepare potential student leaders, continues with the registration and petitioning phase to establish the viability of a candidate, then culminates in electioneering activities and the General Election.

Potential student leaders interested in running for Executive Board office should carefully review the calendar below, as they are responsible for all deadlines posted.

February 9-16	All seventh graders intending to run for Student Council President or Vice President (Senior Office) must register for the Candidate Training Course and complete the Course Application that includes a worksheet to confirm their eligibility to run for office.  Course Applications are due to Mr. Miller by 3:00 p.m. on Friday February 17.
February 23 March 1 March 8 March 16	The Candidate Training Course meets from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on each of these afternoons in B-16.  Successful completion of this course is REQUIRED in order to run for President or Vice President.
Saturday February 25	B.L.T. Saturday is our Leadership Training Conference, held from 8:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m.  All sixth graders intending to run for Junior Office (Secretary or Treasurer) are REQUIRED to attend this conference or complete an alternate assignment in advance. Participation in B.L.T. Saturday is also part of the seventh grade Candidate Training Course.
March 26-28	All sixth graders intending to run for Student Council office must formally Register with the Advisor, declare the office they are seeking, and complete a Candidate Eligibility Worksheet to verify their eligibility to run for office. Seventh graders that successfully completed the Candidate Training Course and who intend to run for Student Council President or Vice President must Register with the Advisor and declare the office they are seeking.
Thursday March 29	MANDATORY sixth grade Potential Candidates Meeting during Period 5 in B-16, at which completed Candidate Eligibility Worksheets will be collected and reviewed. Candidate Application Packets will be given to all qualified candidates.  Rules and expectations for appropriate behavior during the Petitioning Process will be discussed. MANDATORY seventh grade Potential Candidates Meeting during Period 6 in B-16. Candidate Application Packets will be given to all qualified candidates. Rules and expectations for appropriate behavior during the Petitioning Process will be discussed.
Monday April 2	Petition Cards will be handed out to all sixth and seventh grade students during homeroom.  Students must use their Petition Card when signing any Election Petition, and must not lose them, for they will not be replaced under any circumstances!
Tuesday April 3	Cross-Petitioning will take place, where seventh grade Potential Candidates will attend Period 5 lunch and sixth Grade Potential Candidates will attend Period 6 lunch to meet students from the opposite grade and collect signatures.
Thursday April 5	Candidate Application Packets must be completed and returned with all Petition Cards from students signing the Election Petition no later than 3:00 p.m.  Anyone that fails to do so will not become a Candidate for office! Campaign Posters due to Mr. Miller in B-16 by 8:30 a.m.  Candidates may submit 2 posters each - see the Rules Of Electioneering for more information.
Monday April 16	Campaign Speech Drafts due to Mr. Miller by 8:30 a.m. They will be reviewed by the end of the school day.  All candidates should keep a copy, as speech drafts will not be returned!
April 16-18	Electioneering Period - candidates may hand out buttons, etc. as long as they follow posted Campaign Rules.  See the Rules of Electioneering for more information.
Tuesday April 17	MANDATORY Candidate Meetings during Period 5 (sixth grade) and Period 6 (seventh grade). Final Campaign Speeches will be collected, and appropriate behavior before, during, and after the election will be discussed.
Wednesday April 18	Campaign Speech Assemblies - 6th grade 8:25-9:25 and 7th grade 9:40-10:40. The General Election will be conducted in 6th grade classes during Period 6 and 7th grade classes during Period 7.
Thursday April 19	The General Election winners will be revealed during the Morning Announcements. There will be an organizational Meeting for newly elected Executive Board after school from 2:45-3:45 in B-16.

 

ARTICLE IV, SECTION 1 of our Student Council Constitution

The Executive Board will be chosen in a general election of the entire sixth and seventh grade Student Body, and will contain at most twelve members except in times of transition.  All terms for the offices listed below will begin on the day of the Graduation Ceremony in June, and will end on the day of the Graduation Ceremony in the following year.

1. A President, who is a seventh grade student at time of election.
2. A Vice President, who is a seventh grade student at time of election.
3. A Treasurer, who is a sixth grade student at time of election.
4. A Secretary, who is a sixth grade student at time of election.
5. A Board of Directors, to include the students who each receive the second highest number of votes in the election for each Office above.  The President-elect may appoint other unsuccessful candidates in the seventh grade to the Board of DIrectors, with consent of the Advisor and under the limitations outlined in this Article.  Each member of the Board of Directors will become the chair of a Standing Committee as defined in the Sixth Article, to be assigned by the President and Advisor.
6. Any member of the Student Body elected as Middle Level Representative to the New Jersey Association of Student Councils (NJASC), will become a member of the Executive Board, or allow for appointment of a thirteenth member for the duration of their term.

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ARTICLE IV, SECTIONS 1A-1D mandate that sixth graders can run only for Treasurer and Secretary, while seventh graders can run only for President and Vice President.

ARTICLE IV, SECTION 1E provides for the election of four students to the Board of Directors, and for appointments to be made by the President-elect with consent of the Advisor following the election.  This section also mandates that appointments only come from the pool of seventh graders that have successfully completed the Candidate Training Course but were unsuccessful in the General Election.

 

After the Candidate Training Course has ended for those seventh graders interested in running for President or Vice President, there is a three day Registration period during which they declare their intent as to what office they seek. Sixth graders that have attended the B.L.T. Saturday Leadership Training Conference and who intent to run for Secretary or Treasurer must also declare their intent in this three day period. They must also verify their academic eligibility to run for office during this time. A mandatory meeting is held for all potential candidates at the end of this period, after which Petitioning will begin.

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ARTICLE IV, SECTION 2 of our Student Council Constitution:

There will be a Registration Period of at least three school days, in which interested sixth and seventh grade members of the Student Body will have the opportunity to declare their intent to become a potential candidate for Executive Office.  The dates for this period will be set by the Advisor, who will consult the eighth grade members of the Executive Board.

1. To register, a student must have maintained an overall combined average of C+ or better in English, Math, Reading/Writing, Science, and Social Studies for the first two marking periods of the current school year.
2. To register, a student must not have been assigned office detention or suspension from school on more than six occasions in the current school year.
3. Reasonable requirements to become a potential candidate, such as completion of a Leadership Training Course, may be set by the Advisor.

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ARTICLE IV, SECTION 2A sets an academic eligibility standard, in which potential candidates must have at least 23 GRADE POINTS for the first two marking periods combined in the five academic classes mentioned above.  Grade points are awarded according to the scale below, which is consistent with Board of Education policy:

A   = 4.0	B+ = 3.3	B-  = 2.7	C   = 2.0	D+ = 1.3	F   = 0.0
A-  = 3.7	B   = 3.0	C+ = 2.3	C-  = 1.7	D   = 1.0

ARTICLE IV, SECTION 2B is clear on its prohibition of candidates that have exceeded Constitutional limits in terms of disciplinary referrals.  Executive Members of our Student Council are expected to be model citizens in our school.

ARTICLE IV, SECTION 2C allows our Student Council to use Candidate Training as a prerequisite to running for Student Council office...

• For 6th graders intending to run for Secretary or Treasurer, this means participation as a delegate in the B.L.T. Saturday Leadership Training Conference.  
• For 7th graders intending to run for President or Vice President, this means successful completion of the Candidate Training Course, which includes participation as a delegate in B.L.T. Saturday.  The Candidate Training Course is broken into four two-hour sessions, conducted after school in the month of March.

 

Petitioning is the process through which a potential candidate for Executive Board office establishes a base of support and proves the viability of their candidacy. Each potential candidate must obtain fifty signatures of their fellow sixth and seventh graders during a three or four day period following Registration.

A student is not obligated to vote for the candidate whose petition they sign, but he or she may only sign one petition for each office. With competition for potential votes, candidates are forced to network and build a support base. If there are too many candidates attempting to run for a particular office, the field may be narrowed as a result.

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ARTICLE IV, SECTION 3 of our Student Council Constitution:

There will be a Petitioning Period of at least three school days, in which all potential candidates will have the opportunity to collect signatures in support of their becoming a candidate for Executive Office.  The dates for this period and the Rules of Petitioning will be set by the Advisor, who will consult the eighth grade members of the Executive Board.

1. The Advisor will provide in advance the Rules of Petitioning to all potential candidates, who have registered according to the Second Section of this Article.
2. To formally become a candidate for Executive Office, a registered student must have their Petition signed by fifty sixth or seventh grade students, who may each not sign any other petition for the same office.
3. Any potential candidate that violates the posted Rules of Petitioning may be disqualified by a unanimous vote of the Advisor and all eighth grade members of the Executive Board. 

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RULES OF PETITIONING

Petitioning is the process where you will attempt to formally qualify as a candidate for Executive Office.  This important part of the democratic process requires you to get out there and actively establish a base of support for your possible candidacy.  The Petitioning Period will be April 4-7, 2011. A minimum level of support – fifty sixth or seventh grade students – is required to become a candidate and move on to the next stage, Electioneering.

• All sixth and seventh grade students will receive one set of four Petition Cards in homeroom on Monday April 4.  They will be instructed by homeroom teachers that in order to sign any candidate’s Petition, they must first hand over the Petition Card for the office that candidate intends to run for.  The sheet that contains the cards will also include a clear set of rules for their use.  You will also receive a set of Petition Cards, but you may NOT sign your own Petition
• Article IV Section 3 of our Constitution requires that students only sign ONE petition for each office.  If they sign two or more, all of their signatures for that office will become null and void.  Therefore, the Petition Card is YOUR PROTECTION against any student who would try to intentionally violate this rule and possibly get you disqualified (for having less than fifty valid signatures).  If they have one, you can be assured that they have not signed any other candidate’s Petition, and that their signature on yours will be valid.  DO NOT allow anyone to sign your Petition without FIRST taking their Petition Card!
• Only registered potential candidates may collect signatures and Petition Cards.  NOBODY else – including campaign workers – is allowed to collect signatures or Petition Cards on your behalf.  Students will be instructed to only give Petition Cards to potential candidates, but it is YOUR responsibility to make sure this rule is not violated.  DO NOT give your Petition Packet to anyone else, and do not allow anyone else to collect signatures or Petition Cards!
• You may only collect FIFTY signatures.  DO NOT collect more than fifty Petition Cards and signatures – this unfairly denies other potential candidates a fair opportunity to complete their Petitions, and is grounds for disqualification! To prevent accusations, all potential candidates are advised to closely follow the guidelines above and to immediately hand in their Candidate Application Packets and Cards directly to Mr. Miller as soon as fifty signatures are obtained!
• You will all be given a fair and equal chance to "cross-petition" the opposite grade on Tuesday April 5.  Seventh grade potential candidates will visit Period 5 lunch to cross-petition the sixth grade, and sixth grade potential candidates will visit Period 6 lunch to cross-petition the seventh grade.  If you are absent from school, you will lose this opportunity.  To ensure that you are not denied this opportunity, be in school and report DIRECTLY TO B-16 at the end of the prior period – sixth grade potential candidates should NOT report to their Period 6 class, and seventh grade potential candidates should NOT report to their Period 5 class!
• The Petitioning Period ends at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday April 7.  Any potential candidate that does not hand in their fully completed Candidate Application Packet along with the fifty Petition Cards they have collected by this deadline will be ELIMINATED from contention.  Absence from school is NOT an excuse.
• Disqualification:  Article IV Section 3 of the Student Council Constitution empowers the Advisor and a unanimous vote of the eighth grade members of the current Executive Board to disqualify a candidate for any violation of these Rules of Petitioning.

 

Electioneering is the "fun" period in the final three days before the speeches and voting take place. Candidates who have successfully completed Petitioning have their campaign posters hung in the cafetorium, and hand out buttons and other promotional materials.

This phase of the General Election process at Brooklawn remains largely unchanged from what it was 10 or even 20 years ago. Listed below are the relevant portions of the Student Council Constitution, along with the Rules of Electioneering that all candidates and those working on their behalf must follow.

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ARTICLE IV, SECTION 4 of our Student Council Constitution:

There will be an Electioneering Period of at least three school days, in which all candidates will have the opportunity to distribute campaign materials and convince fellow students to vote for them.  The dates for this period and the Rules of Electioneering will be set by the Advisor, who will consult the eighth grade members of the Executive Board.

1. The Advisor will provide in advance the Rules of Electioneering to all potential candidates, who have completed petitioning according to the Third Section of this Article.
2. On the final day of the Electioneering Period, all candidates will be given the opportunity to speak to the entire sixth and seventh grade student body.  Speeches will be reviewed by the Advisor at least two days in advance. 
3. Any candidate that violates the posted Rules of Electioneering may be disqualified by a unanimous vote of the Advisor and all eighth grade members of the Executive Board. 

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RULES OF ELECTIONEERING:

Electioneering is the process where those candidates who successfully complete Petitioning will attempt to convince their fellow students to vote for them.  The Electioneering Period will be April 11-13, 2011.  All candidates must carefully follow these rules, and a responsible to ensure that their campaign workers also follow them:

1. Campaign posters:  Are due to Mr. Miller in B-16 by 8:30 a.m. on Thursday April 7. Candidates may submit only TWO posters each, which cannot be larger than 24 by 36 inches.  While jointly created posters are allowed, they will count toward the limit for each candidate.  All posters submitted – along with anything attached to them – will become the property of the Brooklawn Student Council and will NOT be returned.  
2. Campaign flyers and buttons:  May be distributed to students throughout the Electioneering Period, but campaign flyers may NOT be posted anywhere in the building or on its grounds. Campaign stickers are NOT allowed under any circumstances, will be confiscated, and could lead to your disqualification (see #6 below)
3. No candy, toys, pencils, or any other giveaways may be made on behalf of any candidate.  Illegal campaign materials will be confiscated, not returned, and could lead to your disqualification (see #6 below).
4. At no time should campaign activity interfere with classroom instruction.  Teacher reports of this will be thoroughly investigated, and could lead to your disqualification (see #6 below).
5. Campaign Speech Guidelines   
   1. Speech Drafts and Revisions:  Drafts must be submitted to the Advisor for review by 12:30 p.m. Friday April 8 and Final Speeches will be collected at the Candidates’ Meeting on Tuesday April 12. Candidates MUST keep a copy for themselves – we will NOT return submitted drafts and revisions.  
   2. Use of technology/electronic devices:  A podium, microphone, and boom box (connected to the cafetorium sound system) will be commonly provided to all candidates for use in their speeches.  Any cassette tapes or compact discs must be given with the final speech draft to the Advisor, who will designate an eighth grade member of the Board of Directors to handle all music and/or sound effects for the speeches. No other technology will be provided, and candidates may NOT bring in their own devices (notebook or handheld computers, MP3 players, cell phones, etc.) for use in the speeches.  
   3. Time limits:  Speeches for Senior Office (President, Vice President) will have a 3 minute time limit, and those for Junior Office (Secretary, Treasurer) will have a 2 minute time limit.  Candidates will be warned when 15 seconds remain in their allotted time.  
   4. Speeches should NOT include promises that are inappropriate or impossible to deliver:  For example, candidates should not promise more dances or a looser dress code – the calendar for next year has already been set, and the dress code is determined by building administration.  
   5. Negative attacks:  On the personal character of any fellow candidate, student, or faculty member are inappropriate and will NOT be tolerated.  However, speeches may criticize past performance records of any fellow candidate or their positions on relevant issues.
6. Disqualification:  Article IV Section 4 of the Student Council Constitution empowers the Advisor and a unanimous vote of the eighth grade members of the current Executive Board to disqualify a candidate for any violation of these Rules of Electioneering, including the Campaign Speech guidelines.

 

On the final day of the electioneering period, Campaign Speech Assemblies are held in the morning for the sixth and seventh grades. Voting then takes place later in the day, typically in Period 6 classes for sixth graders and Period 7 classes for seventh graders.

Votes are tallied using a partial Preferential Balloting system, which is described in detail on this page. As a result, students do not just choose one candidate for each office, but must indicate their top three preferences - which can make a big difference...

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ARTICLE IV, SECTION 5 of our Student Council Constitution:

The General Election will be held by secret preferential ballot through homerooms each April. The ballots will be delivered to the Advisor for counting, the winners to be notified within three days of the election. In case of a tie vote, a runoff election excluding all other candidates will be held within five days. 

1. The winners will become associate members of the Executive Board to assure a smooth transition, but will not gain full membership in it until the term of the departing Executive Board has ended.
2. If an Officer-elect becomes unable to take their office before their term begins, the second place finisher for that office will be elevated to it and the third place finisher for that office will take their vacated seat on the Board of Directors.  If there are less than three candidates for the office in question, the President-elect may appoint an unsuccessful candidate for another office in the same grade to fill any remaining vacancy, with consent of the Advisor.
3. If a Board of Director-elect becomes unable to take their seat before their term begins, the third place finisher for the office that person was originally a candidate for will be elevated to the Board of Directors.  If there are less than three candidates for the office in question, the President-elect may appoint an unsuccessful candidate for another office in the same grade to fill any remaining vacancy, with consent of the Advisor.
4. The Advisor will provide all candidates the opportunity to view the final vote counts, but will not post, publish, or otherwise announce them except to the current Executive Board.  All ballots will be sealed and kept for at least one year following the date of the election.

In the General Election students will complete FOUR BALLOTS, one for each office - President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer. On each of these ballots, they will RANK their top three choices: "1" for their first preference, "2" for their second preference, and "3" for their third preference. Students cannot just cast a single vote, they must now CAREFULLY THINK about who they prefer to serve as their Student Council Officers...

Preferential Balloting is a system of voting where candidates need to receive an absolute majority (50% + 1 vote) of the total ballots cast to be elected.  We adopted and implemented this system (with slight modifications*) in September 2003, for the Representative Elections in September and the General Election in April.

Our intents are to ensure that the winning candidate has a broad range of support from the students voting, especially in an election with several candidates and that students think carefully about which candidates they will support, as they are now making preference decisions about multiple candidates rather than a single selection.

*The Brooklawn Student Council actually uses a Partial Preferential Balloting system - the voter is required to name their top THREE preferences on the election ballot.

The Preferential Vote Count

After the ballots have been collected, we sort and count them according to the first preferences named on them. This is called the FIRST Count - if no candidate receives an absolute majority (50% + 1 vote) of the total first preferences, then subsequent preferences have to be redistributed through a SECOND and maybe even a THIRD Count...

An example is provided below in which there are excatly 100 ballots. Since an absolute majority would be equal to 50% + 1 vote, a total of 51 votes are needed to win.

In the FIRST COUNT, ballots are counted according to where the voter placed the first preference (number ”1”) for each candidate...

	Sally 33 first preferences Sally has the most ballots, but not yet enough to win.		Jo 21 first preferences
	Lee 16 first preferences Lee has the lowest number of ballots, and is now excluded.		Paul 30 first preferences

Since no candidate received an absolute majority in the first count, the candidate with the lowest number of first preferences is excluded (in this case Lee) and a SECOND COUNT begins, in which ballots are redistributed to the remaining candidates according to the next available preference. In this case, this is where voters placed their number “2” preference... 

	Sally  33 + 7 from Lee  40 ballots Sally has the most ballots, but still not yet enough to win.		Jo  21  +4 from Lee  25 ballots Jo has the lowest number of ballots, and is now excluded.
			Paul 30 +5 from Lee 35 ballots

Since no candidate attained an absolute majority in the second count, the candidate with the lowest number of first preferences is excluded (in this case Jo) and a THIRD COUNT begins, in which ballots are redistributed to the remaining candidates according to the next available preference. This could be a number "2" preference, or a number "3" preference if the number "2" preference has already been excluded...

	Sally  40  +6 from Jo  46 ballots
	Paul   35 +19 from Jo   54 ballots Paul is elected, as he has now received a majority of the ballots.

*In the Partial Preferential Balloting system, there is no FOURTH Count - the candidate with the most ballots after the THIRD Count is declared the winner, even if he or she does not have a full majority.

What if there's a tie?

What if after the Third Count, there is a tie for first or second place?

• Article IV Section 4 of the Student Council Constitution requires a run-off election between only those candidates tied for the contested Office (or seat on the Board of Directors).  This run-off will be done within 5 school days of the General Election, and will be a straight vote - no preferences.
• If the tie is for first place, the winner of the run-off will receive the Office, and the second place finisher will receive a seat on the Board of Directors.
• If the tie is for second place, the winner of the run-off will receive a seat on the Board of Directors.

What if after the First or Second Count, two or more candidates are tied for second place and eliminating all of them would leave no other candidates?

• The Office in question is awarded to the first place candidate.
• Article IV Section 4 of the Student Council Constitution requires a run-off election between only those candidates tied for second place.  This run-off will be done within 5 school days of the General Election, and will be a straight vote - no preferences.
• The winner of this run-off election will receive a seat on the Board of Directors