Elections Policies & Procedures (EPP)

Section 1

This section defines important and specific terms that appear repeatedly throughout the EPP, including election-specific vocabulary, such as “Ballot Measure”, “Fair Market Value“, “The HUB”, and 14 other terms, all of which are located on pages 3 and 4 of the 2026 Elections Policies & Procedures. This section also includes notable dates and deadlines for various events, including the ASUW Elections Info Forum, the voting period, and the Election Results Public Announcement. Please refer to pages 4 and 5 of the EPP for the full list. This section also states dates, times, and locations of meetings with Delineated Committees of the ASUW during Autumn 2025 (the information is subject to change). The committees and officers that are listed include the President from the Board of Directors, the Senate Speaker from the Student Senate, and the Director of Personnel from the Personnel Committee, etc. Please refer to pages 5 and 6 for the complete list. 

Section 2

The Fair Campaign Practices Statement is a non-binding statement that lists moral standards that candidates of the ASUW election are encouraged to comply with. Candidates should condemn discriminatory actions and should conduct fair and equal campaigns with honesty and sincerity. They should not participate in immoral actions that negatively affect the election, such as attacking opposing candidates with defamation, distorting facts, and personal vilification. Additionally, candidates should refrain from engaging in an unfair election by seeking unfair votes and official endorsements through using connections as an officer of any RSOs, etc. Candidates should respect the privacy of the election process and comply with the ASUW Constitution and the ASUW Bylaws. 

Section 3

Candidates must be an ASUW member and an undergraduate student with 6+ credit hours or a graduate student with 4+ credit hours while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.0 to be eligible. Both candidates and those registering as a Ballot Measure Advocate should visit vote.asuw.org/filing for information on submitting required documents and forms. Candidates should have a designated SAO staff member verify documents such as the Preliminary Financial Disclosure Form and the Official Filing Form, which contains an indication and declaration that the candidate wants to seek election to an office, in addition to an academic transcript with an indication of full-time status, and an agreement to comply with the EPP. Campaign statements are capped at 200 words, and candidates can list up to five qualifications that they want listed in the ASUW voters’ Guide. 

Section 4

While candidates can choose to collaborate in campaigns, the EAC and ASUW will not formally recognize them as “tickets” in official publications such as the ballot and voters’ guide. All campaign expenditures made as a group must be clearly reported for transparency. 

Section 5

Endorsements are public statements or actions by an individual or group that support a candidate or ballot measure and require an official endorsement form to be filed with the EAC. Candidates and ballot measure advocates may not seek endorsements before the campaign’s start date and may not claim endorsements without consent, which is assumed not to exist unless officially documented. For endorsements from RSOs or university-recognized student groups to appear in official materials or on the EAC website, they must be properly registered with required officer signatures and verification. ASUW employees and entities may not endorse their official capacity or use ASUW resources for campaigning, and violations of this rule are considered major violations. All official endorsements are listed on the EAC website but not in the Voters’ Guide, though groups and candidates may promote them independently. RSOs may submit, change, or retract endorsements up until the Friday before the election, and while they are not required to promote all candidates, any promotional materials created require financial transparency filings from the endorsed candidate to avoid a major violation. 

Section 6

Campaigning may not begin until the EAC confirms the eligibility of candidates and ballot measures. Campaigning includes any public activity intended to promote or oppose a ballot measure or candidate, such as distributing flyers, addressing crowds, displaying signs, or distributing campaign apparel before the campaign’s start date. Campaigning does not include wearing personal campaign apparel or privately organizing and planning a campaign, including recruiting volunteers in private settings. Candidates are responsible for registering their affiliates with the EAC. Candidates, affiliates, and ballot measure advocates may not campaign while acting in an official ASUW capacity. They also cannot campaign in restricted locations and events such as ASUW and GPSS offices, or ASUW-sponsored events, except for authorized election forums. All campaign activity must follow applicable university, local, state, and federal policies, and official printed campaign advertisements must be submitted to the Campaign Advertisement Registry 24 hours after creation, with failure to do so considered a major violation.

Section 7

The EAC sponsors at least one candidate and ballot measure forum at the ASUW Student Senate and any additional public forums deemed necessary. Attendance at forums is mandatory for candidates unless excused in advance by an EAC Co-Chair. The EAC may co-sponsor forums with RSOs or university-recognized student groups if the event is open to all students, treats all candidates and ballot measures equally, does not include endorsements prior to or during the forum, and follows EAC guidelines for forum structure and scheduling. All official forums take place during the campaigning period and are promoted on the EAC website. The EAC also conducts elections information seminars and an Elections Ethics Seminar, which cover topics such as Board of Directors responsibilities, ASUW history, key dates, filing procedures, financial disclosures, campaign rules, complaints and violations, and training for Elections Ambassadors.

Section 8

Polling is conducted through online voting, and the first candidate for a position to receive over fifty percent of the vote will be elected to the position. EAC will operate information booths based on accessibility criteria, with polling and complaint process information at each location. This section also includes marketing information, as well as campaigning rules for the candidates. Some rules candidates must follow when campaigning is they cannot campaign within 100 feet of any EAC balloting area, tamper with election materials, or offer bribes. 

Section 9

Candidates and ballot measure advocates must file an up to date and accurate statement of all campaign expenditures. Campaign expenditures include the total amount expended while campaigning by the ballot measure advocate, candidate, and their affiliates. Candidates may promote or oppose ballot measures as part of their campaign, but any expenditure for such purpose is the expenditure of the candidate. This section outlines the campaign spending limit, which is no individual ballot measure advocate may have campaign expenditures over $60, but candidates are allowed to spend $150 and are responsible for disclosing any shared expenditures.  

Section 10

Violations are punished by community service or disqualification, and this section includes what qualifies as minor, major, or severe. Violations deemed minor, require a mandatory penalty of no less than 1 hour but not exceeding 3 hours of community service. Major violations have a mandatory penalty of no less than 3 hours but not exceeding 8 hours of community service and can constitute grounds for disqualification. Violations deemed severe have a mandatory penalty of no less than 8 hours but not exceeding 12 hours of community service and mandatory default disqualification. In all instances, the actions of a candidate’s affiliates constitute the action of the candidate, and the actions of a ballot measure advocate’s affiliates constitute the action of the ballot measure advocate. 

Section 11

Only UW students, faculty, or staff may file a complaint. Violations can be alleged against the EAC, an entity of ASUW, a candidate/campaign manager, a ballot measure advocate, the SAO, or any UW student. Complaints must be submitted online or in person via the method described on vote.asuw.org to the designated SAO Advisor and the Secretary of Judgements and confirmed online or in writing by the complainant with the Judicial Committee Secretary of Judgements before the Complaint Deadline. Complaints that fail to comply with the procedures of this Section may be dismissed by the Judicial Committee at the time of the complaints hearing, even if such dismissal is not requested by either party. 

Section 12

This section covers the procedures necessary for candidates to withdraw from the election and have their names removed from the ballot. Candidates must show willingness to withdraw and must submit a signed written statement or two signed emails that the EAC has on file two business days before the date of the first day of elections. Any withdrawal statements submitted after this time frame will not be accepted, but candidates may choose to resign from the position if elected. The name of the candidate who withdrew must be removed from the online ballot and posted at polling places to indicate their withdrawal. Candidates who do not formally withdraw through the outlined procedure are still expected to file any required documents within the filing deadlines. Failing to do so could result in a filed complaint against them. 

Section 13

This section outlines details for the special elections. The voting period for special elections lasts 3 days, from 12:01 am on day one to 11:45 pm on the last day. Special elections are to be well advertised and require the minimum marketing elements of social media promotion of educating students on ASUW and the elections; printed ads in buildings on campus; RSO presentations; and advisor, RSO, and entity email list servers. The EAC has authority to establish the structure of special elections, operating a minimum of two information booths, for a minimum of 4 hours per day, on campus per day of voting. Additionally, the EAC is required to hold a minimum of one public forum at least one week before the first day of voting.

Section 1

The EAC Co-Chairs are appointed and hired through the ASUW personnel policies. The Co-Chairs hire non-voting volunteer members through the Open Selection Process provided by the ASUW bylaws. Positions within the EAC include Co-Chairs, Interns, Election Ambassadors, and volunteers. Members are all considered “Election Officials.” Voting members of the EAC include the Operations and Outreach Co-Chairs and voting members of the EAC who are nominated by the Co-Chairs and approved by the BoD. Non-voting members include the Representative from the Student Senate; the representative from the SAO; the Alumni Advisor, who shall be nominated by the Co-Chairs; and the ASUW Director of Internal Policy, who shall be a proxy during the absence of the ASUW President. 

Section 2

The EAC is entrusted with the general administration, marketing, and certification of each election, and should perform these duties under equal and fair means. Committee members should be assembled by the end of Autumn Quarter. Committee members should assist in the production of the ASUW Fair to promote voting during the week of the ASUW Elections. Recruited UW student volunteers will run polls during elections and provide candidates with financial accessibility through introducing businesses to provide election material discounts. EAC’s outreach should, at a minimum, promote the ASUW Election on social media; post advertisements in buildings on campus; RSO presentations; and advisor, RSO, faculty, and entity email list servers. One section of The Daily must be dedicated to an ad of the election within one week of the election. There should be one information session before the Candidacy Filing Deadline and one candidate forum within one week of the elections. Up-to-date information on the election and versions of the EPP should be updated on the ASUW Elections website. The Election Packet that includes the EPP, the official candidacy certification form, etc., shall be finalized by the Committee and made available a week before filing for candidacy. All cast ballots, election results, and voter counts should remain a secret until election results are certified by the EAC. 

Section 3

This section outlines the procedures for complaints and hearings. All parties to a complaint are entitled to due process of law. Respondents who have complaints filed against them will be notified via email three business days after the polls close. Respondents will receive a copy of the filed complaint and details for the hearing of the complaint. In-person hearings will be held where the respondent will be judged by the Judicial Committee to determine whether the evidence shown proves the Respondent’s alleged violation. If appropriate, the Respondent will receive the appropriate judgment. If not, it shall enter an order to dismiss the complaint. To enforce judgments, the Judicial Committee shall construct and send an email, at least 14 days before the Judgment Satisfaction Deadline, to all parties receiving community service hours, outlining details on how it should be conducted. 

Section 4

This section covers the use of subcommittees to support the operations and outreach of the EAC. Co-Chairs of the EAC appoint members of each subcommittee and select chairs for the subcommittees. The Operations subcommittee writes and distributes official polls and surveys to the student body. The Outreach subcommittee reaches out to the student body and student-led groups to promote candidacy and ballot measure opportunities. The Graphic Design subcommittee works with ASUW to advertise prior to and during the campaign/election period. The Programming subcommittee organizes EAC operations during the campaign/elections period, such as forum planning, selecting polling booth locations, and planning the ASUW fair. 

Section 5

The EAC may adopt policies that ensure the general administration, marketing, and certification of the responsibilities of the committee. The BoD gives final approval or disapproval of the administrative policies enacted by the EAC. The EAC co-chairs appoint a subcommittee on administrative policy to ensure its enactment for the session. The general procedures of the administrative policies are outlined in this section, including rules such as that the administrative policies require a simple majority of the voting membership to be approved, and can be introduced by any member of the committee. How to classify each administrative policy is also covered in this section.  

Section 6

Candidates’ ballot order for each position shall be determined by a public lottery administered by the EAC. Only members of the ASUW may vote, but non-ASUW members can register as ASUW members during the voting days to be able to vote. Students voting online must use their UW NetID to vote. All voting in ASUW elections takes place online, with the voting ballot being finalized seven days before the voting period. The committee will ensure a voting link/QR code is posted in public locations on campus during the voting period, and voting booths will be established in the ASUW office that will be open to students every voting day. This section also covers how to tally votes, and states that if one candidate has above fifty percent of the first-place votes that were cast, then that candidate is duly elected to their position. It also covers what to do in events where the voting is not tallied as above. 

Section 7

The EAC is responsible for promoting the ASUW elections for the purpose of informing students about the elections and voting. EAC social media can promote candidates and ballot measure advocates as long as they are provided equal opportunity to be a part of the social media promotion. The EAC will not promote or advertise campaign material. EAC shall also develop a video/flyer with pictures from a test ballot to educate students on how to cast their ballot. EAC is responsible for hosting the ASUW Fair every year, inviting all ASUW entities and other RSOs or groups they deem necessary.  This section also includes how the EAC conducts voter incentives and what the EAC’s Elections Ambassador Code of Conduct includes.  

Section 8

The EAC is governed by the ASUW Constitution and Bylaws. The EAC can adopt and amend the Elections Policies and Procedures, the Elections Packet, the Elections Ambassador Code of Conduct, Public Promotions Campaign, financial disclosure forms, and the candidacy and ballot measure advocates filing forms. EAC agendas, minutes, and adopted administrative policies will be made public on the EAC website. The ASUW elections journal will be written every year by the EAC of the record of ASUW elections, and include results of the BoD elections, a summary of the elections, etc. All documents and records of the EAC for the session shall be archived on ASUW and EAC public records pages following the certification of the election for that session.