Student Government Association

Executive Branch

1. All elected members of the Executive Branch shall be full-time students of the University, unless on Co-op status with Tennessee Tech, and shall not serve more than two years in the same office.

2. Executive Office candidates shall maintain a 2.75 cumulative grade point average throughout his/her term of office.

3. The President and Vice President shall be of at least junior standing the beginning in the fall semester following their election.

4. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be of at least sophomore standing beginning in the fall semester following their election.

5. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates must have served SGA for at least one Full Session, including, but not limited to: the Senate, the Supreme Court, Executive Office, and/or the Executive Cabinet.

Legislative Branch

1. Senators shall be full-time students during their term of office, unless on Co-op status with Tennessee Tech.

2. Senators shall maintain a 2.75 cumulative grade point average throughout his/her term of office.

3. Senators from colleges and schools shall maintain a major within the college or school from which they were elected. Failure to maintain a major within the college elected will result in automatic resignation or re-installment.

All candidates must submit the following by 12:00 PM on March 20th, 2024:

1. Acknowledgment of Rules
2. Candidate Information Form (please use legal name and indicate if you would like a different name to be shown on the ballot)
3. Headshot (for voting ballot and SGA election promotions)
4. Petition Signatures

Petitions

To be eligible to run in Student Government Association elections, your peers must verify that they consider you to be a quality candidate. Once your Candidate Information Form is verified, your name will be added to the Petition Form. You may distribute the petition form to your peers, and they may sign the petition on behalf of more than one candidate.

1. Legislative Candidates must have 10 signatures, eligible from current students within the candidate’s college.
2. Executive Office candidates must have 50 signatures, eligible from all current students.
3. Candidates are permitted to share their petition via mass communication and social media, so long as they are not promoting themselves as if they are already running for election. Example Statement: Please sign my petition to help me run for SGA [insert position title].

All candidates must have the proper number of signatures by 12:00 PM CST on March 20th.

The official candidates’ meeting for ALL candidates will be Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 11am in Roaden University Center room 246. This meeting is MANDATORY to attend to be deemed eligible to run. All candidate submission requirements must be complete to attend this meeting. At the conclusion of this meeting, campaigning may begin.

1. Active campaigning shall begin after the official candidates meeting.
2. Active campaigning shall not interfere with the academic life or integrity of the student body or the individual students.
3. Active campaigning includes all activity on social media that promotes any campaign, advertisement in campus news and/or radio, email, phone/video calls, or any other media where the candidate is asking at mass for support from voters.
4. Any tabling or events on campus must be registered through the university's reservation system (CourseDog).

1. Campaign funds shall be limited to $400.00 for Legislative Candidates and $1,000.00 for Executive Candidates.
2. Each budget should itemize all purchases and donations in connection with the candidate’s campaign (monetary and non-monetary).
3. Candidates must turn in an itemized and all receipts to SGAPresident@tntech.edu by April 4, 2024 at 4:30 PM.
4. Budgets should be prepared for each candidate. No pairs or groups of candidates may combine budgets or campaign material unless the candidates agree to a combined budget that does not exceed $1,000.00.
5. Candidates, or any organization of the candidates, shall not apply for SOLO funding for the purpose of promoting a candidate or the promotion of the election.
6. If a candidate does not comply with the set budget, it will result in an immediate disqualification from the election.

1. Elections for Legislative and Executive branches will take place on April 4, 2024.
2. Elections will be held online. The link to the voting server will be posted on the SGA website and social media on the day of the election. Links to the voting server will also be emailed to students.
3. Polls will open at 8:00 AM CST and close at 4:30 PM CST. Counting will begin immediately following the close of the polls.
4. The election results will be posted on the SGA website: tntech.edu/sga/elections and social media.

1. No candidate, nor agents of candidates, shall bribe or coerce students into voting. Bribes include but are not limited to: the promise or exchange of goods, favors, and/or drawing entries for raffles for promised votes.
2. It is the responsibility of the candidate to inform their respective organizations of the SGA election rules.
3. The collection of T-Numbers and/or PIN numbers will be strictly prohibited.
4. With proof of the collection of any student voter login information, the candidate will be immediately disqualified from the election and referred to the Dean of Students.
5. No endorsements from colleges, academic departments, campus departments, employees or contractors of the University acting in their official capacity
   • Endorsements include but are not limited to distributing campaign material, posting on social media, and/ or taking part in photo ops with any candidate.
   • Colleges and academic departments are permitted to inform students in their unit of their respective candidates.
6. Senators shall adhere to the following rules regarding joining executive tickets:
   • Senator candidates are permitted to endorse executive candidates via social media and publicly express support for them.
   • Senator candidates are prohibited from working tabling events or engaging in joint promotional activities with executive candidates.
   • Senator candidates are not allowed to appear on any promotional material with executive candidates, including but not limited to flyers, buttons, yard signs, etc. This includes both physical and digital promotional materials.
7. Candidates are prohibited from making misleading statements, spreading false information, engaging in personal attacks, or using offensive language about their opponents or their own qualifications during the campaign. Violation of this rule may result in penalties, including disqualification from the election.

The SGA Election Commission Committee shall determine and enforce all rules regarding SGA elections. If an alleged violation is filed against a candidate, the candidate will be notified and have an opportunity to appear before the commission or submit a short statement/explanation regarding alleged violation prior to a ruling by the Election Commission. The Election Commission Committee will follow strict guidelines to ensure fair and ethical rulings are made based on the violation. Campaign Violations may be reported to the SGA President via email at sgapresident@tntech.edu. All violation reports will be kept confidential.

Possible consequences for being found in violation of the rules are as follows:

1. Probation: A probationary period means that if the candidate is found violating the rules again before the final budgets and receipts are approved, the candidate is disqualified.
2. Subtraction of Votes: The Election Commission may find that a candidate has given themselves an illegal or unfair advantage in the election and may choose to take away that advantage by the subtraction of votes based on the severity of the violation. No more than two-hundred and fifty (250) votes may be subtracted.
3. Disqualification: Within a probationary period, if the candidate is found violating the rules again before the final budgets and receipts are approved, the candidate is disqualified.