Violations

A violation occurs when a candidate running for a Student Government office does or says something that disobeys the rules laid out by the Board of Elections handbook for that election cycle. (The current Board of Elections handbook can be found here.)

Violation Submissions

In the event you witnessed a candidate breaking a rule stated in the Handbook or one a part of University policy, please submit the information to sgelections@ncsu.edu in the following format within 72 hours of the event:

Subject Line: VIOLATION-Date

Your Student Name

Your Student ID Number

To the Board of Elections:
I would like to report the following violation against (candidate name). On (date_MM/DD/YY) there was chalk on a vertical surface of a wall with the candidate’s name (violation). Here is a picture of the chalking (evidence of violation).**
The rule it violates is (section number), which states the following: (violation pasted here).
Your Name
Your NCSU Email

Your Telephone Number

 

**Photo evidence is not required to submit a violation, but it is encouraged whenever possible.

Violation Process

Once a violation is submitted, the Board of Elections Chair will contact all involved parties and schedule a violation hearing. If a party is unable to attend, someone else may attend on their behalf. If a party brings another representative with them to the hearing, only one person will be permitted to speak — the other will not be allowed to speak unless directly addressed by the Board. In the violation hearing, all involved parties will have the opportunity to state their case and ask questions to other involved parties. After questions have been asked by the board and all parties, the Board will deliberate in private and finally vote on the issue using a simple majority. Results will be reported to the candidate(s) within 24 hours of the decision, and subsequently posted to a running list (currently found here).

Please be mindful of hearing decorum, found here.

Violation Results

There are currently four types of decisions that the Board may come to:

  • Dismissal: A dismissal is issued when the Board determines that no violation occurred.
  • Notification: A notification is issued when the Board determines that a minor violation occurred, including when a candidate has broken a rule but did not gain a significant advantage. There is no limit for the number of notifications a candidate may receive; however, a pattern of abuse may lead to additional action.
  • Warning: A warning is issued for significant violations. A candidate may receive a maximum of three (3) warnings. Upon issuing the third warning, the Board shall schedule a disqualification hearing with the candidate. If the candidate is not disqualified in the aforementioned hearing, any subsequent warnings will result in automatic disqualification for the candidate.*
  • Direct Disqualification: Candidates may be directly disqualified (without receiving three warnings) for severe disregard of campaign regulations or malicious tampering with election equipment. If a violation hearing results in a direct disqualification, a disqualification hearing shall be scheduled. This hearing will determine if the candidate is disqualified or not.*

As decisions are made during an election cycle, the results will be posted here.

For more information about violations, see Section VII of the Elections Handbook.

*Please note that disqualified candidates are not eligible to be appointed to any elected Student Government office.

Violation Appeals

If a candidate believes the Board acted without all relevant information in a violation hearing, they can petition for a re-hearing of the decision made by the Board. The petitioner must include any and all additional information that will be presented. The re-hearing will be conducted under the same rules as a violation hearing. See Section VII (A) of the Elections Handbook for more details about violation appeals.

University Policies, Regulations, and Rules (PRRs)

While the Board of Elections does not have the authority to determine if a candidate has broken a PRR, all candidates are expected to be compliant with all PRRs. A complete list of all PRRs can be found here.