FAUW members elect directors in the winter term every year (alternating between six Faculty-specific seats one year and four at-large plus one lecturer-specific seat the next year), and a president every two years.
Section 7 of the FAUW Constitution outlines the rules and the timeline, but we've fleshed out the details a bit more here.
The Elections Committee
The Elections Committee is now part of the Nominating and Elections Committee. The FAUW constitution requires that the committee consist of a minimum of two FAUW members. The Nominating and Elections Committee terms of reference calls for the committee to have four members (plus the Communications Officer), including at least one Board member (voting or ex-officio), at least one non-Board member, and, during presidential elections, a past president.
Election timeline
Results are announced at the General Meeting, so we work backwards from there:
- Voting must close at 1:30 pm two business days before the General Meeting.
- Voting must open at least fifteen calendar days prior to the General Meeting.
- Nominations must close one week before that, to allow time to set up the e-vote. This is a technical requirement, not a constitutional one.
- We must start receiving nominations by 30 calendar days prior to the General meeting. We typically open nominations before this date.
Nomination rules
Note that the following rules are in addition to the requirements in the constitution. These additions and clarifications were last approved by the FAUW Board on February 17, 2022.
- Forms can be submitted electronically (as directed by the Nominating and Elections Commmittee).
- Digital signatures will be accepted.
- Late submissions will not be accepted, beyond a five-minute grace period.
- A candidate can only run for one position at a time.
- Rationale: If someone runs for and wins both positions, then the results for the position they do not fill are not representative of voter choice among the remaining candidates. All members should be entitled to vote for a candidate who is reasonably likely to accept the position.
- Candidates will be invited to submit a candidate’s statement in a format decided by the NEC. Statements not adhering to this format will not be published.
- The committee will announce who is running after nominations close. Until that time, only elections committee members and FAUW staff are entitled to know who has been nominated. Nominees are welcome to announce that they are running at any time.
Tie votes
The process for settling a tie was last updated and approved by the FAUW Board on February 17, 2022.
- In the event of a tie, the position will be awarded to the candidate who has self-identified as a member of one of the priority equity-seeking groups identified by the Board: Black faculty members, Indigenous faculty members, and faculty members with disabilities.
- If all or no tied candidates are members of a prioritized group, FAUW will settle the tie with a run-off election with a voting period of one week.
- In the event of a subsequent tie, the elections committee will hold a coin toss to determine the successful candidate.