The NAITSA Senate has passed a new bylaw with clearer rules on how candidates can interact with voters during the campaign period.
Called “voter privacy and election interference,” bylaw 7.17 underwent its second reading at the April 2 senate meeting and became official after passing a vote.
NAITSA President and Acting VP External Jenna Luczak hopes the new bylaw will help protect students and provide more clarity for candidates during campaigning. “You cannot interfere, whether it’s good interference or bad interference. We’re just getting rid of that risk.”
“Every year, there are bylaw changes…some changes are affected by things that happened during the election. Some are just things that we can see happening in the future,” Luczak said in an interview with the Nugget. “It’s just best to put it in writing, into the bylaws, that you’re not allowed to be around someone when they are voting; if someone pulls out their phone, you [the candidate] cannot help them navigate it.”
Bylaw 7.17 includes five points explaining how candidates should approach students and the possible disciplinary actions.
The bylaw highlights that candidates cannot:
- watch someone while they vote
- help someone to open, navigate or complete their ballot
- pressure or solicit voters.
- Or vote on behalf of someone else
Going forward, election material will also include disclaimers about voters’ rights to privacy and how to report suspected violations.
The change also grants the Chief Returning Officer (CRO), who acts as a third-party overseer of the election process, powers to investigate claims of a violation. To deal with complaints, the CRO can review digital logs, interview relevant parties and impose penalties on candidates for violations. Penalties for candidates who violate the bylaw include disqualification, referral to the Election Committee for further action, fines or restrictions on campaign activities.
Luczak called the bylaw a “huge step in the right direction” to ensure all candidates are informed on the rules surrounding voter interference in future elections.
“In all the candidate’s mandatory meeting, we do give them an info package that is kind of a guideline on how to conduct yourself during the election period…there will always be candidates who may not understand how they’re coming across, and this isn’t to penalize them. It’s just to protect the students who may feel that way.”
The bylaws are just in time for the recently called by-election for VP Academic, after VP Academic-elect Salinderjit Kaur was removed from her position in a unanimous Senate vote. Nominations are currently open, with more information on voting dates coming soon.
