The Student Confederation, AU's student government, will be holding its annual executive election this Saturday through Tuesday, but the ballot will carry more than the list of candidates, as the SC is looking to amend its constitution.
The SC will have two referenda on the runoff ballot to amend the SC Constitution. The General Assembly, AU's undergraduate student legislature, passed the amendments that must be ratified by the student body, but because of a time limit, the amendments were unable to be put on the regular election ballot.
"There is a time limit when an amendment can be submitted," said Gordon Simonett, speaker of the GA. "When we submitted it, the [Board of Elections] regulations said that the earliest date we could do it was March 4."
The BOE regulations require 14 days notice between the approval of the legislation by the GA and its placement on the ballot, according to Kyle Harding, BOE chair. Since the election starts on Saturday, the amendments could not be placed on the ballot for the first round, Simonett said.
The two amendments deal with faults that were found in the SC Constitution over the past year.
Earlier in February, the SC's judicial branch, the Constitutional and Procedural Review Board, ruled that the SC was "no longer operating within the constitutional framework of the organization," and asked the GA to work to update the constitution.
The first amendment, Act 03-04-004, rectifies the problem brought up by the CPRB ruling by replacing a reference to sponsoring clubs and organizations, which the SC no longer does. The amendment replaces the text with "sponsoring and creating departments and organizations" in order to make the purpose relevant.
The new section will remove all references to clubs from the purpose of the SC as all student clubs and organizations have been run by the independent AU Club Council for the past three years.
A second amendment, Act 03-04-01, would alter the article of the constitution dealing with removal from office. The amendment addresses the process by which the SC vice president is chosen if the previous VP resigns or is removed. Previously, the vice president had to be appointed from the GA. The new amendment will allow the choice to come from the regular student body, with the advice and consent of the GA.
Over the past three years, five vice presidents went through the process. One of them, current SC President Nick Terzulli, was appointed into the GA in order to be named vice president. This issue resurfaced at the beginning of the semester after Vice President Marguerite Meyer resigned prior to winter break.
Terzulli nominated Kyle Taylor, a member of the vice president's cabinet but not the GA, to the position. Taylor was appointed after the GA gave Terzulli the power under a state of emergency. However, the GA immediately began discussion of an amendment to keep the matter from happening again.
Act 03-04-01 also alters the process by which members can be removed from office, as a lot of power was often left with the GA's Government Operations Committee, and allows members of the judicial branch to be removed.
In order for the amendments to pass, two-thirds of those voting must approve the amendments.
Despite the delay in the vote on the amendments, Simonett is optimistic that the vote can be successful.
"[The extra time] gives the authors of the amendments time to get out there and educate students about why they're important," Simonett said.
Terzulli believes the amendments' placement on the runoff ballot will allow students to make a more informed choice.
"I think being on the short ballot will make it less confusing for students," Terzulli said. "On the shorter ballot, it gives students a better opportunity to make the vote that serves the students best"
