Elections
The SLS’s Chief Returning Officer (CRO), Manreet Brar, is in charge of overseeing SLS Elections, student-selected Graduation Awards, the Truth and Reconciliation Teaching Award, and facilitating other SLS Awards. You can get in contact with the CRO at elections.sls@gmail.com.
The Fall General Election is not current ongoing. The timeline for the election is posted below:
Friday, September 15 - 10:00 AM: Nomination period opens.
Thursday, September 21 - 10:00 AM: Nomination period closes. Candidate statements, as well as completed and signed copies of the SLS Nomination Form, must be submitted to the CRO (elections.sls@gmail.com) before this time. Candidates for VP Academic must also submit ten (10) signatures in support of their nomination.
Thursday, September 21 - 1:00 PM: Candidate statements are published via listserv. Campaign period begins.
Friday, September 22 - 5:00 PM: Candidates’ Forum takes place. This event will be via Zoom. Information for candidates and attendees are to follow.
Saturday, September 23 - 5:00 PM: Online voting opens.
Monday, September 25 - 5:00 PM: Online voting closes. Results are published via listserv shortly after voting closes.
Fall 2023 General Election
Available Positions:
1 x Vice President Academic
4 x 1L Social and Finance Committee Representatives
2 x 2L Social and Finance Committee Representatives
3 x 3L Social and Finance Committee Representatives
4 x 1L Student Life and Academic Committee Representatives
2 x 2L Student Life and Academic Committee Representatives
2 x 3L Student Life and Academic Committee Representatives
On this page:
2. Candidate and Voter Eligibility
5. Campaigning & Campaign Period
General Election Positions
The Fall General Election is currently not running.
Candidate and Voter Eligibility
Students are able to vote for different Candidates and run for different Year Representative Positions based on their Year as defined in section 11 of By-law 3 - Elections. Please see the quick reference table below.
Note: In the table, “Upper Year” includes anyone in the second or higher year of the JD program or a joint-degree program. For example, a JD/MBA student in the second (MBA) year of the four-year program would be a “Joint-degree Upper Year student who is not graduating” and would therefore be Year II.
For full details about how to determine your Year, please consult section 11 of By-law 3 - Elections. If there is still confusion, please consult the CRO.
Are you in Year I?
Year I students are completing the first year of the JD program.
What can you run for in the Fall Election?
You can run for VP Academic and any 1L position.
Who can you vote for in the Fall Election?
You can vote for students running for VP Academic and any student running for any 1L position.
Are you in Year II?
Year II students are all students who are not Year I or Year III, including students in their second year of the JD program or a combined program and students in their third year of their four-year degree.
What can you run for in the Fall Election?
You can run for VP Academic and any 2L position.
Who can you vote for in the Fall Election?
You can vote for students running for VP Academic and any 2L position.
Are you in Year III?
Year III students are in their graduating year of the JD or their dual-degree program.
What can you run for in the Fall Election?
You can run for VP Academic and any 3L position.
Who can you vote for in the Fall Election?
You can vote for students running for VP Academic and any 3L position.
Nomination Process
All Candidates are self-nominated. Candidates may nominate themselves by emailing a Nomination form and a Candidate statement of no more than 150 words to the CRO. If a statement is received by the CRO that exceeds the word limit, the first 150 words will be accepted.
The SLS has prescribed rules on campaigning and the electoral process, which shall be strictly enforced by the CRO, and can be found in By-law 3 - Elections. By signing the Nomination Form, Candidates acknowledge that they have read and understand that By-law 3 - Elections governs the process.
The required items for a valid nominations package (see the following sections for details) must be sent to the CRO at elections.sls@gmail.com. Nominations received after nominations are due will not be accepted.
Candidates may nominate themselves for multiple positions. Students may run for up to all three representative roles (SFC, SLAC, and UTSU) in addition to one Vice-Presidential Position and/or the Presidency. For example, a Candidate may run for both Vice-President Social and 3L Social and Finance Rep, but may not run for both Vice-President Academic and Vice-President Student Life. You may submit a nomination statement for each position you nominate yourself for.
Nominations for Executive Positions
Candidates may nominate themselves for Executive Positions (President or one of the four Vice-Presidential roles) by emailing the following to the CRO by the nomination deadline:
A completed SLS Nominations Form;
A completed Presidential and Vice-Presidential Signatures Form* with ten (10) signatures in support of the Candidate; and
A Candidate statement of no more than 150 words to the CRO (if a statement is received by the CRO that exceeds the word limit, the first 150 words will be used).
Executive position candidates must acquire ten (10) signatures from students to support their nomination. Graduating students may sign in support of a Candidate’s nomination. In addition to the usual modes of digitally signing documents, the SLS notes, without endorsement, that AdobeSign offers a free 7-day trial here.
Candidates for Executive Positions are encouraged to become familiar with By-law 5 - Executive Roles.
*Students soliciting digital signatures may also wish to use the single-page alternative Presidential and Vice-Presidential Signatures Form. If using version B, please ensure you have ten individually signed pages.
Nominations for Representative Positions
Candidates may nominate themselves for Representative Positions (Social and Finance Rep roles, Student Life and Academic Rep roles, and the UTSU Rep role) by emailing the following to the CRO by the nomination deadline:
A completed SLS Nominations Form; and
A Candidate statement of no more than 150 words to the CRO (if a statement is received by the CRO that exceeds the word limit, the first 150 words will be used).
Candidates may nominate themselves for both Rep positions (SLAC and SFC). Where a Candidate self-nominates for more than one Representative Position, they must specify their order of preference for the roles. Candidates running only for Representative Positions do not require signatures in support of their nomination.
Uncontested Nominations
All Year Rep positions with four (4) or fewer nominated candidates will be acclaimed after the close of the nominations period.
Nomination Counts
Per section 37 of By-law 3 - Elections, the CRO shall manage a Nomination Count that indicates how many nominations have been received during the nomination period. No information about the nominees’ identity will be displayed. The Nomination Count Spreadsheet will be updated daily at a time announced by the CRO. Nominations close on Thursday, September 21 at 10:00 AM.
Campaigning and Campaign Period
Candidates may spend up to $10.00 on campaigning. To be reimbursed for campaign costs, Candidates should provide copies of original receipts to the CRO via email, copying the SLS Treasurers at sls.treasurers@gmail.com.
All campaign costs should be provided to the CRO no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the Voting Period ends. Failing to disclose campaign costs to the CRO by the deadline constitutes a breach of By-Law 3.
The following is a summary of the rules around campaigning. Please see sections 65-85 of By-law 3 - Elections for the full rules.
This election cycle, the campaigning period opens Thursday, September 21 at 11:00 AM. The campaigning period closes Monday, September 25 at 5:00pm.
Campaigning at the Law School
Candidates may campaign on campus, given that the campaigning does not interfere with day-to-day operations of the law school community. Further, candidates cannot post materials in the Bora Laskin library, or give campaign speeches before, during, or after classes, unless authorized by the CRO.
Campaign materials cannot be individually distributed to students, nor submitted to the electronic screens throughout the law school. Campaign posters may only be affixed to bulletin boards provided for community use. Posters may not be larger than legal-sized paper.
Campaigning Virtually
Candidates must provide the CRO with all public or semi-public campaigning by Candidates on social media platforms (sending screenshots, tagging the CRO, copying the CRO on emails). The CRO may designate certain social media group pages as public for the purposes of an election.
The following campaign materials must be approved by the CRO at elections.sls@gmail.com before being publicly disseminated.
Campaign messages or materials sent in private group chats, private group pages, or any similar forums of more than ten (10) people (including the Candidate)
Any campaign materials that refer to other Candidates
Emails sent by Candidates or on behalf of them (The CRO must be CC’d on the email.)
Students may not send emails to all students listed on any student directories maintained by the Faculty.
Campaigning Individually
Candidates may not campaign as a slate, and cannot seek or accept endorsements from student groups.
Candidates’ Forum
The forum will take place during the Campaigning Period. It allows students to ask questions of the Candidates. A call for questions will be announced prior to the start of the Candidates’ Forum.
Announcement of Results
The announcement of successful Candidates will be distributed to all students after the close of the Voting Period. The vote totals will be provided to the whole student body for Executive Positions. However, only the names of the elected Candidates for Representative Positions (SFC, SLAC, and UTSU) will be disseminated, and not the vote totals. The CRO will publish the overall voter turnout number and percentage of eligible voters.
Per s. 60.3 of By-law 3 - Elections, any student may request the vote totals for any given Rep position, but that student may not distribute the information to anyone else. If a student seeks to rely on s. 60.3, they may email the request to the CRO at elections.sls@gmail.com within 48 hours from the results being announced.
CRO Discretion, Penalties, and Appeals Process
The CRO has the discretion to decide issues relating to SLS Elections, including applying penalties as described in sections 86-92 of By-law 3 - Elections. Students can appeal the following, in writing, to the Executive Committee (the President, Vice-President, Student Affairs and Governance, and Vice-President Social Affairs):
Discretionary decisions of the CRO
Actions taken by the CRO
Alleged failures to act by the CRO
Officer Appointments
Officers are appointed by the Executive Committee. To learn more about the Officer roles, please see By-law 6 - Officers.