Election rules last updated January 30, 2026
VIII. Voting System
All elections for which the Faculty Senate Collaborative Governance Specialist conducts the election shall be based upon a system of approval voting.
Each voter will mark the names of all those candidates of whom the voter approves to fill the vacant position(s). Each such vote of approval will count for one vote in the final tally.
If only one position is vacant, the candidate with the most votes shall be declared the winner. In the event that two or more candidates receive the same number of votes, the winner shall be determined on the basis of a run-off election.
If there is more than one position to be filled, the candidate with the highest number of votes who also satisfies the relevant committee composition criteria will be asked to fill one open position; the candidate with the next-highest number of votes who also satisfies the relevant committee composition criteria will be asked to fill the second open position, and so on until all positions are filled. In the event that a committee member needs to be replaced, the person with the next-highest number of votes from the most recent annual election who also satisfies the relevant committee composition criteria will be asked to fill the position.
If two or more candidates receive the same (highest) number of votes for any position, the winner of that position shall be determined on the basis of a run-off election, with the runner-up candidate declared the winner of the next position, if there is another to be filled.
Elections for departmental representatives are discussed below in Section IX.B.