Report: Elections Committee - November 30, 2020

Print as PDF
-
Via Virtual Meeting

REPORT NUMBER 89 OF THE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

November 30, 2020
 

To the Executive Committee,
University of Toronto.

Your Committee reports that it met on  Monday, November 30, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. in the King’s College Room, Simcoe Hall, with the following members present:

Present:
P.C. Choo, Chair
Joan M. Johnston
Joanne McNamara
Mark Lautens

Regrets:
Olivia Batt

Secretariat:
Tracey Gameiro, Secretary ; Anwar Kazimi, Deputy Secretary of the Governing Council and Chief Returning Officer     (CRO); Cindy Ferencz-Hammond, Assistant Secretary of the Governing Council and Deputy Returning Officer (DRO);
Patrick McNeill, Assistant Secretary of the Governing Council and DRO 
 

  1. Election Guidelines 2021

    The CRO, Mr. Kazimi, provided a brief overview of the Election Guidelines 2021, highlighting that the election process, including nominations, would proceed completely online. Mr. Kazimi drew members attention to the proposed change to Appendix A which spoke to the publication of confirmed violations.  Specifically, the CRO proposed that the names of offending candidates be redacted from the reports of the Elections Committee (acting as Election Overseers) after a period of five years from the date of the meeting of the Committee.  

    The Committee agreed that upon approval of the Election Guidelines 2021, the CRO would at the Chair’s direction, review the reports of the Election Committees over the past fifteen years to redact the names of any offending candidate.

    In response to members’ questions regarding the proposed minor changes, the CRO reported the following:
    • The five year limitation to the publication of names of offending candidates was determined to be a reasonable length of time based on the average time for completion of an undergraduate degree. 
    • Only the name of the offending candidate would be redacted.  No other changes would be made to the Elections Committee report in which reference to the violation appeared.
    • The University’s in-house counsel had been consulted and confirmed that it was well within the purview of the Elections Committee to approve the proposed changes to the Election Guidelines 2021; approval by the Executive Committee was not required. 
    • It was stressed at each of the information sessions that dates indicated in the Election Schedule (Section 2 of the Election Guidelines) were subject to change.  

      On motion duly made, seconded and carried

      It was Resolved

      THAT the proposed Election Guidelines 2021 be approved, effective January 1, 2021.
       
  2. Report of the Previous Meeting - Report Number 88, October 14, 2020 

    The report of the previous meeting was approved.
     
  3. Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting

    There was no business arising from the report of the previous meeting.
     
  4. Date of Next Meeting:  Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.  

    The Chair confirmed that the next meeting would be held on May 19, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
     
  5. Other Business

    There was no other business. 

    The meeting adjourned at 4:41 p.m.

December 1, 2020