Chief Returning Officer

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Chief Returning Officer [CRO]

Current CRO:	Camille Warner
Email:	cro@mcgilleus.ca

What is the Chief Returning Officer?

The Chief Returning Officer is largely in charge of the organization and supervision of Official Elections of the EUS. Additionally, the CRO generally is a reference for the Deputy Returning Officers (DROs), who are in charge of the organization and supervision of their departmental society's elections. This organization often consists of ensuring awareness of campaigning and election bylaws, encouraging voters to be informed and vote, and moderating anything inbetween.

Responsibilities

Creation of the Electoral Calendar

Part of the job of the CRO is to plan the entire schedule for information periods, campaigning, and voting for the upcoming academic year. This constitutes the Electoral Calendar, and must be presented to the EUS Board of Governors for ratification (by simple majority) at the Board's second session of the Summer. The Electoral Calendar, if approved, is then made public in the week following. This is per Article 3.1.5 of the Electoral and Referendum Bylaws.

Things that should go in the electoral calendar are listed below.

Semester	Event	Suggested Duration	Notes and Relevant Articles of Electoral Bylaws/EUS Constitution
Fall	Referendum question submission period	1.5-2 weeks	The question submission period should be a minimum of 7 school days to accommodate the registration of Referendum Committees (Article 9.1).
Fall	Deadline for registration of Referendum Committees	Deadline	Must be registered with the CRO at least seven (7) school days before the opening of the polls (Article 9.1).
Fall	Referendum campaigning period	1 week	Campaigning must end at 9:00 pm on the day prior to opening of polls (Article 10.12).
Fall	Referendum voting period	1 week	Recommended to have a minimum of 2 days for voting booths. Voting booths should be open for a minimum of four (4) consecutive hours per day (Article 14.6).
Fall	Announcement of referendum results	Deadline	Results should be announced to the EUS within one week of their availability (Article 16.1). If there are any time-sensitive referendum results (i.e. student fee changes, etc.), the voting period should be scheduled such that the results are available by the required deadlines.
Fall	BoG MaL nomination period	1-2 weeks
Fall	BoG MaL extended nomination period	2 school days	Only necessary if a position is uncontested (one or fewer nominees) after the regular nomination period (Article 6.9).
Fall	BoG MaL campaigning period	1-1.5 weeks	Campaigning must end at 9:00 pm on the day prior to opening of polls (Article 10.12).
Fall	Deadline to register a "No" campaign	Deadline	"No" campaigns must currently be registered to the CRO at least five (5) school days before the opening of the polls (Article 8.1).
Fall	BoG MaL voting period	1 week	Results must be obtained before October 31 (Constitution Article 30.5.2). Recommended to have a minimum of 2 days for voting booths. Voting booths should be open for no less than four (4) consecutive hours per day (Article 14.6).
Fall	Announcement of BoG MaL election results	Deadline	Results should be announced to the EUS within one week of their availability (Article 16.1). Candidates can be informed prior to public announcement of your results.
Fall	Deadline to submit complaints for the BoG MaL election	Deadline	Complaints must be submitted to the CRO no later than five (5) days following the announcement of results (Article 17.1). This should be well-publicized to the EUS when results are announced, along with the email address of the CRO.
Fall	BoG MaL electoral runoff campaign period	2 day minimum	Only necessary in the case of a tie during a Regular Election (Article 14.8.2.1.a).
Fall	BoG MaL electoral runoff voting period	2 day minimum	Only necessary in the case of a tie during a Regular Election (Article 14.8.2.1.a).
Fall	BoG MaL by-election nomination period	1 week	The by-election nomination period is only required if one or more positions remain vacant following the extended nomination period (Article 6.10.1). While the by-election procedures could be run in parallel to the regular election if there are other positions which are not vacant, it is recommended to hold the by-election after the conclusion of the regular election. This is to avoid confusing voters with elections that are proceeding along different timelines.
Fall	BoG MaL by-election campaign period	1 week	The by-election nomination period is only required if one or more positions remain vacant following the extended nomination period (Article 6.10.1).
Fall	BoG MaL by-election voting period	2 days	The by-election nomination period is only required if one or more positions remain vacant following the extended nomination period (Article 6.10.1).
Winter	Applications open for VP Finance	2 weeks
Winter	Nomination period for EUS Executive Committee positions	1-2 weeks
Winter	Extended nomination period for uncontested EUS Executive Committee positions	2 days	Only necessary if a position is uncontested (one or fewer nominees) after the regular nomination period (Article 6.9).
Winter	Campaign period for EUS Executive Committee positions	1 week	Campaigning must end at 9:00 pm on the day prior to opening of polls (Article 10.12).
Winter	EUS Executive Committee candidate debates	1 evening	It is recommended to schedule debates such that EUS Regular Members have sufficient time to form a "No" campaign in the time between the debates and the beginning of voting period. This is because the debates are frequently the first thorough exposure Regular Members have to candidates.
Winter	Deadline to register a "No" campaign	Deadline	"No" campaigns must currently be registered to the CRO at least five (5) school days before the opening of the polls (Article 8.1).
Winter	Voting period for EUS Executive Committee positions	1 week	Recommended to have a minimum of 2 days for voting booths. Voting booths should be open for no less than four (4) consecutive hours per day (Article 14.6).
Winter	Announcement of EUS Executive Committee results	Deadline	Results should be announced to the EUS within one week of their availability (Article 16.1). Candidates can be informed prior to public announcement of your results.
Winter	Deadline to submit complaints for the EUS Executive Committee election	Deadline	Complaints must be submitted to the CRO no later than five (5) days following the announcement of results (Article 17.1). This should be well-publicized to the EUS when results are announced, along with the email address of the CRO.
Winter	EUS Executive Committee electoral runoff campaign period	2 day minimum	Only necessary in the case of a tie during a Regular Election (Article 14.8.2.1.a).
Winter	EUS Executive Committee electoral runoff voting period	2 day minimum	Only necessary in the case of a tie during a Regular Election (Article 14.8.2.1.a).
Winter	Complaint period for EUS Executive Committee election	5 days
Winter	Winter Referendum question submission period	1-2 weeks	The question submission period should be a minimum of 7 school days to accommodate the registration of Referendum Committees (Article 9.1).
Winter	Deadline for registration of Referendum Committees	Deadline	Must be registered with the CRO at least seven (7) school days before the opening of the polls (Article 9.1).
Winter	Winter Referendum campaigning period	1 week	Campaigning must end at 9:00 pm on the day prior to opening of polls (Article 10.12).
Winter	Winter Referendum voting period	1 week	Recommended to have a minimum of 2 days for voting booths. Voting booths should be open for no less than four (4) consecutive hours per day (Article 14.6). If there are any time-sensitive referendum results (i.e. student fee changes, etc.), the voting period should be scheduled such that the results are available by the required deadlines.
Winter	Announcement of referendum results	Deadline	Results should be announced to the EUS within one week of their availability (Article 16.1).
Winter	Deadline to submit complaints for the Winter Referendum	Deadline	Complaints must be submitted to the CRO no later than five (5) days following the announcement of results (Article 17.1). This should be well-publicized to the EUS when results are announced, along with the email address of the CRO.
Winter	Winter BoG MaL nomination period	1-2 weeks
Winter	Winter BoG MaL extended nomination period	2 days	Only necessary if a position is uncontested (one or fewer nominees) after the regular nomination period (Article 6.9).
Winter	Winter BoG MaL campaigning period	1 week	Campaigning must end at 9:00 pm on the day prior to opening of polls (Article 10.12).
Winter	Winter BoG MaL voting period	1 week	Recommended to have a minimum of 2 days for voting booths. Voting booths should be open for no less than four (4) consecutive hours per day (Article 14.6).
Winter	Announcement of BoG MaL election results	Deadline	Results should be announced to the EUS within one week of their availability (Article 16.1). Candidates can be informed prior to public announcement of your results.
Winter	Deadline to submit complaints for the BoG MaL election	Deadline	Complaints must be submitted to the CRO no later than five (5) days following the announcement of results (Article 17.1). This should be well-publicized to the EUS when results are announced, along with the email address of the CRO.

Referenda

The CRO has a variety of responsibilities regarding referenda. First and foremost, the CRO should be aware of all McGill-imposed due dates for referendum questions. Most questions concerning EUS student fees collected by McGill are subject to this date sensitivity. In general, the EUS President should be aware of when these dates are, as they are critical to the planning of the electoral calendar.

Publicizing the referendum The General Assembly of Fall 2017 resulted in a change to the organization of referendum forum for discussion. Previously, it was expected that the CRO arrange a debate between all Referendum Committees, however, in the event where all Referendum Committees support a Yes vote for their respective referendum question, a debate is not a productive format for distribution of information to the EUS. Therefore, Article 3.1.9 now reads:

“ Elections​ ​EUS​ ​should​ ​organize​ ​a​ ​public​ ​forum​ ​for​ ​discussion​ ​between all​ ​referendum​ ​committees​ ​the​ ​format​ ​of​ ​which​ ​is​ ​to​ ​the​ ​discretion​ ​of the​ ​CRO. ”

This public forum for discussion could take a variety of forms, combining digital and physical mediums. Publicly accessible online forms for submitting questions are generally a good way of providing an anonymous way for students to get to know more about the referendum questions, particularly if

As in all cases, the role of the CRO is also to assist DROs in their referenda when they arise. In many referenda cases, this involves assisting DROs in the interpretation or understanding of their departmental bylaws, or in the navigation of the grey zone between EUS Bylaws and respective departmental bylaws.

Debates

Organization of candidate debates for the EUS Executive Committee Election is one of the more labor-intensive aspects of the portfolio, as well as one of the most publicly visible. A smooth, well-run debate is beneficial to the candidates, the attendees, as well as EUS Elections. The smoother and quicker the elections run, the more likely it is that attendees will wait until the end. If debates run too long, or are too confusing or poorly moderated, attendees often become frustrated or [more] uncaring than usual, and are more likely to leave.

For the Winter 2018 EUS Executive Committee Election, the CRO opted to have a dedicated debate moderator to separate the responsibilities of managing the logistics of debate along with observation of debate rules. This proved to be a positive choice, as the moderator and CRO worked together to screen questions submitted through the online questions submission Google form. The moderator presented questions to candidates, timed candidate response periods, gave end-of-speaking-period warnings to candidates, etc. The CRO communicated to candidates throughout the debates, helped screen online submitted questions, coordinated delivery of food/drinks, coordinated clean-up, and ensured that other online communications were monitored.

It is also encouraged to have a livestream of debates for students who are interested in tuning in, but are unable to attend for whatever reason. If livestreaming is used, it is recommended to put a microphone as close as possible to the candidates, because otherwise you will need to have someone transcribing all questions/answers/follow-ups.

Some recommendations for future CROs regarding debates organization:

• Book the space out way the heck ahead of time. The EUS Common Room is the classic debate spot because we are allowed to have food, it has ample seating and electronic capabilities, and semi-decent wifi. If debates are held in a classroom, you cannot serve food in the room, and need to go through the event booking website.
• Ensure that vegetarian options are provided for with the food ordered. These are usually easy to accommodate with pizza, and gluten-free pizzas can also be ordered if necessary.
• Provide candidates with a detailed document indicating the format for debate, including, but not limited to: time limits, order of candidates, strike policy for instances of slander/time violations/etc., digital accommodations, etc.
• Arrange for long distance candidates ahead of time, ensure good connectivity for their choice of video calling.
• Ensure that any special time/debate accommodations made for candidates are

Improving Turnout

- incentive history - buttons/stickers - need to have better recruitment for tabling - inclusion of puppies? Puppy pats for voting - puppy cover photos - live updates of departmental voting rates (incentives to the highest voter turnout department)

Relevant Articles and Links

• EUS Elections Website
• EUS Constitution
• Electoral and Referendum Bylaws
• EUS Elections Facebook page
• Axolotl Voting Website