USG sent out an email to all undergraduate students at 3:03 p.m., through UNE Get Involved, asking students to vote on three main “language” changes to the constitution. Access to this voting was made available through a Presence Form linked in the email, which stated that the USG had passed constitutional amendments to be “ratified by the student body.”
Students could not access the initial form sent in the 3:03 p.m. email, so at 5:03 p.m., a follow up email was sent out with a new, accessible link. The link brings students to the Presence website, but not directly to the form.
When using a computer, the link will bring users to UNE Engage. At the top right of the page, click on the “Forms” tab. When using a mobile device, at the top right corner, there will be a tab with three blue lines; click that, then click on “Forms.” After this, click on the “2024 USG Constitution Amendments” form, and you should be brought to the page where you can read the changes and decide to YES (approve changes) or NO (reject changes).
The change to sub-section one would reduce the number of weeks before the end of the semester that Spring Elections would take place.
The original language is as follows: “Spring Elections will take place four weeks before the end of the spring semester.” The proposed new language is: “Spring Elections will take place THREE weeks before the end of the spring semester.”
The proposed language change to sub-section two would move Fall elections from the week following Thanksgiving break to the week before.
Here is the original language: “Midterm elections shall include all current vacant positions on USG as well as elections for the First-Year Class Council and First-Year Class Representative. Fall Elections shall take place the week following Thanksgiving break.” The proposed new language is: “Midterm elections shall include all current vacant positions on USG as well as elections for the First-Year Class Council and First-Year Class Representative. Fall Elections shall take place the week BEFORE Thanksgiving break.”
The proposed language change to sub-section three would add an additional week to the Fall Elections that take place after the start of the Fall semester.
Here is the original language: “Fall elections shall include all current vacant positions on USG and take place two weeks after the start of the Fall semester.” Here is the proposed new language: “Fall elections shall include all current vacant positions on USG and take place THREE weeks after the start of the Fall semester.”
“The Constitution Amendment will shift the timeline of elections. This will give First Years more time to decide at the beginning of the year if they would like to run for a position. To do this, elections would be moved to the third week in the Fall Semester rather than the second week in the Fall Semester. In addition, the incoming Press Secretary will have an additional week to create the election after turnover (this means that our current Press Secretary will have an extra week to train the incoming Press Security on how to set up an election on presence). It’s just a simple change in the timeline to make the process easier for all involved parties,” wrote Emily Walsh, Student Affairs and Services Chair, in an interview over social media.
Per the current USG Constitution, Article XI, Section A, if one wishes to propose an Amendment to the Constitution, three criteria must be met. As included in the Constitution (2023-2024), an amendment may be made if it is “ratified by a majority vote by the Constitution Committee, Passed by a two-thirds vote of the voting membership of the USG, and approved by a voting majority of undergraduate students.” This means the amendment has already passed the first two benchmarks and is awaiting approval or dismissal from the student body.
To put the timing changes into the context of the calendar year, if the amendments were to be ratified and in effect beginning this current spring semester, the third week before the end of the spring semester would be April 15–19 rather than four weeks before, which is April 8–12. This change would give aspiring officers more chances to campaign for a seat in the USG, although non-USG participants may be less inclined to participate in voting as the date is closer to the prime end-of-semester stress.
The amendment for Midterms changing the voting the week prior to Thanksgiving break, effective Fall 2024 if ratified, would position voting to be November 18–22. This is instead of December 2–6, which is the last week of classes for the Fall 2024 semester. This amendment may reduce the overlap between Thanksgiving break and the demand that comes at the end of a semester.
The amendment for early Fall elections would be three weeks after the start of the semester, that is, September 18–24, rather than September 11–17, assuming the elections are open for a full week. This amendment could be in part to allow students more time to adjust to the new academic year before the opportunity to vote, as well as more time for aspiring officers to campaign for a seat, like the first proposed amendment.
