I.4.A. Direct election: A vote open to the entire regular graduate student enrollment of a particular unit of representation.

I.4.B. Election by a graduate student organization: In the event that direct election is deemed infeasible, election by a duly constituted graduate student organization that reflects the interests of graduate students in that unit of representation may serve as replacement for (A).

I.4.C. Appointment: In the event that the above methods are deemed inappropriate, appointment by the Graduate Studies Chairperson (or designated alternate) shall constitute proper practice for filling a CGS position, as long as the student provides a petition of support for their delegacy signed by either fifty percent or twenty-five (whichever is less) of the graduate students in the unit of representation.

I.4.D. Interim Selection: In the event that a delegate is not identified to the Council by any of the previous methods by the fifteenth day of the autumn quarter, the graduate student representative to the program's graduate studies committee will serve as delegate pro-tem until such time as a permanent delegate is selected for their unit of representation

I.6.A. Each delegate is expected to perform committee service beginning no later than the quarter after admission to the Council.

I.6.B. The delegate will indicate a committee preference upon application. These preferences will be used by the Organization and Elections Committee to make committee assignments.

I.6.C. Selection to the Athletic Council, the Council on Academic Affairs, the Student Health Insurance Committee, and the Student Trustee Selection Committee requires the concurrence of the CGS President.

I.6.D. The Organization and Elections Committee shall determine and publish a list of acceptable outlets for this committee service. In all cases, this list must include service on a CGS standing or ad hoc committee, a university-wide committee, the University Senate, and the Research and Graduate Council. The organization and elections committee may, at its discretion, allow non-committee service to substitute for this requirement.

I.6.E. Regardless of the nature of the service, regular attendance and participation will be expected.

I.7.A. Delegates shall be elected in spring quarter for a term of service consisting of four consecutive quarters beginning in the following autumn quarter.

I.7.B. If a current delegate seat is vacant as of the first meeting of spring quarter, the new delegate-elect shall in addition complete the remainder of the current term as a voting member of the Council.

I.7.C. Delegates filling a vacancy shall take office immediately.

I.7.D. All delegates-elect will serve as non-voting members of the Council until their term of service begins (per I.7.A).

I.8.A. Delegates not fulfilling their required duties in a responsible manner, may be removed by the Organization and Elections Committee, acting either on its own initiative, or at the request of students from a delegate's unit of representation.

I.8.B. The Organization and Elections Committee shall consider lack of responsibility to include, but not be limited to, the following:

I.8.C. Delegates who have been removed from their positions may appeal this decision directly to the Council of Graduate Students, whose decision is final.

II.2.A. All Executive Officers are elected at the second regular meeting of spring quarter (or no later than the second week of May in years when more than three spring quarter meetings are scheduled). Newly elected officers will take office on the first day of summer quarter. These officers-elect shall sit (without authority) in Executive Committee meetings with the outgoing Executive Committee during the remainder of the spring quarter.

II.2.B. Any eligible graduate student may apply for election, or may be nominated by another graduate student. The Organization and Elections Committee will attempt to present at least two candidates each for the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer to the Council at the regular meeting preceding elections. A person may not be a candidate for more than one office. If a person receives more than one nomination, that person must decline all but one. All nominations must be made at the aforesaid meeting or received in writing at the CGS office no less than ten business days prior to the elections meeting.

II.2.C. In the event that there are no nominations for an office, nominations shall remain open until an election for that office is held.

II.2.D. The chair of the Organization and Elections Committee shall conduct the officer elections. In the event that the chair is a candidate for an Executive Officer position or is otherwise unable to conduct the elections, the executive committee shall designate another individual to conduct the elections. A notice of officer elections, elections procedures, and any financial benefits of the positions must be posted in the Lantern one week prior to the nomination deadline.

II.2.E. The officers shall be elected in the following order: Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, President.

II.2.F. Immediately prior to the election, each candidate for a particular officer position will have the opportunity to address the Council for a maximum of ten minutes. After all candidates for that position have spoken, the delegates may ask questions targeted at all candidates. Each candidate shall have the opportunity to respond to each question. The Organization and Elections chair or designee may set limits on the maximum length of the question period as well as the maximum length of any single response. Such limits must be the same for all candidates for a particular office and be made known to them at the beginning of the meeting at which the elections are held.

II.2.G. Voting shall be by secret ballot in contested elections and by Objection to Consent in uncontested elections. Write-in votes and blank ballots shall be invalid, and not counted in the total.

II.2.H. A simple majority of those delegates voting is required to elect an officer. If no candidate receives a majority, then at the same meeting the Council shall vote again between the two candidates receiving the most votes (or between all candidates receiving a maximal number of votes). This procedure shall be repeated as necessary until a candidate is elected.

III.3.A. Any eligible graduate student may apply for election, or may be nominated by another graduate student. A deadline for nominations may be established by the Organization and Elections Committee. Such a deadline shall be no earlier than the first meeting of spring quarter. The committee may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for particular positions or consider applications received after such a deadline.

III.3.B. All applications will be considered by the Organization and Elections Committee, using whatever means (interview, screening of resumes, references, etc.) the committee deems appropriate.

III.3.C. A majority vote of the members of the Organization and Elections Committee shall be required for a candidate's name to be presented to the Council.

III.3.D. Upon completion of their review process, the Organization and Elections Committee shall present the names of all candidates deemed qualified to the Council to stand for election.

III.4.A. The initial election of Representatives to take office in the autumn quarter of a given calendar year shall take place in the spring quarter of that year, no earlier than the third meeting of that quarter.

III.4.B. Additional names may be placed on the ballot at the time of election by a majority vote of Council members.

III.4.C. Immediately prior to the election, each candidate will have an opportunity to address the Council and/or respond to members' questions for a maximum of five minutes.

III.4.D. Voting shall be by secret ballot in contested elections and by Objection to Consent in uncontested elections. Blank ballots shall be invalid, and not counted in the total.

III.4.E. A simple majority vote is required to elect a representative. If no candidate receives a majority, then at the same meeting the Council shall vote again between the two candidates receiving the most votes (or between all candidates receiving a maximal number of votes). This procedure shall be repeated as necessary until a candidate is elected.

IV.4.A. If a representative does not fulfill required duties in a responsible manner, the Organization and Elections Committee may remove the representative, acting either on its own initiative, or at the request of relevant parties.

IV.4.B. The Organization and Elections Committee shall consider lack of responsibility to include, but not be limited to, the following:

IV.4.C. Representatives who have been removed from their positions may appeal this decision directly to the Council of Graduate Students, whose decision is final.

V.1.A. Duties and powers

V.1.B. Membership - The membership of the Executive Committee shall be determined as follows:

V.1.C. Transition Membership - During summer quarter, the Executive Committee shall consist of those individuals who were members during the spring quarter of the previous academic year, the newly elected officers, and all new members as they are identified.

V.1.D. Meetings - The President (or his designee) chairs the Executive Committee and shall call such meetings as deemed necessary, but must call at least three meetings per quarter.

V.2.A. Organization and Elections - The Organization and Elections Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President. It shall have the following charge:

V.3.A. General - The Council shall have standing committees as designated by the President, subject to ratification by the Council at the first meeting of the President's term. The Council may also create such additional standing committees and ad hoc committees as it deems necessary. Standing committees shall serve until the first Council meeting following the next presidential election, unless designated otherwise.

V.3.B. Membership - Each committee will consist of a chair appointed by the President and members selected from the graduate student body by the President and/or the chair. The President serves as an ex officio non-voting member of all standing committees.

V.3.C. Purpose - The purpose and function of each committee shall take the form of a short statement directing the committee to perform specified functions. This statement, either provided by the President or drafted by the full Council, must be made available upon request.

VI.1.A. Definition - The financial resources of the Council must be allocated in accordance with an annual budget.

VI.1.B. Budget Approval - A proposed budget will be prepared by the Treasurer in consultation with the President, reviewed by the Executive Committee, and presented to the Council at the last regular meeting of Spring Quarter. This budget, or an amended version thereof, must be adopted by a simple majority vote of the Council at the first regular meeting of Summer Quarter.

VI.1.C. Budget Amendements - This budget may be revised at any time during the year by a simple majority vote of the Council.

VI.2.A. Authority - Only the President and Treasurer may make financial commitments on behalf of the council, including purchases, travel, repair service, and related business affairs. Expenditures from the checking and banking accounts may only be performed by the Treasurer and require the signatures of both the Treasurer and Advisor. Expenditures from the CGS business account may only be performed by the president; any such expenditure involving a 100W form require the President's signature.

VI.2.B. Unauthorized Commitments - Persons making unauthorized purchases or other commitments may be held personally liable for the payment of such transactions.

VI.2.C. Reimbursement - The Treasurer, with the consent of the President and the Executive Committee, may establish procedures for notification, receipts, reimbursement, and other associated tasks. These procedures must be documented and made available upon request. The Treasurer, except where notice is otherwise given, must reimburse individuals within two weeks of the completed request for reimbursement.

VI.2.D. Timeliness - All bills for authorized expenditures must be paid by the Treasurer by the due date, or within such period necessary to take advantage of cash discounts and to avoid service charges, provided there are sufficient funds in the respective CGS budget account. If the Treasurer fails to comply with this requirement, the President may pay the bill.

VI.3.A. Fiscal Year - The fiscal year of the council will extend from the first day of July through the last day of June.

VI.3.B. Recording - All income and expenditures of the Council must be recorded every other week.

VI.3.C. Quarterly Reports - A summary of current and proposed expenditures, and the status of all budget categories, including totals in restricted and unrestricted funds (as defined by the Council on Student Affairs), must be prepared by the last day of each quarter, and presented to the Council at the first meeting of the following quarter.

VI.3.D. Inventory - By the end of each spring quarter, the Treasurer-elect and Treasurer, with the Office Manager's assistance, must jointly inventory all equipment owned by the Council for which more than $25 was paid. A copy of this inventory will be revised as necessary and filed in the CGS office.

VII.3.A. Proposing Legislation - Legislation may be brought before the Council by the Executive Committee, any standing or ad-hoc committee of the Council, or by any voting member of the Council. In order for legislation to appear on the Council's agenda, the author must inform the President that legislation will be brought forward two weeks prior to a Council meeting. The legislation must be submitted in proper format (see guidelines) to the Secretary one week prior to the Council meeting. Legislation not presented to the Council in proper format in time to make it in the meeting packet will be removed from the agenda.

VII.3.B. Main Motion - Proposed legislation, in order as assigned by the Executive Committee on the Council’s agenda, is read to the delegate body by one author at a microphone. At the discretion of the author, a full reading of the legislation may be waived. Legislation may only be considered during the Old and New Business portions of a Council meeting.

VII.3.C. Second Needed - A second will be needed from the general body to continue. The second can be given by raising a placard and calling "second" (seat). The exception to this rule is when legislation is sponsored by the Executive Committee, or any standing or ad-hoc committee of the Council. Committee-sponsored legislation is considered automatically seconded.

VII.3.D. Author(s)’ Rationale - The author(s) will have 2 minutes to state why they are proposing the legislation (microphone).

VII.3.E. Questions for Author(s) - The delegate body may ask the author(s) questions concerning the main motion for a period of 5 minutes (microphone).

VII.3.F. Motion to Extend - The time period for questions, and later, debate, may be extended when time has expired if the delegate body deems it necessary. To extend, someone will need to make a motion to extend, a second is needed, no debate is accepted, and a 2/3 vote is needed to pass the extension (seat or microphone).

VII.3.G. Debate - After questions for the author(s), debate begins. The debate period is 10 minutes, but may be extended if the body deems it necessary (see Section VII.3.f). Debate will end if no speaker is waiting in line for the floor, when time expires, or when someone in line calls the question.

VII.3.H. Amendments to the Main Motion - Amendments can be made at the time of debate only. In order to make an amendment, a voting member of the Council must be in line at a microphone. The amendment should be read to the Council and then submitted in writing to the Secretary. Upon receiving a second deliberation on the amendment begins with the author(s) rationale and proceeds through debate. Amendments can be amended.

VII.3.I. Calling the Previous Question - To call the question one must be at a microphone and in line to speak. Once the question is called, debate is ended and the Council moves into a vote on the main motion, unless an objection is raised. If there is an objection, then a vote is taken (without debate and requiring a 2/3 majority to pass) to decide whether to end debate and move onto a vote on the issue being discussed.