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USC elections bylaw gets digital facelift

One of the University Students’ Council’s most glamorous pieces of legislation finally got a facelift.

Bylaw 2, the policy used to govern USC elections, was updated last Wednesday to reflect the increasingly digital nature of campaigning.

“We really didn’t have a choice about making these changes because over the course of this election we ran into so many things that screamed for change,” Adam Smith, chief returning officer for the USC explained.

The bylaw itself has not been revised since 2008. Seeing many changes in how elections are run — including this year’s professional-looking video by Andrew Forgione’s team — prompted this year’s Elections Committee to revisit the policy.

“The issue was a high quality [video] which used professional equipment,” Smith explained. “The committee can’t speak to how much that would cost.”

Candidates will now be charged a percentage of their campaign budget on the video. The Elections Committee will determine the exact amount depending on whether the video is professional or amateur. For professional videos, the cost would be 2/15 of their budget while amateur videos would cost 1/15.

Andrew Shaw, arts and humanities councillor, said the changes originally recommended $50 flat for an amateur video, which he called unfair for candidates running for positions with smaller budgets.

“My amendment in particular was intended to make the cost for campaign videos relative to candidates’ budgets as it seems rather unfair to charge the same amount to candidates whose budgets will differ by roughly $650.”

Brandon Sousa, a councillor for media, information and technolculture, amended the bylaw to ensure the video fee was only incurred once for candidates.

Candidates will also now have to send all of their social media campaign material for approval from the elections committee. Standard campaign rules, such as not using purple, will also apply to online platforms.

“I think it’s important because this is the way we’re seeing students communicate now,” Nicole Fassina, communications officer for the USC, said. She noted the bylaw had previously not included information on social media.

Smith noted a more detailed bylaw meant the Elections Committee could make decisions and candidates would be more informed about what actions were allowed.

Social media’s continuing influence during campus campaigning also played a factor in cutting the budget for the presidential candidates. Currently, candidates receive five cents per full-time equivalent student — or around $1,300 this year. But next year, candidates will receive half that amount.

“There was a large demand for this. These campaigns are funded by students,” Smith said.

Fassina explained the use of social media, alongside tighter restrictions for where outdoor signs can go, meant candidates would need less money to run an effective campaign.

“A lot of other schools are nowhere near our current spending limit,” Sousa said.

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