Any candidate, slate, or sponsor whose petition has been invalidated by the Commission for violation(s) of the rules governing the solicitation of signatures may appeal such a decision to the relevant legislative bodies.
Any candidate, slate, or sponsor wishing to appeal the invalidation of a petition shall file a written notice of appeal with the President of the Association no later than 72 hours after notice of the invalidation has been posted.
Once such an appeal has been filed, the Commission shall proceed with the verification of the contested petition, and shall take all actions required to protect the rights of the appealing candidate, slate or sponsor to appear in the Elections Handbook and on the ballot, pending resolution of the appeal. However, should the petitions be found invalid for reasons other than violation(s) of the rules governing the solicitation of signatures, the appeal shall be declared moot and no hearing need be held.
The President of the Association shall then notify the Chair of the relevant legislative bodies, who shall convene the relevant legislative bodies to hear the appeal. The relevant candidate, slate, or sponsor shall be given at least 24 hours advance notice of the time and place of the hearing.
At the hearing, the Elections Commissioner shall present the Commission’s reasons for invalidating the petition, including the specific act(s) constituting violation(s) of the solicitation rules alleged to have been committed and the reasons for believing they constitute grounds for invalidation.
At the hearing, the candidate, slate, or sponsor appealing may present whatever evidence desired to the relevant legislative bodies. All members of the Association shall cooperate with any reasonable request for information made by this candidate, slate, or sponsor.
Members of the relevant legislative bodies shall have the right to request any and all information they deem appropriate, including additional testimony, and all parties shall receive such information and have the right to challenge it.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the relevant legislative bodies shall meet and determine whether or not a violation of the By-Laws or Policies of the relevant Association legislative bodies, which justifies invalidation of the petition has occurred. However, the relevant legislative bodies shall have the discretion to determine the validity of any action of the Commission.
In making this determination, the relevant legislative bodies shall consider whether or not the alleged acts were in fact committed, whether or not they constitute a violation of the By-Laws or Policies of the relevant Association legislative bodies, and whether or not they are sufficiently serious or affect a significant enough number of petition signatures to justify invalidation.
Should the relevant legislative bodies determine that invalidation was not justified, then the appeal shall be granted and the appropriate candidate, slate, Special Fee request, or ballot measure shall appear in the Elections Handbook and on the ballot, provided that all other requirements for appearance on the ballot have been satisfied. If the invalidation is found to have been justified, then the appeal shall be rejected and appearance on the ballot shall not occur.
Should the relevant legislative bodies fail either to accept or reject an appeal on a timely basis, then the appropriate candidate, slate, Special Fee request, or ballot measure shall appear on the ballot, and in the Elections Handbook, provided that all other requirements for appearance on the ballot have been satisfied.
For the Spring Quarter General Election, the deadline for the President of the Association either to accept or reject the appeal shall be 5:00 P.M. the first day of Spring Quarter.
For all other elections, the deadline to accept or reject the appeal shall be specified in the Special Charge of the Commission or failing that, in the Elections Timetable presented by the Commission to the relevant Association legislative bodies.
The party being investigated shall enjoy all other judicial rights granted in the Constitution unless they conflict with other Constitutional requirements.
Any decision by a candidate, slate, or sponsor to expend funds on campaign expenses in anticipation of the granting of an appeal shall be at the risk of that candidate, slate, or sponsor.