Appendix F
Election Guidelines and Approval Voting
F.1. Approval Voting
All Elections Committee approved nominees are candidates for Senator and Alternate Senator. The
number of votes a candidate receives determines the position to which the candidate is elected.
Approval voting is the voting process used for the Faculty Senate elections so that each voter votes for
as many candidates as they want. Each vote is simply a yes vote for that candidate. The candidate with
the most votes wins the election. The Senator positions are filled first then the candidates with the next
highest votes serve as the Alternate Senator (s). All remaining nominees and number of votes received
are next in line for service if the elected Senator and/or Alternate Senator are not able to complete their
elected term of office.
F.2. Senate Elections Process
F.2.1. Elections cycle
Elections timeline
Task
Process overview
1
st
Monday of
December
Get a current count of
the number of faculty
in each college, school,
and libraries from HR;
Review if adjustment of
# of senators and
alternates needs to
occur. Information
needs to be reported
to FSEC within 1
month.
Performed by Associate Chair; Occurs every 3
rd
December preceding election years (Election years
2022, 2025, 2028…)
Early/Mid-December
Create committee; plan
1st mtg for mid-
January
Associate Chair creates Elections Committee and
plans preparation period; drafts timeline
Mid-January
Planning Meeting of
the Elections
Committee
Election Committee plans process
Late-January
Preparation & testing
of Nominations
webpage
Senate Office Associate prepares nomination web
page together with UAB IT; committee members
review and test
Beginning in
February, minimum
of three weeks
nomination period,
ending prior to
UAB’s official Spring
Break
Nomination period
Send out call for nominations
Schedule 2 all campus gatherings to provide
information about Senate and garner nominations
Late February or
early March
Last day of
nominations
End on a non-Friday weekday, for Senate Office
Associate to assist faculty if needed
Nominees accept or
reject
Five business day period for nominees to accept or
reject their nomination
Early March (at
completion of
acceptance/rejection
period)
Preparation for voting
Eligibility tasks, including Associate Chair to ask HR to
review all candidates and address issues and
communicate to ineligible nominees
Mid-March,
Elections Committee
meets to prepare for
voting
Election committee approval of ballot & test web
voting system
Mid to Late March;
ends no later than
the first Thursday in
April
Voting Period
After voting prep meeting, two week voting period
End on a non-Friday weekday, for Senate Office
Associate to assist faculty if needed
Before graduation
Process of filling
unfilled seats
Associate Chair requests appropriate committee in
schools, colleges, and libraries without full
representation to identify individuals who may
represent unfilled seats
By second Friday in
April
Vote Tally Meeting by
Election Committee
Certify election results
Third week in April
Inform candidates
Immediately after election results are certified
Third week in April
Inform schools,
colleges, and libraries
After informing candidates
May Senate meeting
Announce & introduce
new Senators, Chair,
and Associate Chair
Newly elected Senators invited to May Senate
meeting; begin onboarding process
F.2.2. Chair-Elect and Associate Chair Positions
Every other year, in accordance with Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws, the Chair-Elect nominees
shall come from health-related units. The nominees shall agree to accept the nomination via the online
process.
The nominees for Associate Chair may be affiliated with any of the college, school, and libraries. The
nominees shall agree to accept the nomination via the online process.
Faculty in each college, school, and libraries are encouraged to nominate individuals for the position of
Chair-Elect of the Faculty and the position of Associate Chair of the Faculty. You may nominate as many
persons as you like for either of these offices. The job description for each of the officer positions can
be viewed on the Faculty Senate webpage.
If the nominee does not approve their nomination via the online process, the nominee will not be
approved by the Elections Committee and not placed on the ballot.
F.2.3. Senator and Alternate Senator Positions
For vacant Senators and Alternate Senators positions from an college, school, and libraries there should
be at least twice as many nominees as the number of positions to be filled per college, school, and
libraries.
All Elections Committee approved nominees are candidates for Senator and Alternate Senator. Each
nominee must agree to accept the nomination via the online process. If they do not, a nominee’s name
will not appear on the ballot.
The roles and responsibilities descriptions for Senators and Alternates can be reviewed on the Faculty
Senate webpage.
F.2.4. Voting Process
The Senate will conduct the voting process electronically. A voter has to log-in with their Blazer ID and
password. All faculty members should be assured that privacy and confidentiality have been addressed.
Voting remains anonymous, as the website only tracks if a faculty person voted to assure that no one is
able to vote more than one time but it doesn’t track who voted for whom.
https://uabweb.ad.uab.edu/senate/Pages/FacultySenateVoting.aspx
For assistance with the nomination process, please contact the Faculty Senate Associate Chair.
F.3. Files to be maintained – I drive official files for Senate
1. Terms Expiring and Eligibility Table
2. Official roster of candidates (list of approved nomination and approved by Elections
Committee as eligible)
3. Senator and alternate senator notification letters
4. Officer notification letters
5. Tally records – ballot counting results
6. Results reports: by unit for each nominee/# votes [used to fill vacancies]; response rates
by unit and total including rates for officer voting
Last revised : July 2019
