The Election Committee found Will Hamilton ineligible to stand as a candidate for President.

According to the Federation of Students Bylaw 1, only full members of the Federation of Students can stand as candidates in the elections. Hamilton did not satisfy these conditions, and his nomination was therefore invalid.

The full text of the decision follows.

Election Committee Decision as of February 6, 2004 9:40PM


Regarding: Eligibility of Will Hamilton

On February 3rd, Mr. Hamilton approached the Election Committee, stating that his petition for late entry to his program had been denied. The Election Committee found that Mr. Hamilton was ineligible to stand as a candidate for President, under the membership requirements laid out in bylaw 1, because by his own admission, he was not registered in the Winter 2004 term. However, the Election Committee decided that if Mr. Hamilton could show intent to register in the Spring 2004 term by providing a copy of registration documents submitted to the Registrar’s Office no later than 4:30PM on Friday, February 6th, he would still be able to stand as a candidate for President.

Mr. Hamilton provided such documentation on the morning of February 6, 2004. The Election Committee, in determining his eligibility, checked with the Registrar’s Office to verify that he was registered as a full-time undergraduate in the Fall 2003 term. This was done in accordance with bylaw 1 section IV.A.3 and section E.4 of the Federation of Students Election Procedures. If it was found that Mr. Hamilton had been a full member of the Federation of Students during the Fall 2003 term, and had shown intent to register in the Spring 2004 term, he would be considered a full member of the Federation of Students in the Winter 2004 term and would have been able to stand as a candidate for President.

At 3:30PM, the Election Committee received information from the Registrar’s Office, showing that Mr. Hamilton (as outlined in the University of Waterloo Undergraduate Calendar 2003-2004, 7:12) in the Spring 2003 term. He was not registered as a full-time undergraduate student in the Fall 2003 term.

It is the finding of the Election Committee that Mr. Hamilton is ineligible to stand as a candidate for President in the 2004 Election, in accordance with the membership requirements in bylaw 1, which read as follows:

IV. MEMBERSHIP

A. Full Membership

The full membership of the Corporation shall consist of:

1. Each full-time undergraduate student currently registered at the University of Waterloo;


2. Each full-time undergraduate student currently engaged in a co-operative work term;


3. Each full-time undergraduate student who is not registered in the current term and has shown intention to register in the next term; and


4. The President and Vice-Presidents of the Corporation

Bylaw 1 also outlines the exclusive privileges of full membership in the Federation of Students.

Only full members may:

1. Vote in elections, referenda and general meetings of the Corporation;


2. Sign petitions of the Corporation;


3. Nominate a candidate for election to the position of Officer, Director or Student Councillor of the Corporation;


4. Stand as a candidate for election to, or hold the position of Officer, Director or Student Councillor of the Corporation; and


5. Sit on any Committee of the Corporation

Federation of Students Election Procedure states the following regarding candidate eligibility:

E. NOMINATIONS

4. The Chief Electoral Officer shall check the validity of each nomination form. For executive and council positions, the qualifications for candidates are set out in the bylaws of the Federation of Students; for Senate positions, the qualifications for candidates are set out in the bylaws of University of Waterloo.

5. If a nomination is invalid, the nomination shall be rejected and the candidate shall be notified. Candidates may correct and resubmit rejected nomination forms until the close of the nomination period.

The Election Committee gave Mr. Hamilton a chance to rectify the eligibility problem he presented to the Committee, however he did not inform the Committee of his recent academic history, and as such the solution provided was insufficient to qualify him for full membership in the Federation of Students.

The Election Committee thereby disqualifies Mr. Hamilton.

Update at 02:22 on 8 February 2004: Sophie Lee posted a correction to the story.

The uws editorial board is discussing circumstance surrounding this story and has removed information that may have been provided contrary to UW Policy 19. — RC-W