12-006-1
2/24/82, 9/21/83, 07-29-12
ELECTION PROCEDURES FOR BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND DISTRICT BOARDS
(PROCEDURES)
ELECTION COMMITTEE
The President shall recommend the appointment of the Election Committee to the Board
of Trustees to conduct the elections in accordance with established policy (OLC Charter
and By-Laws). This appointment needs the approval of the Board of Trustees. The
Committee shall be composed of three (3) staff members. A secretary will be provided to
the Election Committee through an extra duty contract. The Committee shall serve for
the duration of the election until the results are accepted and approved by the Board of
Trustees. With the permission of the College President, the committee is authorized to
obtain the assistance of the College Attorney to render technical advice on the conduct of
the Election.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ELECTION COMMITTEE
The following shall be duties and responsibilities to govern the Election Committee.
Strict adherence to the provisions of the Election Procedures, Charter and By-Laws and
other applicable policy of the Oglala Lakota College.
No bias on any actions taken.
No campaigning in any form whatsoever for any candidate for office.
Bribery is prohibited.
Improper conduct by a Committee or other staff involved in the elections shall be cause
for removal from the election process
The Committee shall have its headquarters at the Administration Building at Piya
Wiconi during normal working hours and such other hours as may be deemed necessary
to conduct the elections.
The Committee shall keep accurate and complete records (minutes, etc.) of all
proceedings of the election process. Upon completion of the election process, a final
report shall be delivered to the Board of Trustees and to the College President, to
Committee members, and a copy will be kept with election committee files.
ELIGIBLE CANDIDATE, VOTERS, AND LIST THEREOF
All members of the Tribe (as defined in Article II of the Tribal Constitution, as
amended), 18 years of age or over at the time of the general election of the Oglala Sioux
Tribe, who have resided on the Reservation for a period of one year immediately prior to
the date of the general election, shall have the right to vote. Each voter shall be required
to vote in the election district in which his or her permanent residence is located.
No person shall run for Board of Trustees and/or District Boards who shall be less than
25 years of age on the date of the General Election and who shall not be otherwise
qualified to vote in said election. All candidates for Board of Trustees and/or District
Boards shall have physically resided in said district for at least one year prior to the
General Election, and this must have been verified through the current or last OST Tribal
general election voters list. If the candidate is not listed on the current or last OST general
election voters list, the candidate must obtain certification that they reside in the District
that they want to run in from the OST Tribal Election Board or from the District Council
in which they are claiming district residence.
Not less than fifteen (15) calendar days before the General Election of the Oglala Sioux
Tribe, the Committee shall request and receive a final and complete list of eligible voters
from the OST Election Committee and will ensure that each OLC election judge
appointed to the district wherein that precinct lies has a copy.
Any eligible voter, whose name does not appear on the official voting list, may qualify to
vote by signing a proper statement of eligibility supported by the signature attesting to the
facts set forth therein. The ballots of any persons not on the official voting list shall be
placed in sealed envelopes identifying them as such. These sealed envelopes shall remain
segregated in order that any challenges to the eligibility of such voters may be dealt with,
and they shall be opened and counted only after the eligibility of the voters has been
determined and after the votes have been co-mingled so as to preserve the secrecy of the
ballots.
NOMINATING PETITIONS
The names of candidates for Board of Trustees and/or District Boards shall be placed on
the election ballot by the Election Committee upon the submission of a petition signed by
at least twenty-five (25) eligible voters of the appropriate district, and it must signed by
the candidate certifying that he (she) personally requested the petition. All signatures on
petition submitted by candidate must be original signatures.
No candidate may file for more than one board member position.
All COMPLETE nominating petitions must be delivered personally by the candidate to
the President’s Office at Piya Wiconi no later than 4:00 PM (MST) on the twenty-fifth
(25th) working day prior to the general election. (A complete nominating petition must
be accompanied by a certified Oglala Sioux Tribe enrollment certificate, a money order
for the background check, and a signed authorization and release form.) If this day falls
on a holiday, the closest working day will be used as the deadline. No petitions will be
accepted thereafter.
The committee will review and certify the validity of each nominating petition at least ten
(10) working days prior to the General Election. Prior to or on the date of such
certification, any eligible voter may, by sworn statement, challenge any such nominating
petition either as to the authenticity of any signature thereon or the eligibility of any voter
listed therein or of the candidate whose petition is submitted.
BACKGROUND CHECKS
All candidates who have submitted valid petitions will be required to have a background
check done by the Oglala Lakota College Personnel Office.
RESIDENCY
All board members, once officially seated, must live in the district from which they were
elected during their tenure as a board member. Any elected member may also be removed
for failure or inability to maintain the physical residency requirement for the district
he/she represents as provided for in the Oglala Sioux Tribal Constitution under Articles
VII – Elections.
ELECTION DATES
To insure maximum voter participation, Board of Trustee and District Board elections
will be held in conjunction with the General Election of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
BALLOTS
The Election Committee shall prepare and supervise the printing and distribution of
election ballots. A record shall be kept by the Committee of the number of all such
official ballots so printed and all official ballots shall be accounted for by the Committee
in its report of the election results. The election ballot shall contain the names of
candidates as provided above.
POLLING PLACES
The Election Committee shall designate polling places within each election district on the
Pine Ridge Reservation and shall appoint and supervise a judge and teller for each such
polling place. Judges and tellers shall be eligible voters who are staff members of the
College and will not be from the districts to which they are assigned nor related to any of
the candidates. Not less than five (5) working days prior to election day, the Committee
shall post sample ballots at the following locations:
* Administrative Building at Piya Wiconi,
* each District College Center,
* each District CAP Office, and
* each District Post Office.
BALLOT BOXES
The Election Committee shall insure that ballot boxes are located at each polling place.
Each ballot box shall be locked and sealed, and the Committee shall establish appropriate
safeguards to insure control over and security for all ballot boxes. Immediately following
the closing of the polls on Election Day, the judge and teller of each polling place shall
account for unused ballots entrusted to them, and shall then personally deliver all ballot
boxes in their charge to the Election Committee at the Administration Building at Piya
Wiconi.
VOTING
Voting shall be by secret ballot. Polling places shall be open during the same hours as
established for the Tribal General Election. The Election Committee will insure strict
adherence to all established timelines.
ELECTION RESULTS
The Election Committee, judges, and tellers shall count the election ballots for each
candidate, and the Committee shall certify the results of the election.
The Committee shall submit a formal signed letter of certification to the President and the
Board of Trustees.
RUN-OFF
In the case of a tie, a run-off election will be held in that district(s) within 30 days of
official results being posted.
CONTEST OF UNOFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
A contest of election may be brought by filing with the Election Committee a complaint
duly verified under oath (notarization), setting forth a concise statement of the facts on
which the contest is based. No complaint shall be considered unless it is filed within
three (3) working days after posting of the unofficial election results. The Election
Committee will consider each contest or challenge and report its findings of fact and
conclusions of law no later than the five (5) working days from the filing of the notarized
complaint. All challenges and contests will be decided by the Election Committee in
Summary judgment fashion (i.e., with verified complaint, affidavits, and record before
the Election Committee. If the Election Committee decides that no additional evidence is
necessary for a determination of the appeal it shall promptly issue a decision. If the
Election Committee decides that additional evidence or arguments are necessary, it shall
promptly notify the parties (i.e., both the challenging party and challenged candidate or
voter) by any means possible including verbal notification, of the date and time of the
hearings and for submitting additional arguments or evidence. All final decisions of the
Election Committee must be made within five (5) working days from the date the
complaint is filed with the Election Committee.
BUDGET
The budget covering reasonable expenses associated with the elections will be prepared
by the Election Committee and submitted to the Board of Trustees for approval. A work
schedule detailing duties and responsibilities will be prepared and distributed to the
appropriate personnel by the Election Committee.
ELECTION DISTRICT
As used herein the term "election district" means the district which at any time is entitled
to elect one or more members of the Board of Trustees and/or District Boards under the
Charter and By-Laws of said Boards as at the time in effect, or as may have been
amended.
WRITE-IN VOTES
Write-in votes are prohibited and shall not be counted.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS
No absentee ballots shall be sent to or used by Tribal members residing off the
Reservation. However, within the confines of the Reservation, any eligible voter who is
unavoidably unable to appear in person at a polling place on election day may cast his
vote by absentee ballot provided, however, that (1) he (she) has requested such ballot no
less than two working days prior to the election day; and (2) his (her) ballot is received
by the Committee in a sealed envelope (identifying it as an absentee ballot and the
absentee voter by number). Absentee ballots shall only be presented to persons who are
qualified voters. Any qualified voter may vote at any precinct within the Reservation
under the appropriate oath of eligibility, by absentee ballot for the candidates in his (her)
respective election district.
DISSOLUTION OF THE ELECTION COMMITTEE
Upon acceptance of the Election Committee report by the Board of Trustees, the Election
Committee is officially dissolved.
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