ELECTIONS

UTGSU Elections Poster. The graphic has illustrated students working on their computers and the text reads: "University of Toronto Graduate Students' Union Elections"

NOMINATIONS FOR UTGSU SPRING ELECTIONS ARE OPEN!

Nominations for the UTGSU 2023 elections are open from now until March 31st! We are accepting nominations for the following positions:

Executive Committee:

  • President (1)
  • Vice-President Internal (1)
  • Vice-President External (1)
  • Vice-President Finance (1)
  • Vice-President Academic Divisions 1 and 2 (1)
  • Vice-President Academic Divisions 3 and 4 (1)

Board of Directors:

  • Division 1 (Humanities) Director (7 positions available )
  • Division 2 (Social Sciences) Director (7 positions available)
  • Division 3 (Physical Sciences) Director (7 positions available)
  • Division 4 (Life Sciences) Director (7 positions available)

In order to run in these elections please submit a nomination form by 11:59PM EST, March 31st to the UTGSU Chief Returning Officer, Justin Patrick, at cro@utgsu.ca

Election Information Session

We also encourage you to attend the virtual Election Information Session, if you have any questions about the position. The session has been postponed and will now be taking place at 7:00pm EST on March 29. Please use this zoom link to attend. 

Elections Timeline

Nomination Period Opens: March 14th, 12:00AM, 2023

Nomination Period Closes: March 31st, 11:59PM, 2023

Campaigning Period Begins: April 8th, 12:00AM, 2023

Campaigning Period Ends: April 21st, 11:59PM, 2023

Voting Opens: April 18th, 12:00AM, 2023

Voting Closes: April 21st, 11:59PM, 2023

All times pertaining to the UTGSU elections on this page and other UTGSU web pages are in Eastern Standard Time (EST).

How to Run in This Election

Interested applicants must submit a nomination form to cro@utgsu.ca

In your application include your name, email address, phone number, student number and name of program. Applications without all of this information will be rejected. You must indicate which one of the positions you are applying for. You can only apply for one position. You must include a separate list of 15 to 25 students who wish to nominate you depending on which position you are running for.

Candidates running for executive positions are required to have 25 nominators.

Candidates running for the Board of the Directors must have 15 nominators

Nominators must be current UTGSU members. In other words the students must be enrolled in a Graduate Program at the University of Toronto. Undergraduate Students cannot nominate you for a position. The nomination form must include each nominator’s name,  student number, and telephone number. A simple way to have students nominate you is to make an announcement at the beginning of one of your classes. You can always ask one of your professors if you can make an announcement before the beginning of your classes (please note you must have permission to make announcements in classrooms).

You can send a Candidate Statement up to 800 words as part of your application (room to do so is on the last page of the nomination package). If your statement is over 800 words then only the first 800 words will be included. Your statement must be typed in size 12 font in Times New Roman without bold, italicized, or underlined text. Do not include any websites, hyperlinks, bullets,  or fancy graphics in your statement. If you wish to include a list, you can do so using numbers or letters or just write the list items in sentences.  You must send in your statement with your application. Late statements will not be accepted. Your statement is due by March 31st at 11:59PM.

The CRO has the right to change dates due to unforeseen circumstances.

Executive and Board of Directors Position Descriptions

You can find a description of each position in the UTGSU By-Laws here, see sections 4 and 7.

Election Rules

The UTGSU Election Rules can be found in the UTGSU Policy Handbook here, starting on page 15.

As the $100 candidate reimbursement limit per candidate is indexed to inflation starting from the Canadian dollar value on January 1, 2022, this year’s reimbursement limit per candidate is $105.92.

Candidate and Statements List

A full candidate list with their candidate statements will be uploaded after the nomination period closes.

Voting

Voting will open on April 18th, 2023 at 12:00AM and ends on April 21st, 2023 at 11:59PM.

Only Graduate Students at the University of Toronto are allowed to vote in this election. Undergraduate Students are not allowed to vote. You will require your UTORID and password to vote.

The voting website will be: https://utgsu.simplyvoting.com

Voters are required to rank each candidate with 1 being their first preference (in accordance with UTGSU Bylaw). If you attempt to vote before the elections open, or after they close, you will receive an error message.

Questions?

Email the CRO Justin Patrick at cro@utgsu.ca if you have any questions or concerns about the election.