Elections

Congratulations to the 1st year LAM board!


Elections LAM 1st year Board 2020-2021


We are opening the process of elections to be part of the Latin American Matters 1st year Board Team 2020-2021

ELECTION DAY: THURSDAY, October 22 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

You should present your application to a Board position by this Friday, October 16th (11:59pm) to latinamericamatters@gmail.com. Send your application with the subject line: “Position”- “name”.

Please review the following instructions for registration and electoral procedures:

Any currently registered University of Chicago students who are active LAM members and will be 1st year students for the Academic Year 2020-2021 will have the right to apply to be a candidate for Board positions.

If you comply with these two requisites, you must submit a statement of purpose of maximum 300 words to latinamericamatters@gmail.com stating to which position are you applying to, why you are the best candidate for that specific position, a short bio, and a picture of yourselfThese documents will be posted on LAM’s social media.

You can apply and run for only one of the following positions:

  • President,
  • Vice President,
  • Treasurer,
  • Head of Alumni and Career Relations,
  • Head of Communications and Internal Relations, or
  • Head of External Relations

If you have any additional questions about the process, feel free to contact Andrés Fortunato (afortunato@uchicago.edu) or Nelson Puc Cruz (nelsonpuc@uchicago.edu).

We encourage you to participate in the LAM Board elections!

Timeline:

  1. Monday, October 12th: Elections Announced
  2. Friday, October 16th (11:59 pm): Last day to submit an application
  3. Monday, October 19th (00:001 am): Campaign begins
  4. Thursday, October 22 (10:00 am – 6:00 pm): Elections
  5. Friday, October 23th: Results are published before midnight

Send your application to: latinamericamatters@gmail.com


 FAQ

What is an “active LAM Member”?

Anyone that has registered as a member for the current academic year is considered an active LAM Member. And according to LAM Bylaws, every continuing student for the next academic year that is in this situation will have the right to vote in this election.

Can I be a LAM Member even if I’m not a Latin American student?

Of course! LAM membership is voluntary but limited to students enrolled at The University of Chicago. LAM does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, identity, faith, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ancestry, age, veteran status, disability unrelated to job requirements, genetic information, military service, or other protected status. 

What if I’m still not a LAM Member?

You can still become one! LAM Memberships will be open until Thursday, October 22 at 9:59. LAM Membership gives you the right to vote and be elected for the LAM Board*. For transparency measures, after the mentioned date and hour, registration will be suspended until elections are over and the final elected winners are announced.

* Only LAM Members who are ongoing registered UChicago students can vote and be elected for LAM Board members.

What positions could I register for?

As a LAM Member and ongoing registered UChicago student you could apply for only one (1) of the following positions:

President
The President, or in that officer’s absence the Vice President, shall preside at all meetings of LAM and Executive Committee. The President shall perform the duties required by custom or by the welfare of the organization.

Vice President/Secretary
In the temporary absence of the president, the vice president shall be designated by the president to exercise and perform his duties. For all purposes, the Vice-President will perform the duties of Secretary of the organization.

Treasurer
The treasurer shall be authorized to collect all monies payable to LAM, shall be charged with keeping the funds of LAM, and from such funds shall make the necessary disbursements. The treasurer shall keep LAM’s financial accounts and shall enter in detail all receipts and disbursements. The treasurer shall be authorized to open an account in the name of LAM and deposit all funds therein. The Treasurer shall make an annual statement and report to LAM, or, when required, to the Executive Committee, and perform other duties of the office as assigned by the Executive Committee or president.

Head of Career and Alumni Relations
The Head of Career and Alumni Relations is the designated board member to maintain contact with alumni from the Harris School of Public Policy, keep an up-to-date database of Latin American students and alumni, organize and coordinate networking sessions between current students and alumni, and is also in charge of pursuing internship and job opportunities (in tandem with the Career Development Office at the Harris School) for the organization’s active members. The Career and Alumni Relations Officer should serve as a bridge between current students and alumni, facilitating interactions that provide professional and academic guidance.

Head of Internal Relations, Media and Communications
The Head of Internal Relations, Media and Communications will be in charge of developing and maintain partnerships with various organizations within the University of Chicago and promote LAM activities throughout the academic year. The officer will coordinate the communications between the Board and LAM members, manage the website and social media and publish information related to events and activities that are being organized.

 
Head of External Relations
The Head of External Relations will be responsible for liaising with other organizations of Latin-American students at The University of Chicago and other universities in the U.S., as well as establishing a network with other Latin-American students currently doing graduate studies in Public Policy at other universities in the U.S.

When can I begin my campaign as a candidate?

Registered candidates will only be official once the applicants have been approved for complying with all the above-mentioned requisites, and their names and documents are published on the LAM Website and an official mail is sent out to LAM Members with the list of candidates for each position. Official campaigns can begin on the first minute after midnight (00:01) of Monday, October 19th, and must end before 10:00 am on Thursday, October 22. After that date and hour, public campaigns should only be focused on invitations to participate in the elections and to vote, but can’t mention a specific candidate or position anywhere in the message.

When will elections be held?

Elections will be held on Thursday, October 22, opened by an email sent to all LAM Members that are eligible to vote, bringing attached a link to the elections page. They will close at 6:00 pm on the same day.

What if I don’t like the candidates to one available position, or don’t want to vote for one of the available positions?

You can abstain from voting for a specific position (or several of them) if that is your wish. Blank votes or null votes will not be considered for the electoral process. Winners will be elected on the basis of a simple majority (50%+1) of the currently registered voters for each position. 

Can I apply in a list with my friends as candidates for several or all positions?

Yes, you can, but this doesn’t rule out the fact that elections will be done individually for each position. That means that even if you register in a list, voters will not be obliged to vote for all the list. As Blanc votes and Null votes are not considered for the final decision, voters can feel free to vote for all, some, one, or neither of the positions. 

What if there is a tie between two or more candidates and none of them gets the required majority?

If there are several candidates but none of them received the required majority, the two candidates with the highest received votes will participate in a second-round election a week after the first-round election, and the rest of the candidates will be eliminated from the election. During the second round, the only candidates to be considered will be those that were selected given the aforementioned criteria, and no new candidate will be able to register for this second-round. A debate will be promoted by the current LAM Board among those candidates that pass to the second-round election before the voting process for second round takes place.

If among the candidates that received the biggest number of votes, the top two have the exact same number of votes, those will be the ones considered for second round election, and all others will be eliminated. If there are not two but three or more candidates with the top exact same number of votes, the current LAM Board will promote debate among the candidates who have the top exact number of votes, and run an additional first-round election among the second-round process. The winner of the second-round election will be the candidate who obtains the highest number of votes during them (excluding any candidate who has a lower number of votes) a week after the original round election takes place. For the latter case, if there is a need for a second round, it will be provided with the same rules here described.