Winter 2023 General Election | Unofficial Results

W23 General Election Unofficial Results

The following results of the Winter 2023 General Election are unofficial until ratified by the CSA Board of Directors. The CSA Board of Directors can only ratify the results to become official following the five day Ballot Recount Process.

Referendum
To calculate Quorum, we referenced the total number of paper ballots completed with the number of Undergraduate students. Please note, declined votes included students who either selected decline or abstain on a ballot. Ballots with multiple options selected were considered spoiled and counted towards quorum only. Blank ballots were not counted towards quorum.

The Arboretum Student Engagement Fee Referendum: Quorum Not Met (13.18%)
Quorum Required: 20% (4299 votes) – Ballots submitted: 2833
•   Yes: 2122
•   No: 569
•   Decline: 140

Although the Arboretum Student Engagement Fee Referendum received a majority Yes vote, the referendum did not meet quorum and therefore, the referendum has FAILED.

Executives
To calculate Quorum, we referenced the total number of paper ballots completed with the number of Undergraduate students. Please note, declined votes included students who either selected decline or abstain on a ballot. Ballots with multiple options selected were considered spoiled and counted towards quorum only. Blank ballots submitted were not counted towards quorum.

Cancelled Ballots
Cancelled Ballots were those that had an error made by a voter, and the ballot for the voter was cancelled and re-administered at the polling station.

Total Number Executive Ballots Cancelled: 2

President
Quorum Met (13.11%)
There were two candidates for the position of CSA President: Shaima Alam and Adam Ratakowski. 2819 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Shaima Alam - 1442
Adam Ratkowski - 1109
Abstain - 268

Shaima Alam has been elected as CSA President.

VP Academic
Quorum Met (13.07%)
There was one candidate for the position of VP Academic: Junpyo Lee. 2811 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Yes - 2228
No - 144
Decline - 439

Junpyo Lee has been elected as VP Academic.

VP External
Quorum Met (13.09%)
There was one candidate for the position of VP External: Samar Tariq. 2815 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Yes - 2179
No - 180
Decline - 456

Samar Tariq has been elected as VP External.

Directors
To calculate Quorum, we referenced the total number of paper ballots completed with the number of Undergraduate students who are members of said college. Please note, declined votes included students who either selected decline or abstain on a ballot. Ballots with multiple options selected (besides Lang who could choose up to two options for their Director At Large ballot) were considered spoiled and counted towards quorum only. Blank ballots submitted were not counted towards quorum.

College of Arts (COA)
Quorum Met (14.80%)
There was one candidate for the College of Arts: Jonah Greenhut. 259 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Yes – 211
No - 17
Decline - 31

Jonah Greenhut has been elected as the Director at Large for College of Arts.

College of Biological Sciences (CBS)
Quorum Met (18.85%)
There was one candidate for the College of Biological Sciences: Daniel Spinner. 884 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Yes – 696
No - 58
Decline - 130

Daniel Spinner has been elected as the Director at Large for College of Biological Sciences.

College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS)
Quorum Not Met (9.40%)
There was one candidate for the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences: Mason Friebe. 459 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Yes – 341
No - 57
Decline - 60

Mason Friebe has not been elected as the Director at Large for College of Social & Applied Human Sciences at this time.

UPDATE: Following a vote of the Board of Directors on April 19, 2023, Mason Friebe has been elected as the Director at Large for CSAHS.

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS)
Quorum Met (13.55%)
There was one candidate for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences: Jake Levy. 457 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Yes – 370
No - 27
Decline - 60

Jake Levy has been elected as the Director at Large for the College of Engineering & Physical Sciences.

Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics (Lang)
Quorum Not Met (8.75%)
There were two candidates for the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics: Daniel Neiterman and Mauricio Canedo Fernandez. 343 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Daniel Neiterman - 225
Mauricio Canedo Fernandez - 184
Abstain - 44

Daniel Neiterman and Mauricio Canedo Fernandez have not been elected as the Directors at Large for LANG at this time.

UPDATE: Following a vote of the Board of Directors on April 19, 2023, Daniel Neiterman and Mauricio Canedo Fernandez have been elected as the Directors at Large for the Lang School of Business and Economics.

Ontario Veterinary College (OVC)
Quorum Met (17.90%)
There was one candidate for the Ontario Veterinary College: Noam Einy. 85 votes were cast. The results are as follows:

Yes – 81
No - 1
Decline - 3

Noam Einy has been elected as the Director at Large for the Ontario Veterinary College.

Summary of Results

The following have been elected:

CSA President: Shaima Alam
VP Academic: Junpyo Lee
VP External: Samar Tariq
COA Director at Large: Jonah Greenhut
CBS Director at Large: Daniel Spinner
CEPS Director at Large: Jake Levy
OVC Director at Large: Noam Einy
CSAHS Director at Large: Mason Friebe
Lang Director at Large: Daniel Neiterman
Lang Director at Large: Mauricio Fernandez

Quorum Considerations

On Monday, April 3, 2023, the CSA Board of Directors approved the following policy addition to CSA Policy Appendix G – Electoral, Section 26.0 Online Elections Contingency Plan:

In the event that quorum is not reached by the end of the voting period of the Online Elections Contingency Plan, the CSA Board of Directors shall have the authority to hold a vote to ratify the elections results without having reached quorum.

Ballot Recount Process

As per our CSA Electoral Policy, section 24.0 Auditing / Recounting the Ballots, the recount period is five days, from Thursday, April 6, 2023 to Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 12 PM.

An automatic recount happens if the winning candidate/option outperforms the second-place candidate or option by less than 3 % of total votes cast.

This was not required as all winning candidates outperformed the second-place option by 3 % or more.

During the recount period, candidates can request to have the ballots recounted by submitting it in writing to the CRO (csacro@uoguelph.ca), and copying the President (csapresident@uoguelph.ca) prior to Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 12 PM. A request should clearly state the reasons behind such a request and all evidence.

Election Timeline

Unofficial Results: Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 12 PM (noon)
Ballot Recount Period: Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 12 PM to Thursday, April 13 at 12 PM
Ratification of Elected Candidates: April CSA Board of Directors Meeting TBD