Cornell University desires that the most highly qualified and dedicated individuals serve as alumni trustees of the university and that candidates are considered solely on their merits. We strive to create a respectful environment and level playing field for the Alumni Trustee Election, where all trustee candidates have equal opportunity for visibility within the alumni community regardless of financial resources, breadth and influence of Cornell networks, social media presence, desire to engage in campaigning, and other factors.

For these reasons, as well as to shield voters and others from excessive or unwanted contact, Cornell does not permit campaigning by or on behalf of any candidate. We ask that all candidates, organizations, and individuals within the Cornell community comply with this policy in both spirit and letter.

• Candidates: Candidates may share general information about the election, encourage voting within their personal networks, participate in election-related forums and events that feature all candidates, and share their perspective about Cornell in private conversations. Candidates may not solicit or agree to endorsements of one’s candidacy, statements to the media or organizations, advertise, speak negatively about other candidates, or participate in broad-based outreach to alumni without their consent promoting one’s candidacy (i.e. via email or posting in Cornell-related social media groups). Candidates nominated by petition are expected to comply with the campaigning policy upon petition closing date through closing of the election.
• Organizations: Organizations are encouraged to raise voter awareness and turnout in the election and promote information about all candidates equally. Formal endorsements of candidates is not permitted, nor is sharing information that speaks negatively of any candidate. If publishers of college, unit, class, or club newsletters, e-mails, social media posts, or their like wish to print any candidate information, they must give equal space and treatment for all candidates in the election. Organized campaigning for write-in candidates is also prohibited.
• Individuals: As members of the Cornell community, individuals are asked to respect the no campaigning policy and to refrain from actively campaigning for or against a specific candidate.

A candidate’s direct violation of the campaigning policy, or failure to report and seek guidance and remediation for violations by others in their favor, will be subject to committee review and may result in a candidate’s elimination from the ballot. Candidates are required to sign an agreement acknowledging the campaigning policy and will be provided with additional guidance on permissible activities and process for evaluating violations.

All candidates on the ballot have agreed to the above policy; please honor their decision to make this oath as part of their candidacy.

An alumnus or alumna of Cornell University is someone who has matriculated at the university. All alumni may vote in the annual alumni trustee election. In order to be eligible to be on the ballot, an alumnus/a must have attended the university for a minimum of one year at one of the Cornell University campuses and meet the other points of eligibility (as outlined below). Current Cornell University students are not eligible to run on the alumni-elected trustee ballot. A two-year hiatus is required for any CATN member/leader prior to being considered for the ballot.

Nominated by the Committee on Alumni Trustee Nominations: A nominee placed on the ballot through the CATN process of nomination and review.

Nominated by petition: A nominee placed on the ballot through self-nomination and petitioning Cornell alumni for signatures. A petitioning candidate must complete a candidate registration form and obtain a prescribed number of signatures (in the amount of at least 0.25 percent of the contactable Cornell alumni population) by a specified date. Signatures may be gathered once the CATN nomination period closes and must be submitted to Alumni Affairs by the petition closing date, prior to the first CATN meeting of the year. If more than four candidates submit petitions with the required number of alumni signatures, the four candidates with the greatest number of valid signatures will appear on the ballot.

Visit the nominations page for the nomination criteria, detailed instructions, and annual timeline for both the CATN and petition nomination processes.

All candidates are bound by the rules of the election, including the campaigning and ethical behavior policy, and must meet eligibility guidelines. Candidates will be required to complete a Conflict of Interest and Commitment form to be filed with Cornell’s Secretary of the Corporation.

Unsuccessful candidates who have been on the ballot in the past must have a one-year hiatus prior to being placed on the ballot again, whether nominated by CATN or by petition. CATN shall not take into consideration that a candidate was unsuccessful in a previous election in determining whether to nominate a candidate.

There may be no more than four candidates nominated by CATN and no more than four candidates nominated by petition on the ballot in any election cycle.

The ballot will list each candidate on the ballot in an identical manner and format. Candidates will be identified as nominated by CATN or nominated by petition on the ballot.

In order to prevent bullet voting, which could be perceived as benefitting one candidate over another, all voters are required to vote for two of the candidates on the ballot. Voters also have the option of adding a “write-in” candidate to the ballot in place of voting for a candidate already listed. Campaigning for write-in candidates is prohibited. (NOTE: Bullet voting is the practice of choosing just one candidate despite the ability to choose or rank more. The practice of bullet voting leads to the same outcome as plurality voting, since plurality voting restricts voters to choosing one candidate. – The Center for Election Science)

In early 2014, President Skorton charged the Task Force on Alumni Trustee Elections to consider the issue of transparency as it relates to the alumni trustee election. After research and deliberation, the task force made recommendations to increase transparency in a variety of ways, but did not agree that there was benefit in publishing the number of votes each candidate receives.