The Massachusetts Institute of Technology East Campus House Committee By-laws

Article I — Applicability

The rules contained in these By-laws shall govern the Committee in all cases to which they are applicable and not inconsistent with the Constitution of this organization.

Article II — Duties of Voting Delegates

  1. Halls shall select hall chairs, who will act as voting delegates at HouseComm. The voting delegates of a single Hall collectively possess one vote at HouseComm.
  2. Each Hall must send at least one of its voting delegates to every regularly scheduled meeting of HouseComm. In the event of an absence, it is the responsibility of the Hall Chair to provide a proxy from that same Hall. If a Hall fails to send a voting delegate or a proxy to three HouseComm meetings in a term, defined by the limits of each semester, it shall be fined a sum of $100 by the Treasurer, with an additional fine of $100 to be enforced for every subsequent absence at HouseComm during that term.
  3. The voting delegates shall be responsible for communicating the business of HouseComm, including but not limited to policy proposals, topics of discussion, and opportunities for involvement, to their respective Halls. Furthermore, the delegates shall make a good faith effort to represent the ideas and opinions of their constituencies.

Article III — Meetings

  1. Meetings of HouseComm shall occur at least once every two weeks during the Fall and Spring terms and at the discretion of Exec.
  2. A quorum of seven Halls present is necessary to conduct any vote at HouseComm. If fewer than seven Halls are present, the meeting of HouseComm may proceed but no votes may be taken.
  3. Meetings of HouseComm may be closed by a majority vote of HouseComm. If a meeting is closed, only members of East Campus (and not associate members) may be in attendance. A majority vote may also elect to close a HouseComm to full members (residents). The meeting can be opened again by another majority vote of HouseComm.

Article IV — Voting

Section 1 — Elections

  1. In all popular elections ballots shall be tabulated by the Election Committee according to the following "instant run-off" voting procedure:
    1. Consider only and all legally cast ballots and only and all legally qualified candidates who appear on them. All elections shall be preferential (i.e. the names appearing on the ballot shall be ranked first, second, etc.)
    2. If only one opening is available for the contested position, tally up all first-place votes. If a candidate receives a simple majority of the ballots, they are elected. If not, retally the ballots of the lowest-ranking candidate, awarding each ballot to the next highest remaining candidate. (If none of the remaining candidates appears on the ballot, it cannot be used for redistribution; it will be voided and discarded.) Continue redistributing the ballots of the remaining candidates with the fewest votes in this fashion until one candidate receives a simple majority.
    3. If a tie should result, either between the final two candidates or between two candidates for redistribution, determine ranking by weighting the ballots. Award three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second, and one for a third. The person with the greater weighted sum shall be the higher-ranking.
    4. If more than one opening is available, use the above procedure to elect the first person. Next, strike their name from all ballots and re-order the preferential listing to account for his absence; elect the second office holder as before. Continue this process until all of the positions are filled.
    5. If in any election the number of candidates is less than or equal to the number of openings, HouseComm may by a vote of seven-out-of-ten Halls suspend the preferential voting restriction in favor of a yes-no vote on each candidate.
    6. In order to make the above system work, it is required that each voter rank at least one candidate on the ballot, although additional write-in candidates are allowed (at any level of ranking). The Election Committee shall ensure that voters are aware of this by reminding voters at the polling station or by providing written instructions.
  2. No electioneering may be conducted within ten meters of the polling place, except that the nomination petitions of all candidates shall be posted on the bulletin board twenty-four hours prior to the election for the duration of the election.
  3. All petitions shall be obtained from and returned to the Secretary. For a given petition, any person may sign once for any office for which they are eligible to vote.
  4. Once all ballots are tabulated, the Election Committee shall announce the results of the election, including the number of ballots won by each candidate in each round of voting.

Section 2 — Referenda

  1. All referenda shall offer the electorate a choice between accepting and rejecting a single given proposal.
  2. Once all ballots are tabulated, the Election Committee shall announce the results of the referendum, including the number of voters accepting and rejecting the proposal in question.

Section 3 — Out of Session Voting

In the event that an urgent matter requiring the attention of HouseComm arises over the summer or IAP, out of session voting procedures may be used as follows, at the discretion of the President.

  1. The voting period shall be open a minimum of three days, and a deadline will be clearly established during the initial call for a vote.
  2. Any Hall that does not place a vote by the deadline shall be recorded as an abstention.
  3. A method of submitting comments will be provided.
  4. Halls may change their vote during the voting period.

Article V — Solicitation

Any general solicitation, sales, or door-to-door canvassing must have the approval of the Executive Committee, subject to the approval of HouseComm.

Article VI — Expenditures

  1. Expenditures up to the following amounts may be paid by the Treasurer with the following authorizations:
    1. Up to $15 from Miscellaneous without further approval.
    2. Up to $400 for anticipated expenses with the approval of the members of Exec.
    3. For any amount with the approval of HouseComm.

Article VII — Auxiliary Committee Regulations

Section 1 — Reporting

All auxiliary committee chairs are expected to make reports to HouseComm once during each term, and must make reports to HouseComm when requested to do so by any HouseComm member.

Section 2 — Appointments

  1. Voting on appointments to any auxiliary committee (hereafter referred to as a "Comm") shall take place during the first HouseComm of the Spring semester and each appointment shall last until the following Comm elections, unless otherwise decided at a HouseComm. Any new Ccomm may also be proposed with a majority vote.
  2. Any member of East Campus may be nominated to chair any auxiliary committee, unless otherwise barred by the charge or By-laws of that committee.
  3. Members must be confirmed by a majority vote of halls present at the HouseComm meeting at which the election takes place.
  4. Unless otherwise stated in the charge or By-laws of the auxiliary committee, the Chair may fill any additional vacancies on the committee at their discretion with a temporary replacement until the next scheduled HouseComm where an election must be held for that position.
    1. HouseComm may elect to maintain any Comm vacancies with a majority vote.
  5. HouseComm shall have the power to remove a member of an auxiliary committee with a vote of seven-out-of-ten-halls.
  6. In the case that an auxiliary committee feels they need an additional member, due to unforeseen circumstances, then they can either appoint someone or propose an election for the next housecomm.

Article VIII — Committee Charges

  1. Current committee charges and members are listed on the East Campus Government Website.