A few upcoming events will better prepare students to select Associated Students Inc. candidates as elections are quickly approaching.
Elections are held once a year in the spring. Students are elected to the executive and legislative positions in order to govern Associated Students Inc.
Applications opened in December and are set to close Feb. 16. Elections are held online through a campus-wide email from March 19 to March 22.
According to Leonardo Palomera, government elections officer, applicants usually wait until the last minute to submit their applications as a strategy to remain anonymous to their competition. Because of this, the positions do not get filled until the deadline.
“In order for a position to be filled, we need ‘one more as needed’ for that position,” Palomera said.
Any student is generally eligible to run for ASI as long as they are at least a part-time student and have at least a 2.0 grade point average. The Dean of Students verifies that the students who apply meet these qualifications.
The number of applicants varies from position to position. For example, the president only needs two candidates in order for the position to be filled. In the case of a shortage of applicants for a position, ASI will open another filling round from Feb. 21 to Feb. 28 for positions that have not yet been filled.
After positions are filled, a mandatory candidate meeting is held on March 6 and March 7. At these meetings, candidates receive an election handbook and are explained the campaigning rules.
“We go through all the policies and procedures,” Palomera said. “If they don’t show up to the meetings, they can’t run.”
Immediately after the mandatory candidate meetings, students can officially begin public campaigning by setting up posters, Facebook pages, giving presentations to classes or anything else they want to do.
Although candidates are allowed to campaign freely for the most part, there are a few violations that they can be penalized for. A minor violation could result in loss of campaigning privileges for a few days. A major violation could result in the dismissal of the candidate.
The minor violations include, but are not limited to, excessive posters, posting over other candidates materials and posting in the wrong areas. The major violations include, but are not limited to, removing or damaging other candidates’ materials or encouraging, aiding or abetting a student to cast a fraudulent vote.
Leading up to the week of elections, candidates are able to market themselves to students through a press conference, which will be held on March 12 from noon to 1 p.m. Candidates will be given a chance to state their platform and the media will be able to ask questions. The press conference is open to the public.
The day after the press conference, ASI will promote voting with the Get Out the Vote event. During this event, ASI members encourage students to vote by informing them about ASI and their contributions to the campus. This year, ASI will be handing out pamphlets with summaries of each candidate.
On March 13 and 14, candidates will participate in a meet and greet where students will have the opportunity to meet with candidates personally at the Friendship Walk.
The final event for candidates will be a debate on March 15, hosted by The Daily 49er. The debate will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the University Student Union Ballrooms B and C.
“The Daily 49er does a good job with making the candidates think quickly because they keep asking the question until it gets answered,” Palomera said.
According to Palomera, the students most likely to vote are students in organizations because ASI helps fund some of the things they do. Organizations also help candidates by endorsing them.
Every student is eligible to vote, but many students do not.
If a student does not have access to email, there are also specific days where they can turn in a ballot. Those days can be acquired in the ASI office.
“We’re looking for at least 10 percent [of students] to vote,” Palomera said.
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