Voting to keep or to replace those who represent EC’s government, students will be voting in an election running from May 20 – May 26 on the Schauerman Library lawn.

All candidate petitions for the 2004-2005 student government are due tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Activities Center, the ballots will be counted on Thursday May 27 and the results posted on Tuesday June 1.

“Voting will be held on Thursday May twentieth and it’s going to be throughout the day and for a couple of hours on Saturday and then from Monday through Wednesday,” Sana Vaiyani, student services officer and elections committee chair, said.

Booths will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., continue on Saturday May 22 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and May 24 – May 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Evening voting starts from 4:30 to 7 p.m., excluding Saturday.

The morning elections will be held on the library lawn and the evening elections will be held in the west lounge of the Activities Center.

“The elections are important because these positions will determine next year’s cabinet and senate positions,” Vaiyani said. ” A lot of us are leaving, so we’re probably going to have a totally new cabinet.”

Senate positions are voted according to the voter’s major in correlation to which division the senator is in.

“For example, if your major is psychology then you vote for a senator in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Division and that’s how the voting is done,” Vaiyani said.

One of the major proposals that will be featured on the ballot is the Student Center fee.

“This time we have a $5 student center fee going on the ballot and that’s also important, whether you’re voting for or against it so that we can get an accurate count of how the student feels,” said Celina Luna, student trustee.

For students interested in running, qualifications for becoming a candidate include: holding and maintaining a minimum of six units, having a 2.0 grade point average, having an ASB sticker and having completed no more than five semesters (three years) in student government at EC.

“Anyone can run; in order to run, you basically have to get ballot signatures, turn in your (candidate) petition, have a two-point-zero GPA, an ASB sticker and a minimum of six units,” Vaiyani said.

There are 25 positions open for election.

including the president, student trustee, student services officer, public relations officer, Region 7 representative, four vice president positions, and 16 division senators.

“ASO is looking for students who are interested in serving on the student senate during the fall 2004 and spring 2005 semester,” Vaiyani said. “We are going to need new people for senate.”

“Voting is important because you’re choosing the students who are going to represent you next year,” Luna said. “You really have to have a strong desire to promote awareness and change on this campus and be interested in what you’re doing.”