The names of the qualifying candidates who are running for residual seats in the Associate Student Organization, were released Tuesday.

Paola J. Garcia and Eva Martinez will contend for director of student and community advancement; Jay Canela and Jody Holbert are running for the Region 7 and Kevin Lee and John “Larry” Villasenor will go uncontested for their respective senatorial seats, rounding out the list of six.

The remaining seats will be write-in votes only; however, students must meet the requirements.

Prospective candidates needed to be enrolled in at least six units, show proof of a valid ASB sticker, have a 2.0 GPA and provided 25 signatures with student ID numbers for senate seats and 50 signatures for cabinet seats.

Each position is termed for two semesters: fall and spring.

Voting begins Tuesday and will end Thursday.

There will be two rounds of voting each day beginning at 9:30 am to 2 p.m. on the Schauerman Library lawn and from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Activities Center West Lounge.

Official campaigning also began Tuesday following a short meeting with the candidates.

The ASO, which is funding this special election, will spend between $300 and $500 for poll workers and ballots.

Candidates will have less than week to make themselves and their platform visible. Placards with a short statement and a photograph will be posted at various locations around campus as early as tomorrow.

ASO President Phillip Gomez said filling each seat is vital to finding solutions for students and their concerns regarding EC’s divisions such as the Mathematical and Science Division, in which no seat is being contested.

“We’re looking for individuals who want to learn,” Gomez said, “someone who’s willing to represent the students and work hard for the organization.”

“We have tasks and goals that we’d want to accomplish and we need people you want to help us with that.”

Those goals include the decrease in cost for textbooks, winter session – which was just reinstated – the availability for student services in during evening hours and campus awareness rallies.

“What most students don’t know is that most of us serve on campus committees with the faculty,” ASO Director of Academic Affairs Susan Stark, who is also the special elections chairwoman, said.

“We are out there representing their needs and the faculty is not ignoring the students,” Stark said.