It’s that time of year again to decide who will represent the student voice.
The names of the senate and executive candidates running for representative positions are available to the student body; official voting begins Monday.
Students may visit the polls located on the library lawn from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. or the polls located in the Activities Center West Lounge from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Paola Garcia, director of student and community advancement, and Election Committee co-chairwoman, said it is important for the students to participate in the voting process.
Those persons elected into official positions have many duties that deal with the campus population as a whole.
“We are for the students. We represent them on state levels as well as represent them to other community colleges,” Garcia said.
Janice Watanabe, Election Committee co-adviser, said the actions of the voting process are taken using strict guidelines.
A student must be prepared to show a valid photo identification card, whether it be a driver’s licenses or a student ID.
“We ask for a photo ID. We do this to ensure nobody votes twice. We want to prevent voter fraud,” Watanabe said.
After providing a photo ID, the student is then asked to sign off proving they were physically there to vote.
“We do take this very seriously,” Watanabe said.
A student will be offered four official ballots; an executive cabinet ballot, a division senator ballot, an Associated Student Organization, ASO, constitutional amendment ballot and a student survey.
Each student will be asked to declare a major and then that student may vote for two candidates to serve as senator in that division.
Ballots regarding executive positions are open to the entire student body and all students may vote, regardless of their major.
For each position with the words “write in,” a student may cast a vote for someone not on the official ballot.
“A write-in spot is for someone who did not turn in a petition to be a candidate,” Bryce Matson, student trustee and Election Committee co-chairman, said.
Those who still wish to run for office may campaign verbally as a write-in candidate.
“They can not actually pass out fliers but they can tell people by word-of-mouth. Their names will just not be on the ballot,” Garcia said.
Currently, only one candidate is running for ASO president; Justin Bagnall, current director of academic affairs, is running alone.
Other positions include director of academic affairs, director of finance, public relations officer, student services officer and Region 7 representative.
If a student believes the candidates who appear on the ballot will not be able to perform the duties of their position, that student may write in the name of a student who he or she believes can.
“The winner is the one who gets the most votes; that’s plurality,” Harold Tyler, Election Committee co-adviser, said.
Students who vote will also be asked to approve revisions of the ASO constitution as well as to participate in a survey regarding campus services.
Candidates are encouraged to post pictures of themselves and a campaign statement.
“We want to know what the candidates stand for,” Matson said. “We’re objective people and we are going to try to run this election as fairly as possible.”
