Candidates running for all positions in the upcoming ASUA elections met in the Union Kiva Room of the Student Union Memorial Center on Wednesday night to learn the basic rules of elections conduct.
Candidates are allowed to start officially campaigning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, and there will be special events for them to do so on the UA Mall on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16, as well as on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. The primary elections for all candidates will be held a week later, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 28 and 29. The results of the primaries will then be announced in the Kiva room at 6 p.m. on March 1, followed by a senate forum meeting from 7 to 9 p.m.
Three days later on March 4, executive debates will be held for the candidates running from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Kiva room. All candidates must stop campaigning on March 7, and general elections will be held from March 6 until March 8, when results will be announced.
Elections Commissioner Mikindra Morin set some ground rules for the candidates at the meeting as well, which are outlined in the Associated Students of the University of Arizona’s elections code. Candidates are allowed no more than one 11×17-inch poster on each public bulletin board or in each classroom. In addition, senatorial candidates are allowed to spend a limit of $400 on campaigning, which is $200 more than last year, according to ASUA President James Allen. Allen said that because of this, candidates should be able to stay within their spending limit without any problems. Presidential candidates are not to exceed $600, and administrative and executive vice presidential candidates are not to exceed $500. All expense reports for candidates are due on March 2, after the primaries, and on March 9, after the general elections.
New to the elections code this year is the way penalties are administered to candidates by the commissioner. Last year’s code used an 11-strike system, in which a candidate would be disqualified on the 11th strike. This year, a candidate will be disqualified on the third strike. Candidates will receive warnings for violations to the elections code before getting a strike, but according to Morin, two warnings equal one strike. A warning is defined in the elections code as a violation not correctable within a 24-hour window of notification of the specific violation.
Candidates said they were excited to run for office.
“I’m absolutely excited to be here and I really feel like it’s a big step in my career as far as ASUA is concerned,” said ASUA Sen. Kevin Elliot, who is running for executive vice president. “I feel like I’m prepared, ready to go and, again, real eager to get it going.”
“I have not held an office before, but I am very very excited about this, it will be my first time running for anything for ASUA,” said J.W. Phillips, an accounting junior who is also running for executive vice president. He said that because he has been at the UA for a while, he thinks he will be able to bring something to the table that others might not.
Paige Sager, a marketing junior, has also not held a position in ASUA, but said she feels like she is the most qualified out of her opponents for the position of administrative vice president.
“I feel like I am the most experienced candidate of the three,” Sager said. “I think other people have experience in the office but as far as programs and services go, I think I definitely have the most experience.”
Presidential hopefuls on upcoming contest
“I’m really excited for this election. I think there are three great candidates and I think that it’s going to be a really exciting process.”
-Katy Murray,
marketing junior
“I think it’s going to be one of the biggest elections that ASUA has seen in recent history and it’s also going to be one of the most competitive elections. We have a lot of qualified candidates this year on from president down to senate and I think that’s going to create a lot of campus involvement and a lot of excitement.”
-Chad Travis,
business economics junior
“It’s exciting. I’ve done this once before as a senator. I ran freshman year then I kinda got out of ASUA and into other things but it’s good to be back. I’m excited and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
-Leo Yamaguchi,
senior studying physiology and nutritional sciences
