The IU Student Association election commission went over rules, procedures and election code changes at its callout meeting Thursday.
Candidates and members of the election commission met in Woodburn Hall to learn more about the election and its process.
The commission’s goal for this election season is to make it fair and involved, said Savannah Wormley, the commission’s head of marketing.
“We want the tickets to be really competitive and doing great things for campus,” Wormley said. “We want it to be really fair and have great voter turnout.”
Although tickets have already been announced, members cannot officially run until applications are submitted.
Applications went live at the end of the callout meeting and are due March 9.
To be eligible, candidates must have at least a 2.5 GPA and be a part of a constituency they wish to represent. Candidates can only run for one position at a time.
Executive positions include president, vice president of administration, vice president of Congress and treasurer. Candidates can also run as IUSA Congress representatives.
Sophomore Michael Patterson said his interest is to make a change for IU, as well as to prepare for his career as an elected officer.
“Making a difference at IU’s campus is a great way to get involved now,” Patterson said. “Giving back to the University seems like the right thing to do.”
The commission discussed common violations from last year and changes to the this years’ election code.
Violations include chalking on vertical or covered surfaces, hanging flyers in residence halls or bars and tabling without proper registration.
Changes included an increased budget from $3,000 to $4,000 for each ticket, a new process for reserving space to campaign and an added clause about fair market value.
Other notable changes include a new system for submitting advisory opinions to the commission and a requirement for registration of vehicles to be used for promotion.
During the next few months, as tickets begin campaigning, the election commission, created to facilitate neutral, campus wide voting, will be busy reviewing applications as well as advisory opinion requests, complaints and room reservation requests.
“Our job is to regulate and keep everything fair,” Wormley said.
The next steps in the election season include an all-candidate meeting March 22 and an all-ticket debate March 31. Both of these events lead up to elections April 6 and 7.
On election days, an online ballot will be sent out. The ballot will be open from 10 a.m. April 6 until 10 p.m. April 7. In addition to the online ballot, the election commission will run on-campus polling sites that will be open each day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. These sites will be determined at a later date.
With a turnout larger than what the commission expected, Wormley said having a callout was important so all students know they are able to run.
“We want to have the best election possible, and to do that, we need to have the best candidates possible,” Wormley said.
