Due to increased outreach efforts and seat availability, a high number of candidates are running for NC State’s fall Student Senate elections.
Sam Saunders, Board of Elections chair and fifth-year studying polymer and color chemistry and anthropology, said this election has seen a record number of students file for candidacy.
“We’re seeing this high number of candidates not just because there are open seats, but because we did outreach differently,” Saunders said. “We used the interest form that was put on the SG website that was advertised through orientation.… I also advertised at Packapalooza, at the SG suite, hung up fliers; we put it in the Howl.”
According to the Student Government website, 25 seats are open at the moment outside of those guaranteed to first-year senators, and this availability has contributed to the higher number of candidates filing. Saunders explained some reasons for these openings.
“What seats are available in the fall is directly connected to how the spring election does,” Saunders said. “We also saw a lot of resignations at the beginning of this semester.”
This year, 50 students filed for candidacy; this is a significant increase compared to the past several years. According to Saunders, in 2016, 28 students filed; in 2017, 21 students filed; in 2018, 33 filed.
Filing does not necessarily mean a candidate is on the ballot. Candidates have to abide by rules laid out by the Board of Elections, and Saunders said those that do not run the risk of being disqualified. This election, eight candidates have already been disqualified, leaving 42 candidates on the ballot.
“After filing, the next thing you have to do is go to an All-Candidates Meeting,” Saunders said. “We have two of those. If you do not attend or send a representative in your place or at least provide some kind of reasonable excuse plus evidence, then you are automatically disqualified … After that, you just don’t get disqualified via violations or direct disqualifications.”
Compared to the spring, fall elections typically have fewer votes cast. According to Saunders, the fall of 2018 saw 616 students cast their ballots, while the following spring of 2019 had well over 2000 votes. Saunders said she expects to see more turnout this fall because of how contested elections are.
“When there are more candidates running in a contested race, there will be more voter turnout,” Saunders said. “They go hand-in-hand. Going into this election, we’re expecting to see higher vote counts because there is more campaigning going on, because there are more contested elections, because there are more seats open, because we did outreach differently. The two go hand in hand.”
Saunders also stressed the importance of Senate elections, as the body works with administration to make change and distributes funding for student organizations, this semester totaling over $90,000.
“If there aren’t people there from your college to have a say in where that money goes, you essentially don’t have a voice in that process,” Saunders said. “When it comes to working with administration, your senators are the people that pass bills, that give opinions on the floor, and you can go to them to have your voice heard then. When you don’t have a senator, your voice isn’t going to be heard.”
