SF State’s Associated Students is scheduled to elect a new Board of Directors in what will be the first time in person since the pandemic.
The deadline to apply for candidacy ends April 2 at 5 p.m.
After receiving applications, the Dean of Student Officers review applicant qualifications to determine eligibility. Candidates are eligible based on AS bylaws and the AS Elections Code.
Candidates must then attend Mandatory Elections Code meetings. During these meetings candidates can understand the rules of the election process, campaigning among them.
Students will have the chance to vote from May 1 to May 5 via online ballots. The voting process is a ranked-choice system where voters can choose the candidates in order of preference.
Any student can vote with the exception of exchange students since their time at SF State is limited.
Leadership Development Coordinator for AS Christine Amador commented on lack of engagement in the election process.
“It’s no secret that engagement is difficult, particularly during the COVID era,” Amador said. “We are really hoping to capitalize on the excitement of being back on campus in order to really galvanize and to motivate the student body to not only run for office if they feel motivated to do so, but also to participate in the voting process as well.”
The list of candidates will be available April 14.
Successful candidates will assume their roles next academic year. The board term goes from June 1 to May 31.
There are currently a total of 18 positions available. The requirements and responsibilities of the roles depend on each position. They are all specified on their website.
Each position has specific duties. For example, if a student applies for the vice president of external affairs position, one of their duties will be representing SF State in the CSU Student Association.
Regarding the campaigning process, Elections Commissioner Lily Gutierrez must review and stamp every flier and social media post. This way, they try to prevent previous situations where allegedly somebody was falsifying campaign materials.
Both Amador and Gutierrez highlight the benefits the positions may include. However, they also mention they have no say in what they are looking for in a candidate.
“Honestly, it’s not up to us,” Amador said. “It truly isn’t, we just provide the platform and the information that we then push out to the student body and we hope to motivate students that are looking to make a change on the campus to run for office.”
They comment on how students may find these positions interesting either if they want to get into politics or to complain about a problem on campus.
To give an idea of what AS does on campus, some of the initiatives already implemented by them are the Gator Groceries program and the Mashouf Wellness Center.
Amador encourages not only to apply to be a candidate but also to vote.
“Their vote, their voice, it matters,” Amador said. “And the only way that we can know what students think is if they tell us and casting a ballot and voting is one of the best ways to do that.”
Here are some important dates to not lose track of the process:
Deadline for applying as a candidate: April 2 at 5 p.m.
Master list of candidates release: April 14.
Commencement of the campaign: April 17.
Voting process: May 1 to May 5.
