Today’s fall elections will determine future members of both the Student Senate and the University Court. Starting at 7 a.m., students can vote through their PAWS accounts. Candidates for Senate may only be voted on by members of their respective colleges, whereas University Court positions are voted on by the entire University. The voting will last until 9:59 p.m. Student Senators may be elected to one of two types of positions: full seats and half seats. Full seats are more common and are elected on an annual basis. Half seats are re-elected each semester. The number of Senate positions available to each college depends on the number of students enrolled in that college. Consequently, large colleges like the College of Arts and Sciences has five full seats available, whereas the Manship School of Mass Communication only has one full seat up for election. The 44 available positions – including full Senate seats, half Senate seats and University Court positions – will not all be filled. Many of the races have more open positions than running candidates, and some, like the College of Art and Design, have no candidates running at all. These seats will remain vacant unless filled by their respective college council. SG Elections Commissioner Jacob Gower said the fall elections typically see less involvement than spring elections. “Student Government is geared down significantly,” Gower said. “The fall is always kind of a slow time.” Spring elections usually see a proliferation of tickets and candidates linked to the presidential election. There are four competitive elections this fall. In the University College Center for Freshman Year, there are 17 candidates competing for seven full Senate seats, and three candidates fighting for two half seats. The College of Arts and Sciences has five open full Senate seats with seven candidates, and the E. J. Ourso College of Business race includes three candidates contesting two full seats. All other elections have a number of candidates less than or equal to the number of available positions. The election results will be announced Thursday at 6 p.m. and finalized Monday. In the event of a runoff, the corresponding election will be held Nov. 14.
—-Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]