The application to campaign for an SGA position ends Feb. 14 with voting for candidates beginning mid-March.
Students wishing to run for office must apply through Mountain Lion Connect before attending a mandatory meeting on Feb. 14. Voting will be available for students either online or in-person with multiple resources available to learn about the candidates.
Available positions include legislative positions, as well as executive positions.
“This year’s candidate meeting is going to be on the 14th at 6 p.m. So students have until about 5:45 p.m. to get back to me with their application,” said SGA election commissioner Maria Bynes. The meeting will be held in the Student Life Lounge.
According to the SGA website and Bynes, students will be able to apply up until the candidate meeting on Feb. 14. From there, candidates may be asked to meet with the Appointment Advisory Committee for an interview.
As for students who are still interested in applying before the deadline, Bynes said, “[Students] can begin on our Mountain Lion Connect page, I have all the information like the constitution and bylaws that govern SGA, [and] there are previous position descriptions on there as well … that detail what being on SGA consists of.”
Bynes also explained that students who wish to apply must meet certain requirements related to semester credit hours and overall GPA to become an SGA member.
Throughout the campaign process, the student body learns about candidates through physical campaigning and the SGA website.
Bynes said, “[Candidates] have the opportunity to campaign physically where they can put up posters, they can just meet with students one on one, and then we will also put their information on our SGA election webpage. It’ll just be like a short bio about them and a picture of them.”
When campaigning is complete, the student body will be able to vote March 7-11 in person on campus or online through the SGA website and social media QR codes.
SGA is the elected student government and separates itself into three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. SGA holds elections every year for students to fill senator and executive positions.
According to the SGA website, the Legislative Branch “represents the electorate in all dealings directly related to SGA business or in which representation is requested.” The Executive Branch governs over and represents SGA as the executive officers of SGA.
The only branch not open for application is the Judicial Branch, which is responsible for “interpreting the constitution and all subsidiary documents to make binding decisions and recommendations through judicial reviews and questions, as well as administering all SGA regular and special elections,” according to the SGA website.
After voting has ended, SGA will discuss the legitimacy of the candidates if there are any accusations of “prohibited misconduct.” Misconducts are outlined on the Election Policy document on the MLC SGA website.
According to Bynes, “[The tribunal] takes place on the 16th and then if everything goes well with that we certify the elections and then the candidates will take office [the] following June.”
For students interested in applying for these positions, they can visit the Mountain Lion Connect page at this link and log in to register.