ASUSU elections loom
ASUSU elections are on the horizon and candidates will soon be hitting the streets in hopes of persuading students to rally beside them, said Crystal Degen, ASUSU elections committee chair.
“Candidates will be handing out fliers, holding signs and some will be passing out pizzas — just doing different things to get students’ attention. One candidate will even have a little helicopter flying around with a flier (that has his name on it),” Degen said.
To ensure an accurate and fair election, Degen said all voting will be done online at www.usu.edu/asusu/elections. To vote, every student will need to provide their A-number and password. This will also ensure students do not vote more than once for their candidate, she said.
“In the past, students could vote multiple times,” Degen said. “This year students will only be permitted to cast their vote once, so the vote is pretty important.”
The primaries, which are three days long, begins 7 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at which time every candidate will be permitted to begin their campaign, said Allen Dangerfield, co-chair for the ASUSU elections committee. Polls will also open at this time for students to go on and cast their vote.
A preliminary debate will be held Thursday, Feb. 26, at noon in the Hub where all seven presidential candidates will have the opportunity to present their campaign, Dangerfield said. Then, at 9 p.m. there will be a primary reception in the TSC Sunburst Lounge at which candidates will be handing out fliers and answering questions. Local bands have also been booked for entertainment during the event, he said.
The two candidates who get the most votes for their designated position during the primaries will go on to the final election, Dangerfield said. Voting during the primaries will end 2:30 p.m. Friday, and the two candidates will be announced at 3 p.m., he said.
After the final candidates are chosen, campaigning will be put on halt for the weekend, giving candidates time to regroup, Dangerfield said.
On Monday, March 2 campaigning will continue for the ASUSU candidates, and a final debate between ASUSU presidential hopefuls will take place in the Hub at noon. Polls will open up again Monday for the final election allowing students to begin voting for their candidate, Dangerfield said.
The campaign will continue through Tuesday, March 2, to Wednesday, March 3, when the election will end. The last vote will be taken online at 4:30 p.m. and the final announcement will be made at 5 p.m., Dangerfield said.
Grievances can be filed at 3 p.m. every day during the election in the ASUSU Office, and at 5 p.m. the grievance board will review the claims and decide if the board should take action against the candidate in question, Dangerfield said.
“Each candidate is given bylaws for running that they have to follow,” he said. “These are to ensure that every candidate will have a fair race and so students won’t be forced into a decision.”
Dangerfield said the bylaws lay out specific campaigning rules such as where it is appropriate to campaign and where it is not, how the Internet and cell phones can be used, how school property can be used and more.
Last year, roughly 2,000 students voted during the ASUSU elections; however, Dangerfield said he hopes to have a higher turnout rate this year.
“Each candidate will bring something different to the university, so it’s important to vote for the individual that you’d like to represent you,” Dangerfield said. “(Candidates) are also in charge of tuition and student fee boards so they can be an advocate for the students.”
“Candidates will be handing out fliers, holding signs and some will be passing out pizzas — just doing different things to get students’ attention. One candidate will even have a little helicopter flying around with a flier (that has his name on it),” Degen said.
To ensure an accurate and fair election, Degen said all voting will be done online at www.usu.edu/asusu/elections. To vote, every student will need to provide their A-number and password. This will also ensure students do not vote more than once for their candidate, she said.
“In the past, students could vote multiple times,” Degen said. “This year students will only be permitted to cast their vote once, so the vote is pretty important.”
The primaries, which are three days long, begins 7 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at which time every candidate will be permitted to begin their campaign, said Allen Dangerfield, co-chair for the ASUSU elections committee. Polls will also open at this time for students to go on and cast their vote.
A preliminary debate will be held Thursday, Feb. 26, at noon in the Hub where all seven presidential candidates will have the opportunity to present their campaign, Dangerfield said. Then, at 9 p.m. there will be a primary reception in the TSC Sunburst Lounge at which candidates will be handing out fliers and answering questions. Local bands have also been booked for entertainment during the event, he said.
The two candidates who get the most votes for their designated position during the primaries will go on to the final election, Dangerfield said. Voting during the primaries will end 2:30 p.m. Friday, and the two candidates will be announced at 3 p.m., he said.
After the final candidates are chosen, campaigning will be put on halt for the weekend, giving candidates time to regroup, Dangerfield said.
On Monday, March 2 campaigning will continue for the ASUSU candidates, and a final debate between ASUSU presidential hopefuls will take place in the Hub at noon. Polls will open up again Monday for the final election allowing students to begin voting for their candidate, Dangerfield said.
The campaign will continue through Tuesday, March 2, to Wednesday, March 3, when the election will end. The last vote will be taken online at 4:30 p.m. and the final announcement will be made at 5 p.m., Dangerfield said.
Grievances can be filed at 3 p.m. every day during the election in the ASUSU Office, and at 5 p.m. the grievance board will review the claims and decide if the board should take action against the candidate in question, Dangerfield said.
“Each candidate is given bylaws for running that they have to follow,” he said. “These are to ensure that every candidate will have a fair race and so students won’t be forced into a decision.”
Dangerfield said the bylaws lay out specific campaigning rules such as where it is appropriate to campaign and where it is not, how the Internet and cell phones can be used, how school property can be used and more.
Last year, roughly 2,000 students voted during the ASUSU elections; however, Dangerfield said he hopes to have a higher turnout rate this year.
“Each candidate will bring something different to the university, so it’s important to vote for the individual that you’d like to represent you,” Dangerfield said. “(Candidates) are also in charge of tuition and student fee boards so they can be an advocate for the students.”
The ASUSU primary candidates are:
president
Jake Cook, Lance Brown, Josh Nagao, Chris Barney, Nils Nelson, Tyler Nelson and Nathan Niebergall.
student advocate
Daniel Ricks, Tyler Haws and RJ Netzley.
programing vice president
Walter Voisard, Chris Axtell and Eric Reeder.
service vice president
David Knighton, Jordant Stone and Jim Miller.
science senator
Mikaelle ‘Miki’ Giffin, Tony Litke, Todd Redmon and Michael Stewart.
ag senator
Amy Petersen
executive vice president
K. Bradley Carr, Spencer Lee, Trevor Nelson, Amber Winward and Neal Ackerman.
academic senate president
Jamon P. Hemingway and Ben Croshaw.
athletics vice president
Megan Furniss and Jeremy Winn.
HASS senator
Nicole R. Smith, Patricia Lambert and Josie Olsen.
diversity and organizations vice president
Bill Sproat, Alixis Lopez and Krista Bustamante.
graduate studies president
Rick Kelly
business senator
Steven Russell, Jordan Knecht, Landon Essig and Lance Larsen.
engineering senator
May Bo Hsu and Andrew Hobson
natural resources senator
John Rentschler IV.
education senator
Erik Wynn and Matthew Wright.
-greg.boyles@aggiemail.usu.edu