This year’s Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS) Spring Elections are approaching. While campaigning officially began on Friday, Feb. 27, polls will open on Monday, March 9 at 6 p.m. and close on Saturday, March 14 at noon.
“Voting will be online, our Director of Technology Services will make the ballot and students will just enter their username and password to validate that they are students, and vote according to their class. All students will get to vote for President and Vice President,” ASUPS Vice President Marc Fagaragan said.
All students are eligible to vote in the election, regardless of class standing.
“I think it is important to know that seniors can vote since this is often overlooked because the perception is that they can’t vote, but seniors are still a part of the student body. In a sense, they are kind of voting for the incoming class because those incoming members are not voting for their elected officers in the fall,” Fagaragan said.
Students and staff will be allowed to meet candidates and understand their positions regarding specific issues on campus at the ASUPS Executive Debate, which will take place in Upper Marshall Hall on March 9 from 5-6 p.m.
“When I was a part of this debate, the ASUPS VP at the time, Santiago Rodriguez, would propose to us different questions relating to the budget, relating to our leadership and how we would react to different situations,” Fagaragan said.
The Elections Committee makes sure that the elections in the spring and fall run fairly. To make sure the election is as fair as possible, the Elections Committee will verify any complaints and impose consequences as the committee sees fit.
“If any student sees that the campaigning processes are not fair or are setting up polling stations where they are not supposed to then I would really recommend any student contact me or Andrew McPherran or any of our executive officers because we are really here to make sure that this election is as fair as possible,” Fagaragan said.
To find out more about the policies on publicity and campaigning, the ASUPS Spring 2015 Senate Elections packet released on Feb. 9 can be found in the ASUPS office.
One of the best ways to get to know your candidates is to think about specific issues that are relevant to you on campus and to go to the Executive Debate in order to submit an informed vote.
