Any full-time enrolled undergraduate student who has paid the activity fee is eligible to file for candidacy. Filing for candidacy is similar to sharing an intention to run for office. Candidates must file for candidacy to publicly solicit votes (on social media or in person). Learn more about filing for candidacy and running for executive office, senate seats, or petitioning for a referendum at informational meetings. Prior to the start of campaigning, when candidates officially share that they are running for positions, they will review all election rules. *Students who do not attend the mandatory candidates meeting shall be automatically disqualified. In the case that a candidate is part of a ticket, the ticket shall dissolve and the candidate who did attend the meeting will retain their candidacy. Please reach out to the Elections Commission Chair if you have questions. Candidates will advertise their desire for election via graphic campaigning (in-person and/or virtually). Only currently enrolled, full-time undergraduate students may serve as campaign members or supports. Campaign members, limited to 15, may contribute time, effort, and energy to campaigns. *Candidates or tickets who fail to submit a campaign member list may be in violation of the Election Codes. All currently enrolled, full-time undergraduate students who have paid their activity fee are eligible to vote in elections. Students will only see ballots they are eligible to cast a vote in (e.g., College of Arts and Sciences students will vote on a College of Arts & Sciences senator). If you anticipate seeing a ballot but do not, please contact our advisor, Dr. Heather Stevens, at hstevens@miami.edu. *Candidates or tickets who fail to submit their financial report (whether or not they have spent money) will be automatically disqualified. For races where an executive candidate fails to receive a majority (50% of the vote plus 1 vote) or a senate candidate, fails to receive a plurality of votes, a run-off election shall occur. Only voters who are eligible will be invited to participate in the run-off election. *Candidates or tickets who fail to submit their financial report (whether or not they have spent money) will be automatically disqualified. Filing for Candidacy
Candidacy
Campaigning
Voting
Run-off Elections
Senators serve one year terms with the possibility of continuing service if they meet candidacy requirements and win their respective election. Below is the schedule for open senate seats. The number beside each seat refers to the total amount of seats for that constituency that will be open. If a senate seat becomes vacant, the seat will be open for special appointment via application.
Students must be enrolled in that school/college to run and serve this constituency.
Students must be in that academic year by the length of time at University or completed credit amount to run and serve this constituency. Voters will only have access to class level determined by credits completed. If you believe you should have access to a different ballot when voting, please do not submit your ballot and contact our advisor, Dr. Heather Stevens at hstevens@miami.edu.
Filing for candidacy means that you are indicating that you want to be involved in Student Government and you would like to represent your fellow students. For students interested in executive positions: Candidates are able to spend money on their campaign items, but they may spend no more than $300 for senate candidates or $1,000 collectively for executive candidates. Spending money is not a mandatory part of campaigning, but whether you spend money or not, you must submit a financial form to the Elections Commission by 10:00am on Thursday, February 20.
For students interested in senate:
Students who run for positions often campaign to educate voters about why they are the best candidate for a specific position. Campaign materials may include palm cards, t-shirts, flyers, emails, etc.
Candidates will share their preferred name, bio to be featured on the ballot, headshot for the ballot, and seat running. Additional information including contact information, academic school/college, GPA, and other enrollment verification information. Please note: candidates who are running on a ticket will have an additional page to complete related to their running mates and ticket name.
A ticket is a group of people who are all running for their seats together - meaning that they would be working towards and accomplishing the same goals if elected. To be a ticket you much fall in to no more than one of these categories:
Yes, candidates must follow the election codes. The Elections Commission works hard to ensure a fair election. They enforce and maintain Election Codes that ALL candidates and other students campaigning for candidates must follow. You can access the elections codes here.
The Elections Commission runs elections. All questions related to elections should be directed to the Chair - sgelections@miami.edu.