UVUSA members discuss new election rules 2023

The Utah Valley University Student Association held its election information session conference on Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming annual student body elections. 

Incumbent Student Body President, Lexi Soto, was joined by council Parliamentarian, Mickelle Newkirk, as well as council Vice-Presidents of Academics and Engagement, Jaden Muir, and Keaton Bennett to discuss with students and prospective candidates what participation in the upcoming student body elections might entail, as well as what to expect and what is required of future candidates.

The session kicked off with members of the executive committee all delivering their introductions before giving brief descriptions of their position requirements, and obligations.

Following the member and role introductions, the committee made it a point to further stress some of the rules surrounding general participation in the upcoming student polls.

One of the rules that was addressed, titled “rule 13,” was the regulation regarding the promotion of candidates by campus groups. The rule states that “No campus entity, department, organization, or student leadership program should be promoting one candidate over another. Meeting with campus groups should be a way to gain knowledge about the UVU community, not to solicit votes or encourage promotion of one candidate over another.”

Soto addressed the latest change to the campaign rules explaining that “As a candidate you can be endorsed and partnered with clubs on campus because they are student-run. However, you cannot be endorsed by official university organizations like the UVUSA or any of the examples listed on the elections packet [shared at the briefing] and in there we tried to go more in-depth on the definition of what a club is versus an organization.”

Another rule that was discussed was the rule surrounding candidate giveaways. This was especially important in hindsight of the alleged controversy that surrounded the previous presidential campaign the year before with regard to giveaways. The rule stated that “Candidates may do giveaways, either on social media or in-person, during elections week only. If a candidate chooses to do a giveaway, that giveaway can’t be used to solicit votes. Anyone can enter to receive the giveaway item without voting. Any donations received for giveaways must be recorded on the donations sheet in the back of the elections packet along with other donations.”

Soto also emphasized other rules candidates should be aware of leading up to the elections. These included not soliciting votes or making any official or unofficial declarations until election week, and not engaging in campaign-centered discussions anywhere around the student body offices.With election preparations already in full swing, voting for new UVUSA student executives opens on Feb. 27 at 8 a.m., and closes on March 2 at 5 p.m. Announcement of the new student body officials will take place at 7 p.m. on the same day. Applications can be submitted at https://www.uvu.edu/uvusa/elections/ and students can follow UVUSA on Instagram for more information and election updates.