There are several positions up for the election cycle, and The Green Initiative Fund will be on the ballot for the last time
By LILY FREEMAN — campus@theaggie.org
ASUCD spring 2024 elections will be held from April 22 to 26, where undergraduate students can vote online during this period on the elections website.
There are six seats in the Senate up for election this cycle, with 15 candidates running for the spots. There is only one presidential ticket running unopposed for the ASUCD President and Internal Vice President positions, one candidate running unopposed for the External Affairs Vice President and the International Student Representative positions, one candidate running opposed for the Transfer Student Representative position and three candidates running for the Student Advocate position.
During election week, students will vote online through a choice voting system. Voters will be asked to rank as many or as few candidates as they wish in ascending order.
“The advantage is that you can vote for the candidate you truly wish for without your vote being wasted if they’re an unpopular candidate,” the elections website reads. “Specifying more than one preference does not hurt your preference.”
There will be one student fee referendum on the ballot, The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), which is a grant program that provides funding toward students, faculty and staff to develop and lead sustainable projects on campus.
“The TGIF fee is a $3.50 quarterly fee in the undergraduate tuition,” a TGIF Instagram post reads. “This fee goes directly towards funding the TGIF grant program [and] 25% of the collected fee is returned to student aid.”
In order to reinstate this student fee, TGIF needs at least 60% of the votes in favor. On top of this, the student-voter turnout for the election must meet a 20% threshold.
This will be the fourth time that TGIF will appear on the election ballot. In all four elections, the referendum surpassed the 60% majority needed to pass, but there has not been a voter turnout close to 20%.
“For the past year, TGIF has been running off of reserves and money returned from projects,” the post reads. “If TGIF is not renewed this year, we will fully exhaust all funds and the program will close.”
Students can use this QR code from April 22 to 26 to cast their votes.
Written by: Lily Freeman — campus@theaggie.org
