What are students voting for and why does it matter?
By VINCE BASADA — campus@theaggie.org
This week, students across campus are being encouraged to participate in the ongoing Associated Students of the University of California, Davis (ASUCD) fall elections. Those who do choose to cast their vote will have a role in deciding who among their peers will be the next six individuals to have the opportunity to serve as student senators.
ASUCD is the school’s undergraduate student government, and is responsible for administering a $22 million annual budget. Senators help decide how funds are allocated, serving as crucial players in the annual budget hearings that decide appropriations and budgets for ASUCD units.
The senate is the student government’s most important legislative body, meeting every Thursday night of the academic year to hear reports from ASUCD units and bodies (such as Unitrans and the Coffee House), pass legislation on spending bills and vote on resolutions. They also act as the student body’s liaison to university administrators and can also help represent UC Davis to local and state officials.
12 senators sit on the table, each with a single vote. They serve a one-year term, with half elected in spring and the other half elected in fall. Two additional voting members from special subsets of the student population — the transfer and international student representatives — also serve alongside the senators. Those positions are elected in spring.
Typically, the fall election sees a much lower voter turnout than its spring counterpart; the latter benefits from more races aside from senator positions (including ASUCD president and student advocate). Only 8.33% of the student population (2,689 voters) participated in the 2024 fall ASUCD election, compared to 13.93% of eligible voters (4,167 voters) in spring of 2025.
This current round of voting has 13 candidates and three slates.
The Aggie Alliance slate is focused on addressing transportation issues and building ties with registered student organizations (or RSOs). The Unidad slate is focused on advocacy, support and representation for marginalized and mixed-status students. Lastly, the Warda slate is running on a platform of protecting student activism, ethical spending and resource accessibility.
The election is determined by ranked-choice voting. Each voter can rank as many or as few of the candidates, based on preference.
The successful candidates will replace the seats left vacant by: Nanki Kaur, a fourth-year biomedical engineering and South Asian studies double major; Jenna Younes, a fourth-year international relations major; Lexi Raben, a second-year environmental sciences and management major; and Umar Shaikh, a third-year political science major. Younes is the only currently serving senator seeking re-election.
There are also two interim senators who are set to vacate their roles at the end of the quarter: Livreet Sandhu, a third-year political science major and transfer student, and Shaina Taebi, a second-year political science and philosophy double major.
The winning candidates of this week’s election are set to be sworn in at the last senate meeting of the quarter on Dec. 4.
The vote opened early Monday, Nov. 10 and will close on Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. Voters must be undergraduate students and currently enrolled in classes.
Students can vote now at elections.ucdavis.edu.
Our voter’s guide and information on all of the candidates in the Fall 2025 election is linked here.
For more information on ASUCD, read our ASUCD explainer linked here.
Written by: Vince Basada — campus@theaggie.org
