ASUCD spring 2026 elections: Viva sweeps up-and-down ballot races

Viva candidates won the executive ticket, transfer and international student representatives races and two Senate seats

By LILY KENROW — campus@theaggie.org

The ASUCD spring 2026 election results are out, with members of the Viva slate emerging victorious.

Luis L. Garcia, a third-year political science and Chicanx studies major, and Rosa Linda Martinez, a third-year sociology — organizational studies major, of the Viva slate have been elected to serve as the ASUCD president and internal vice president for the 2026-27 school year. Both currently serve as senators.

“We will continue being committed to cultivating the trust given us by the student body,” Garcia said in a statement. “Our work will center students, their voices, their identities, and their lived experiences. They will be at the forefront of every action and decision we make.”

The pair ran uncontested after Senator Aaron Heth, a third-year political science major, dropped his bid for the executive seat following reporting by The California Aggie detailing his attendance to a Turning Point USA-affiliated conference in December 2025. Heth’s slate, Vision, was also dissolved in light of his attendance.

Viva candidates Maretta Ardelia, a third-year managerial economics major, and Livreet Kaur Sandhu, a third-year political science major, were elected as international student representative (ISR) and transfer student representative (TSR), respectively.

Of the six candidates elected to the ASUCD Senate, the top two were also Viva slate members: Caleb Swaby-Pierce, a second-year economics and political science double major, and Frida Sol Alvarez, a second-year Chicanx studies and political science double major. The remaining four seats were taken by: Lucia Holmboe, a third-year political science major (Bitchier slate); Helena Awwad, a first-year Middle East/South Asian studies and international relations double major (Sawt slate); Afra Sadeghi, a first-year international relations major (Sawt slate); and Madeline Nadel, a first-year political science major, who ran independent after the dissolution of the Vision slate. 

Last week’s election marks the first time all candidates of a slate have won their respective races since the creation of the TSR and ISR roles in 2021. 

Also elected for the role of student advocate was Salma Mahmodi, a first-year political science — public service major.

No candidates for external affairs vice president (EAVP) were on the ballot, and the position remains unfilled for next school year. Vision slate candidate Abigail Solorzano, a first-year human biology major, dropped out of the race following the report on Heth. Viva slate candidate Simrit Singh, a third-year psychology major, was left off the ballot due to an administrative eligibility issue stemming from extenuating circumstances.

Regarding the ballot measures up for a vote, Constitutional Amendment (CA) #96, which would have changed the student advocate position from an elected role to an appointed role, failed with a 57.45% majority. 1,426 votes were cast for the measure, 1,056 against and 881 abstained; the amendment required a 60% majority to pass.  

CA#98, which changes the ASUCD election timeline to add a week dedicated for campaigning, passed with a 95.58% majority — 2,530 votes in favor, 117 against and 716 abstaining. 

2,892 students participated in the spring elections — approximately 9% of the undergraduate population, according to elections data. 

The candidates are set to take office at the ASUCD Senate meeting on June 4.

Written by: Lily Kenrow — campus@theaggie.org