Senator Jenna Younes won her bid for re-election, while Aggie Alliance Slate members Ryan Kan and Aaron David Heth were disqualified
By VINCE BASADA — campus@aggie.org
This article was posted on Nov. 20, 2025
The ASUCD Fall Elections have been called, with six students elected to serve one-year terms on the ASUCD Senate.
The senators-elect are, in rank order of votes received: Rosa Linda Martinez Ruano (UNIDAD Slate), Jenna Younes (Warda Slate), Nate Little (Independent), Ezra Rubin (Independent), Kelly Zamudio (UNIDAD Slate) and Mia Oscanoa (Aggie Alliance Slate).
13 total candidates appeared on the ballot, though two were disqualified before voting closed Friday evening: Ryan Kan, a third-year political science and economics double major, and Aaron David Heth, a third-year political science major. Both were members of the Aggie Alliance Slate. Before being disqualified, Kan and Heth were the first and second place candidates respectively, according to raw elections data results published by the ASUCD Elections Committee.
ASUCD bylaws require that any candidate or slate that accrues three violation points during the course of a campaign be disqualified or dissolved by the Elections Committee. Both Kan and Heth accrued three violation points, according to the committee.
ASUCD Elections Officer Jack Wang, a third-year political science and sociology double major, did not provide comment on why the violation points were given. However, bylaws state that they can be assigned for breaking ASUCD rules on campaigning, endorsements or campaign spending.
Heth, in an interview with The California Aggie late Monday, declined to give comment on his disqualification or the reasons behind his violation points. Heth plans on contesting the decision with the ASUCD Judicial Council, responsible for adjudicating contests to election results. Kan also confirmed to The Aggie that he will be appealing his disqualification.
If Heth and Kan’s disqualifications are overturned, it is unclear what would happen or if any senators-elect would have their wins overturned or revoked. ASUCD uses a ranked-choice voting system, with student voters able to rank as many or as few of the candidates as they prefer. The rankings before the disqualifications were: Kan, Heth, Little, Younes, Ruano and Oscanoa.
Per elections data, 2,132 voters participated in last week’s election — about 6.67% of the undergraduate population.
Wang, whose one-year term ends this quarter, attributed some of the low turnout to poor weather on Thursday, Nov. 13 and Friday, Nov. 14, affecting tabling and outreach efforts. He said that he hopes that his successor will be able to increase turnout for the spring election.
“I think we can do a better job improving awareness of the student government, because I think the student government is more important than a lot of people perceive it to be,” Wang said “A lot of students know that there’s an election, but they don’t really feel compelled or feel convinced to vote.”
As new senators, the winning candidates will join the student government’s highest-profile legislative body and take responsibility for overseeing the Association’s $22 million annual budget. They replace the seats left vacant by Senators Nanki Kaur, a fourth-year biomedical engineering and South Asian studies double major; Lexi Raben, a second-year environmental sciences and management major; and Umar Shaikh, a third-year political science major. Two interim senators are also set to vacate their roles at the end of the quarter: Livreet Sandhu, a third-year political science major, and Shaina Taebi, a second-year political science and philosophy double major.
Younes, a fourth-year international relations major, was the only currently serving senator seeking re-election. Rubin, a third-year international relations and classics double major and former senator, will be returning for a second term after leaving ASUCD in the spring.
Both members of the UNIDAD slate are set to join the Senate table from other positions in ASUCD. Ruano, a third-year sociology and community and regional development double major, currently serves as the chairperson of the ASUCD Undocuscholars Advocacy and Aid Committee. Zamudio, a fourth-year political science and sociology double major, currently serves on the ASUCD Academic Affairs Commission as its vice chair.
New faces will be joining the table as well. Little and Oscanoa are both first-year political science majors who will join the Association for the first time. Alongside the other winners, they are set to be sworn-in at the last Senate meeting of the quarter on Dec. 4.
Written by: Vince Basada — campus@theaggie.org
