Next Tuesday, students will vote to elect the 2018-19 ASB executive and Senate officers.
All open Senate seats, as well as the executive offices of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, attorney general and judicial chair, are up for election.
Candidates have filed petitions to campaign for all positions but one — ASB secretary. Any candidate interested in running for ASB secretary must now stage a write-in campaign.
“Any student is capable of running a write-in campaign for any office or position,” said ASB Attorney General Dillon Pitts. “The rules are exactly the same … (write-in candidates) still must report expense vouchers just as the typical candidate.”
Write-in candidates, however, will not benefit from many of the same campaign practices common in ASB elections. Write-in candidates may not place campaign signage on campus, participate in the ASB candidates’ debate or campaign in residential dorms.
So far, three candidates have announced intentions for the write-in election. Students Cady Cooper, Kyle Kantor and Reagan Moody have made public accounts and posts on social media promoting their candidacies.
Cooper, a public policy leadership major, said she hopes the secretary position can make a positive difference on campus.
“I want to serve in this capacity for the university because I want to be an approachable source of information on all things ASB-related,” Cooper said. “I want to help make a positive difference and make ASB easily understood and easy to keep track with.”
Kantor, a pharmaceutical studies major, said he wants to fix some of the things he’s noticed have changed over the last year.
“This year I noticed a breakdown in transparency of ASB and communication between branches,” Kantor said. “I am running for ASB secretary so that I can fix this and influence positively in other areas on campus.”
Moody, a public policy major, did not respond to inquiries for comment.
This article was submitted to The Daily Mississippian from an advanced reporting class.
