By Myranda Harrison
Staff Writer

During this election term there are 18 eligible freshmen senator candidates and two eligible graduate senator candidates. Each candidate must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 and cannot have any form of formal disciplinary record.

Many applications from students wishing to run are submitted every year, but only those qualified are put onto the ballot.

Every semester, students are encouraged to voice their opinions by casting their vote in the SGA election. The SGA consist of the Executive Council (which includes the President, Vice President, Executive Secretary, and Chief Justice), the Senate and the Tribunal.

Photo: apsu.edu/sga

Potential candidates who wish to be a part of SGA can apply online through the APSU website where they are notified about important dates such as the orientation. Chief Justice Kelsey Smith is the main correspondent and it is primarily her duty to plan the mandatory candidate orientations where the candidates get informed about campaign guidelines and procedures.

During this process the students are taught strategies of advertising their campaigns so they can encourage other students to vote. The SGA uses social media and giveaway door prizes to get students to participate in the election.

“Participation is vital if students hope to have a hard-working student government who work towards making campus a better place for them,” Smith said.

As stated in the SGA Electoral Act, Article IX Ratification of Votes, Section 1, the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs is responsible for counting and verifying all casted votes.

Voting fraud in the APSU election is considered a non-issue because students are only given one vote via their OneStop account and in voting booths set up by SGA during the week of election.

According to the SGA, it is important as a student to vote.