The Student Government Assembly will begin accepting self-nominations from aspiring candidates for its next chairperson “sometime this week” — a step in the upcoming elections that was originally set for Monday. To move forward with the process, the SGA must pass a pending resolution that would allow all students to vote in its chair elections.
Should at least 40 voting members of the student government approve the resolution by Wednesday, aspiring candidates will have three weeks to submit their applications. The resolution also detailed specific guidelines for campaigning efforts, including that candidates cannot allocate their personal finances — a point of concern when the proposed reform was introduced at last month’s meeting.
Angela Chou, chair of the student government, told WSN that after all aspiring chairs apply — ideally by mid-March — SGA voting members will hold a Preliminary Confidence Vote to determine whether the nominees are eligible to officially run for the position. To be considered for chair, candidates must have at least one year of experience in the student government and submit their resume, transcript and letters of recommendation from two SGA leadership members.
“The role of the Student Government Assembly chair is really demanding,” Chou said. “We want to ensure that all candidates who are running for chair are suitable based on experiences, their professional working styles and also the skills and abilities that they can bring to the table.”
If the resolution passes, candidates will only be allowed to campaign virtually on Instagram. Candidates would be able to use their personal accounts, but are “encouraged” to create new accounts specifically for the campaign. All of the campaign materials, such as social media posts, must be reviewed and approved by the SGA’s elections commissioner, Joe McDonough.
Nominees for the SGA chair would also be barred from posting promotional materials on NYU property and cannot use any “personal, organization, and/or university spending” on campaigning initiatives. However, they could table at Bobst Library, the Kimmel Center for University Life and 6 MetroTech Center after informing the elections commissioner.
After a two-week campaigning period — including a moderated debate and panel discussion with the nominees — all students would have 10 days to cast their ranked-choice ballots for the next SGA chair. If there is a tie in the popular vote, the SGA plans to hold an internal election among its voting members.
In previous years, the chair was internally elected by SGA members at a student government meeting immediately after candidates gave speeches and participated in a Q&A session. The SGA first proposed to implement a popular vote system for chair elections in 2023, after two universitywide surveys revealed that a majority of students wanted the change.
Contact Graylin Lucas at [email protected].
