Filing for the 2020 Associated Students Elections opened this week

The filing period for the 2020 Associated Students elections opened on Monday, Feb. 17. Twenty-two senate positions along with the president and vice president positions are up for grabs in the election, which is scheduled to take place on April 1 and 2. Students can now officially file an application to run for a position. Prospective candidates have until March 4 to file.

AS will not publicly announce the candidates who have filed until after March 4, when candidates or their campaign managers are required to attend a mandatory orientation, according to Marvin Chowdhury, the AS Chair of Elections. Candidates are allowed to publicly announce their candidacies on their own before that date.

Chowdhury, who is responsible for organizing and overseeing the election, expects most candidates to file and run under a slate. Slates are the AS equivalent of political parties. According to Chowdhury, it is easier for candidates to run and win as part of a slate. He cited last year’s election in which AS President Diana Vicente, Vice President Mohammad Hotaki and several senators won under the “The Voice You Deserve” slate.

Candidates for president have to run together with a candidate for vice president and will appear under a single ticket on the ballot.

The terms for all positions up for election is one academic year and the current senators, the president and the vice president are allowed to run for re-election.

Chowdhury said his goal during the filing period is to convince people to run. He also wants to inform the student body of the importance of voting.

“I don’t think people realize how much power AS has … we control a budget of $10 million, basically,” said Chowdhury, explaining why it is important for students to get involved.