On Monday night, the Student Government Association began its Spring 2024 election cycle for its three branches — the Undergraduate Council of Students, the Undergraduate Financial Board and the Class Coordinating Board — with two information sessions. The sessions were the first two of SGA’s six elections information sessions.
Prospective candidates must attend at least one of the information sessions, write a one-page candidate statement and submit a petition with 50 undergraduate signatures by 11:59 p.m. on March 11 to declare their candidacy, according to the event.
Besides first-year representative positions in CCB, all elected positions within the three branches — including the SGA elections chair — are up for election this spring, SGA Elections Chair Eli Sporn ’24 told The Herald.
SGA holds annual spring elections for the three branches of student government at Brown. According to Sporn, this year’s election cycle remains largely unchanged from previous cycles to preserve continuity in the spring elections process.
But, candidates will not participate in the open platform event, which previously provided them an “opportunity to freely talk and give a speech” to students and community members, Sporn wrote in an email to The Herald. This year’s event was canceled due to low attendance, Sporn added.
Before establishing the open platform event, SGA used to host a debate among candidates during the election cycle, Sporn said in his interview with The Herald. The debate was eventually eliminated from the elections process because “one of the policies and fundamental structures (of SGA elections) is that you shouldn’t campaign against other candidates, both within your competition and others, in the event of collaboration and just keeping spirits up,” Sporn said.
All candidates can begin campaigning for their positions at noon on March 8 up until voting closes on March 18 at 11:59 p.m.
According to Sporn, campaigning this year is strictly regulated. Campaign activities outside the timeline, accepting endorsements from University-affiliated clubs and sending mass emails are all prohibited.
Each candidate is allowed a $25 campaign budget, which can be used for social media advertisements, printing, website creation and anything else the candidates deem necessary, according to the Elections Handbook. Before using any campaign materials to publicize their candidacy, candidates must receive approval from SGA.
The general election voting period will begin on March 15 at 9 a.m. and close on March 18 at 11:59 p.m. Winners will be determined by ranked-choice voting, according to the information session.
Results will be announced on March 21 at 7 p.m. on the Faunce steps and in a campus-wide email shortly afterward.
Leah Koritz is a senior staff writer covering student government beat. Leah is from Dover, Massachusetts and studies Public Health and Judaic Studies. In her free time, Leah enjoys hiking, watching the Red Sox and playing with her dog, Boba.
