Candidates for Student Association office may no longer need to collect signatures to be considered for a spot on the ballot because of an amendment passed Tuesday night at the SA senate meeting.

If approved by SA President Vishal Aswani, this new policy will allow students who “don’t want to jump through hoops” easier access to leadership positions, SA Sen. Logan Dobson, CCAS-U, said.

“It doesn’t really matter what arbitrary standards are met to be put on the ballot,” said Dobson, the bill’s sponsor. “It shouldn’t be up to the Joint Election Committee to decide who gets on the ballot and who doesn’t based on who can go out and annoy the bejesus out of kids in Thurston.”

Dobson said that the number of circulating petitions often lessened their effect.

“Younger students, especially, sometimes didn’t even know what they were signing,” he said. “And by the time they got to the fourth or fifth petition, they would just get fed up with the multiple candidates.”

In past elections, prospective candidates were required to petition 1 percent of their respective constituencies to become eligible for candidacy. Under the amendment – proposed by Dobson and approved by the senate – anyone pursuing a position in the SA will be required to file only a statement of candidacy with the JEC.

Dobson said that rather than cluttering the upcoming election with candidates who do not take the process seriously because the signature requirement has been removed, the amendment will only give voters a broader variety of options when selecting their student leaders.

He said, “If our goal is to get more students involved in the SA and we tell students that to get into the SA, you have to go do something that nobody wants to do, we’re failing at that goal.”