The Joint Elections Commission set the date and approved the campaign guidelines for the Student Government Association election in April.
In an email from the JEC Tuesday, the commission announced that they will conduct the election from 9 a.m. on April 10 to 9 p.m. on April 11 following, legislation from an SGA meeting Monday that amended SGA bylaws to eliminate the clause mandating that elections be held in March. Despite the SGA passing legislation to move the start date this year, the election had been pushed to April for the last two election cycles.
For the past two years, the JEC has pushed elections to the same week of April because of issues verifying a candidate’s signatures and reforms to convert the body to a three branch structure, which have since been dissolved. These changes have required senate approval because previous SGA bylaws required the JEC to hold elections after spring break but before the end of March.
The JEC will conduct the candidate registration process from March 18 to March 25, according to legislation the commission passed at a JEC meeting Tuesday. The campaign period will start March 31 at 8 a.m., when verified candidates can begin putting up posters on campus. The JEC will hold the SGA vice presidential and presidential debate on April 8.
The JEC proposed a new rule barring candidates from campaigning in residence halls at the request of GW Campus Living and Residential Education. Ubis said CLRE told JEC commissioners that campaigning in residence halls violates GW “solicitation policy.”
“Dorm storming” where candidates were allowed to hang posters and campaign in residence halls was permitted last year for a two day period prior to the election. Michael Ubis, the chair of the JEC, said the proposed rule will be open for public comment on the JEC website until Feb. 18 at 3 p.m.
The JEC also designated restricted zones where candidates are prohibited from campaigning or hanging posters in line with previous years’ regulations which include GW dining facilities, academic buildings and libraries.
