Associated Students Special Election: What You Need to Know
The Associated Students (A.S.) is holding a special election this May to fill in the five roles left empty after the previous general election and to approve constitutional revisions.
Illustration by Katheryne Menendez
The Santa Monica College (SMC) Associated Students (A.S.) is holding a special election this month to fill vacant positions within its leadership for the upcoming Fall semester.
Five out of 13 positions for the 2022-2023 A.S. Board of Directors were set to be unoccupied following the general election last month – Vice President, Director of Student Assistance, Director of Student Outreach, Director of Activities, and Student Trustee.
“We were concerned that there were five vacant roles in the general election, and I was particularly concerned that there was no Student Trustee running,” A.S. President Joshua Elizondo said. No candidates ran for the aforementioned positions in the general election, but A.S. called for a special election because doing so “allows us to ensure that student participation in student government is, across the board, filled,” Elizondo said.
There are nine candidates running for positions – three candidates for Director of Student Outreach and two candidates for both Director of Activities and Student Trustee. The candidates running for Vice President and Director of Student Assistance are running unopposed.
Proposed amendment changes to the A.S. Constitution and By-Laws are also on the ballot this election. Over the last few months in public meetings, the Constitution Committee has been revising and changing the language used throughout the constitution. One of these revisions is altering the names of certain positions, referring to Director of Student Advocacy to Director of External Affairs, and Director of Student Assistance to Director of Basic Needs.
Another revision is indicating that any student enrolled at SMC is considered a member of the A.S., but only those paying the $10 resource fee may run for and hold office. Currently, the Constitution says that only those paying the fee are considered members of A.S. Other revisions include defining the line of succession for A.S. and indicating that being recalled or impeached prevents one from holding office in any capacity again. The full list of changes can be viewed online on the SMC Website.
Applications for candidacy opened Monday, April 25, and closed Wednesday May 4 at 5pm. The election will be held through Corsair Connect, from May 16 at 12 a.m., to May 19 at 11:59 p.m. Results will be announced on May 20.
