Two presidential tickets have announced their intention to qualify for the student body presidential election, seeking the 700 signatures required to appear on the student government election ballot. Petitions began on Jan. 14, and election hopefuls must reach the minimum signatures before the Jan. 26 deadline.
Mason McCart and Luke Parikh became the first ticket to declare their intention to run for the student body presidency, with an Instagram announcement on the first day of petitioning. McCart is a junior from Dillon Hall and co-director of student life in student government. Parikh is a sophomore, also from Dillon Hall. He serves as a committee member for the Department of Communication and Department of Student Life.
“We want to leave no doubt in your minds that we will serve you all with your best interests in mind,” the post read. “Sign the petition in our bio to get McCart Parikh on the ballot.”
A day later, Elijah Jones and Riley Evers announced their presidential bid in an Instagram post. Jones is a junior from Alumni Hall who serves as president of the Judicial Council. Evers is a sophomore who represents Pasquerilla West Hall as the dorm’s student senator.
“We’re committed to fighting for EVERY student’s voice to be heard, and would love for you to sign our petition,” the post read.
The Jones-Evers ticket revealed in a Jan. 17 “get-to-know” post on Instagram that they were a third of the way to their petition goal. The McCart-Parikh ticket announced in a Jan. 22 Instagram video they had received approximately 600 signatures.
Madeline Grace Hutson, Judicial Council vice president of elections, told The Observer in a written statement that she could not publicly reveal whether any other individuals had requested partitions.
“Historically, the Judicial Council has not provided information publicly about who has or has not requested a petition,” she wrote. “Once we verify positions, we can then name individuals as candidates and therefore share that information publicly.”
Prospective candidates are not allowed to officially campaign for the office of student body president until they are on the ballot and thus cannot provide official comment to The Observer.
