The Associated Student Government presidential election is entering the campaigning phase, and this year’s election is like no other.
After a two-week delay in the election cycle and multiple slates dropping out of the race, Northwestern students will have the chance to vote for one of two tickets this weekend. SESP junior Christian Wade and Medill sophomore Adaeze Ogbonna, running for president and vice president, respectively, will face off against McCormick and Communication sophomore Sahibzada Mayed and Bienen and Communication sophomore McKenna Troy.
But the two slates currently on the ballot didn’t enter the race until after the election was initially supposed to happen.
Associated Student Government presidential slate Teresa Vergara Miranda and Daniel Rodriguez dropped out of the uncontested 2021 executive election cycle Monday.
ASG Election Commissioner Donovan Cusick said he received notice Monday afternoon from Vergara Miranda. The decision to end their campaign comes after unprecedented changes to the election cycle timeline.
On April 15, an emergency ASG session resulted in a Senate vote delaying the election period by two weeks and accepting new candidates until this Friday. The Senate also passed an amendment allowing candidates to ask for signatures through private and group messages, which Cusick said at the time was an opportunity to expand outreach to the student body.
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In its first Wednesday session of Spring Quarter, Associated Student Government elected Weinberg freshman Dylan Jost as speaker of the Senate and SESP freshman Leah Ryzenman as parliamentarian.
Jost won an uncontested race, replacing Weinberg sophomore Zack Lori. In his speech, Jost said he campaigned for the role because of how important ASG’s work is in making students’ voices heard. He added that he wanted to build a better sense of community among ASG senators.
“(The) community aspect where people feel encouraged to speak up can sometimes be lacking,” Jost said. “It’s definitely contributed to by the virtual aspect, but I feel like there’s also improvements to be made.”
Associated Student Government approved Election Commission candidacy guidelines and Student Group Apportionment Committee timeline at its Wednesday Senate meeting. The Election Commission, consisting of nine elected students, coordinates ASG elections, publicizes debates and reviews campaigns among its other duties listed in the guidelines. Changes took into account limitations brought on by the pandemic such as.