USAC Election Board extends application deadline for prospective candidates
By Jillian Beck
April 8, 2013 1:16 a.m.
The original version of this article contained multiple errors and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
The Undergraduate Student Association Council Election Board has extended the deadline to apply for candidacy for the upcoming elections to Tuesday, after there was confusion over two dates listed as deadlines in the candidate application packets.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council Election Board will continue to accept candidate packets until Tuesday at 5 p.m., said USAC Election Board chair Dana Pede. But the official USAC-approved deadline was last Friday at noon, so the validity of any packets turned in after the official deadline depends on council approval at its meeting Tuesday.
USAC appoints members of the Election Board, which oversees the undergraduate election process and operates independently from USAC. The council has to approve the election calendar that the Election Board sets, Pede said.
Candidate packets for those interested in running for a USAC position include basic information, an authorization of a dean of students’ eligibility check and a petition with a minimum of 75 enrolled undergraduate student signatures.
The source of the confusion over the application deadline was a page of the candidate packet that said students who picked the packet up during winter quarter had to turn it in on March 15 because collecting signatures is prohibited during finals week and spring break. These students could then pick the packet up at the beginning of spring quarter and continue gathering signatures.
A sentence lower on the page stated that the filing deadline for completed packets was noon on April 5.
The board thought there was a discrepancy in the deadlines listed and decided to extend the deadline, Pede said. Later, the board realized that the dates were for two different deadlines, Pede said.
Guidelines concerning the permitted timeframe for collecting petition signatures of the candidate packet were also unclear to many potential candidates, Pede said.
“Since the (confusion) was as widespread as it was, we realized this is our fault,” Pede said. “Because so many students were inconvenienced by this, we want time until Tuesday to make this process clear, to take accountability for the confusion and to get the word out.”
Packets are due to the Election Board office, Kerckhoff 313, by Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Compiled by Jillian Beck, Bruin senior staff.
Correction: The Undergraduate Student Association Council Election Board has extended the deadline to apply for candidacy for the upcoming elections to Tuesday, after there was confusion over two dates listed as deadlines in the candidate application packets. The source of the confusion over the application deadline was a page of the candidate packet that said students who picked the packet up during winter quarter had to turn it in on March 15 because collecting signatures is prohibited during finals week and spring break. These students could then pick the packet up at the beginning of spring quarter and continue gathering signatures. A sentence lower on the page stated that the filing deadline for completed packets was noon on April 5.
