Voting for the Associated Students of New Mexico State University senate elections will open Monday Nov. 2 and close Nov. 6, allowing students to vote online and pick a prize for making their voices heard.   

Chief Elections Officer Megan Balkin explained how the senators have staggered terms, leading them to have elections every semester. Currently, there are 15 seats open out of the 30 senator positions.  

“So, they have, you know, two whole weeks to campaign, whether it’s online or in person, which is normally just writing in chalk around campus,” Balkin said. 

At the moment there is one open seat for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and five for the College of Arts and Sciences. There is one seat open for the College of Business, two open for the College of Education and Engineering, with Graduate senators having three positions up for grabs.  

NMSU junior Edgar Aguilar remarked on the political climate recently trending on social media and news outlets when asked about NMSU’s own elections. 

“Its election season all around lately and like, I think this year is really firing people up about getting their voices heard with their votes,” Aguilar said. 

To run for election, candidates must first fill out and turn in Senate Packets, that includes their reason for running and for which college they would wish to represent. Each candidate will have their grade point averages checked, the minimum requirement being a 2.5 for undergraduates, while Graduates require at least a 3.0. 

The packets were due Oct. 2, where the ASNMSU secretaries also checked for disciplinary standing. Candidates are also required to turn in a petition of at least 25 signatures from students in the college they represent. 

“And then they have to get 25 signatures from within their college,” Balkin said. “Just like as a show of support. And then we go in and we check every single one of those signatures, making sure that they have like a minimum of those 25 signatures on the students and that the students are actually from the same college, as the candidates.”  

As voting has always been online, Balkin explained that the difference this year is there will be no voting booths posted around campus. Instead, students who vote online are given the opportunity to choose a free t-shirt, bucket hat, visor or tote bag to be shipped to them, all of which comes on a first come first serve basis. 

ASNMSU will also be posting information on each candidate using the ASNMSU Instagram story, saying who each candidate is and what they stand for. They will also be posting a video of the first candidate fair for senate on social media within the coming week.