Campus election season is months away, but the process began Wednesday when Student Government Association nominated its new election board chair.
Latino Student Union representative Marco Pretell-Vazquez will lead the committee and he also learned right away the ballot will be not feature an incumbent candidate.
"No member of Campus Alliance is running for re-election," SGA President Frank Hood said in his report, explaining that all interested candidates should attend the official nomination convention Feb. 16. "Hopefully, we won't have a situation like last year where we have no one show up to the nomination convention."
Pretell-Vazquez said all interested parties should have applications submitted for review. He expects a seamless transition into his new role, he said, because he served as treasurer last year.
"Last year, we had a really good elections chair, and he was somebody I can kind of look up to for this year," Pretell-Vazquez said, explaining how he looks forward to getting the voices of Ball State University students heard. "It's really an honor (to be nominated for elections board chair), and I know it's a big deal because it directly effects the rest of the university."
Current SGA senators questioned Pretell-Vazquez about remaining unbiased during the election process before unanimously approving his nomination.
Hood said after the meeting that Campus Alliance members will serve strictly as observers until the new slate begins the transition process. He said it's not strange for slates to step aside, even with another academic year ahead of them.
"If we had run again, it would have been the first re-election campaign in five years," Hood said. "So, it's really actually more common for a person not to run for re-election than it is for someone to run for a second term."
SGA concluded its semester by commemorating each members' efforts. Secretary Ebony Strong also announced at-large caucus chair Michelle Voss and student services whip Beth Cahill as this semester's "Star Senators". Both redirected the recognition to their respective committees, and acknowledged SGA endeavors planned for next semester.
Hood updated the progress of the Campus Alliance platform laid out last election season and acknowledged many efforts not included that helped boost SGA's presence on campus. He said SGA utilized a combination of proactive and reactive measures to serve the student body on several key issues this semester. Such action, Hood said, helped promote SGA as a useful resource for Ball State students. The Web site and weekly SGA tables are ways in which students can utilize the organization.
"We're just letting students know there are a lot of different avenues to get information to or from us," Hood said. "When it really comes down to it, accountability is more important than anything else."
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