The Spring 2023 UCSC Campus Elections will continue to be as accessible, confidential and convenient as possible, with voting taking place via an electronic ballot.

Students will have the option of voting from the comfort of wherever they'd like, and can acccess their ballot via the campus elections website, as well having the option to visit an in-person campus voting station and vote online there if that feels convenient between classes.

Votes will be accepted electronically between *Monday, May 15th- Monday, May 22nd 2023*. The ballot goes live at 12am on 5/15/2023 and the last votes are counted at 11:59pm on 5/22/2023. We want to make sure everyone is able to access their ballot and exercise their right to make their voice heard in this election. If you know or even think that you might need to make arrangements to allow the election to be a more accessible experience for you, we invite you to either reach out to the Disability Resource Center if you'd like them to advocate on your behalf, or at your comfort you may also make the Dean of Students Office aware of your accommodations requests, whatever feels most affirming to your needs. Either way, ideally these accommodations should be made no later than Monday, May 8th, 2023, by either yourself or the DRC contacting the Campus Elections Commissioner and Assistant Dean of Students, Strategic Initiatives & Policy Analysis, Travis S. Becker, at trbecker@ucsc.edu, 

*PLEASE NOTE THE NEW ELECTION DATE (MON, MAY 15th- MONDAY, MAY 22nd) AND UPDATED TIMELINE*

More info about voting procedures: 

In order to vote, students will need to enter their Gold ID and Gold Password. If you do not have that information, check with the Office of the Registrar, (831) 459-4412.

At the time of the election, only currently registered (Spring 2023, based on third week records) undergraduate and graduate students at UCSC will be eligible to vote.

Votes may be cast from any computer with internet access.

Screening of voters, casting of votes, storing of votes, and determination of results will all occur electronically. Voter anonymity is built into this process. Every attempt has been made to ensure the security of all data. Any attempts at voter fraud will be handled as defined by campus policies. Fraudulent votes will be eliminated from elections results and will not count toward the minimum voting pool as required for each measure.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) will once again be used this year for the SUA officer elections. In RCV, voters will select their first choice candidate for any given position (including a write-in candidate) and may also rank as many of the remaining candidates as they wish in their order of choice. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the first choice votes, they win the race outright. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, an instant runoff will occur, wherein the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and voters who picked that candidate as their first choice will have their votes count for their second choice. This process continues until one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.

Individuals who wish to challenge the election process or validity of the election results may file a written complaint with the interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Success. A complaint must include a detailed explanation of the specific action or section of the election policy being grieved, or alleged to have been violated, and the remedy requested. The time limit for filing a complaint shall expire thirty (30) working days after the election results are announced, likely to occur on/around July 11th, 2023 of this election year, pending an official elections result announcement by the UCSC Chancellor.