Here are some key dates to keep in mind as the 2025 Campus Elections Process kicks off
**Please note that some dates or timeframes may change, always with updates to ballot/referenda authors, SUA candidates and GSA candidates notified as early as possible of any changes**
| January 2025 | Mandatory referenda orientations: Friday November 1st, Tuesday, November 5th, Wednesday, November 6th, Thursday, November 7th, Friday, November 8th | Orientation will cover the elections process, campus elections policy, return to aid component of referenda, constructing ballot language, the petition process, campaigning, etc. |
| February 19th | Referenda, Opinion Poll, SUA Amendment Application due for review to Dean of Students. Send materials to elections@ucsc.edu | Deadline: 11:59PM |
| February 20th- March 13th, 2025 | Elections Commissioner works with various campus and UCOP stakeholders to gather feedback, questions, suggested edits, required edits. | Required edits and suggested edits will be shared with Porposed Student Fee Measure/Amendment authors and opininon poll authors no later than March 17th |
| March 17th- March 24th | Measure/amendment authors review all stakeholder feedback and make adjustments to resolve all required edits, suggested edits, feedback and questions | Final drafts due back to Elections Commissioner by March 24th |
| March 31st, 2025 | Measure amendment authors are notified if any additional edits are required and may begin the sponsorship process | |
| March 31st- April 18th |
Measure/amendment authors engaged in sponsorship process. Measure/amendment authors will meet with SFAC during this time |
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| April 18th, 2025 | Election Ballot Form and Attachments (Sponsor Confirmation) due to Dean of Students | Deadline: 5:00 PM |
| April 21st- April 23rd | Dean of Students office verifies signatures on petitions and sponsorship forms and notifies authors if they have met requirements to proceed | |
| April 24th, 2025 | Pending approval from the Dean of Students Office, referenda campaigns may begin | |
| May 5th | Voting Begins | Ballot opens 12:00am Monday, May 5th |
| May 16th, 2025 | Voting Ends | Ballot closes 11:59pm Friday, May 16th |
| After ballot closes on May 16th, all campaign materials are required to be removed. IRAPS will begin work tabulating votes to send to Chancellor for verification. | ||
| TBD | Chancellor verifies and announces results | |
| TBD | Compulsory Fee Items to UCOP President for Final Approval | |
| 30 days after election results are announced | Deadline for complaints about violations of elections |
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 2024, 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, 2024 of this election year, pending an official elections result announcement by the UCSC Chancellor.
