In an effort to increase voter turnout, student government elections are coming nearly a month sooner this year with polls opening April 8.

Rebecca Stogner, sociology junior and student government president, said, “The elections have been changed from May to April so that it doesn’t conflict with students finals or studying for finals. It is at a time when students can better focus on the election and decide for themselves who they want to vote for without having testing on their minds.”

This is not the only change made with the election process this year; measures have been taken to prevent campaign violations and other problems from the past from occurring.

“Rebecca has been working very hard to make sure that the election runs smoothly without any violations,”said David Joseph, marketing senior and student government secretary. “She has gone over the bylaws with each candidate in depth to make sure they fully understand the rules of campaigning.”

This emphasizing of the rules has been done to prevent campaign violations such as those that happened last year in regards to proxy voting. To further prevent this, the current SGA officers, who are not running for re-election, will man voting stations in the student center where students can conveniently vote for the candidate of their choice.

Joseph said, “This on-the-spot voting was part of my strategy last year, and I believe it is part of the reason for the increase of voters last year. I think having voting stations in a high traffic area like the Clark Student Center is going to increase the number of students voting this year.”

Both Stogner and Joseph said they have high hopes for this year’s elections.

“When I ran for SGA president last year I was unopposed for most of the election allowing me to relax, since not having any competition meant I had already won; I am happy to see three candidates for president this year. This means they will have to compete the entire time and it gives the voters a choice,” Stogner said.

Joseph said, “I strongly believe in the democratic system. Nobody should just automatically win; that isn’t fair to the voters. I encourage students to run for SGA to add diversity and give voters a choice.

SGA officers will be announcing voting times via social media letting students know when the polls open each day of the campaign, which ends April 12.

Presidential candidates and their plans for change

Election process isn’t the only thing changing this year in student government, No current officers are running for re-election. In addition to new officers being elected, all three presidential candidates have plans for change and improvement.

The candidates have each given their three biggest goals and changes they hope to make if they are elected, and reasons why they are confident about their chances in the election.

Jesse Brown

“I have the ability to revolutionize SGA through my experience, my knowledge, and my connections with the administration, and deans,” said Jesse Brown, criminal justice junior, SGA presidential candidate, and student regent on the board of regents.

Brown is the student representative on the highest governing body at Midwestern, a position appointed to him by the Texas governor Rick Perry. While in this position, he has made changes in vending and dining services to the university; this includes card readers on vending machines, and the addition of a Chick-fil-a, Einstein Bros Bagels, and Starbucks coming soon to campus.

“Even though I have never held an SGA position, I have served the student body through being student regent, and have more than enough experience from that to lead the student body and better SGA,” Brown said.

His goals if elected president are:

1. Expand SGA influence and power on campus by strengthening the SGA’s voice, “In order to get what we want, we will have to assert ourselves against the administration, they will walk all over us and push their agenda on the SGA if we let them. I don’t want that to happen, I want students to have a say in how things are run around here,” Brown said.

2. Reform student government meetings by making them more productive and formal, “It may seem like a small step in revolutionizing SGA, but I believe that changing the meeting structure will help get things done and making things run more smoothly,” Brown said.

3. Let the SGA senators be the ones to bring issues forward, “I don’t have an agenda to push, being in a fraternity will not come before student government. I want to listen to any problem or issue that is brought forward to me by senators and other students, I want to make this university a better place for everyone,” Brown said.

Julia Brady

“It seems to most I am the darkhorse candidate in this election, I am not as well known in SGA as either of my competitors, but I am just as qualified to be president. My experience comes from my position as Panhellenic vice president, and my knowledge of law and government being a political science major. I want SGA to diversify and I am the first step towards diversity being a new candidate.” Said Julia Brady, political science junior, presidential candidate, and panhellenic vice president.

In addition to being Panhellenic vice president, Brady has held leadership positions in Chi Omega as well as is a peer counselor on campus.

Her goals if elected president are:

1. Grow school spirit, “Our school spirit is high around football season, but attendance is low at other events, and the Stang Gang has been asked to leave games before for being too wild trying to show spirit. I want all of our students to display pride in our university year round, school spirit and pride help with retention rates because students want a school they can be proud of. We need a solid foundation of spirit,” Brady said.

2. Solidify the SGA voice, “Student government holds a lot more power that is rarely used. We need a better voice on campus, student government is weak now and this will help. We should also be more approachable to students so they can bring their issues to us,” Brady said.

3. “I want to diversify, I don’t want the same people holding positions year after year, and I want diversity in student government. I want diversity in the form of new students who haven’t held an SGA office before, and diversity of students from all backgrounds.” Brady said.

Marco Torres

“I feel that I am qualified to be SGA president because of my current position in SGA, I am the senior class senator, and I am also the chair of the Campus Culture Committee. I see my non greek status as an advantage over my competitors since I will have more time to devote towards SGA,” said Torres.

As Campus Culture chair, Marco’s organization has revolutionized the bus routes, making new weekend routes and getting new busses.

His goals if elected president are:

1. “I want to get SGA up to constitution standards, I want the committees to each only have one senator on them, this leaves more spots open for regular students to join in and have a voice,” Torres said.

2. “I want to hold administration accountable to the student body. This means SGA needs to be stronger and not let our voice be lost in what administration wants from us, we should instead be listening to what the students want to meet their needs,” Torres said.

3. “I want to meet with the largest organizations on campus bi-monthly, that includes CSO, ASO, IFC, Panhellenic, and Multicutrual greek. In an attempt to break down the barriers of these organizations so that they can better work together with each other, and communicate more effectively with SGA.” Torres said.