The Associated Students of Whitworth University (ASWU) elections already passed, with ASWU actively urging students to vote for their new student government. Grace Johnson, ASWU’s vice president, outlined the way in which elections work for Whitworth. 

Elections are run by the vice president in both fall and spring semesters after a timeline is confirmed by the executive committee. During the application window, students can apply to campaign for an ASWU position. Students in ASWU are selected for the Student Election Committee to ensure that the entire process of “elections run smoothly,” said Johnson.

After the application window, the ASWU vice president and Todd Sandberg, the ASWU advisor, approved candidates through pre-screening involving a list of requirements that the candidates must meet. These requirements include being a full-time Whitworth student with a cumulative GPA of 2.5. Students also must have minimal outside commitments, especially those that conflict with training, weekly meetings, the GE-330 class time and responsibilities. Students are also evaluated for various personality traits that elevate their ability to do their jobs.  

Once the pre-screening is done, campaigns begin before the elections. During this time “[candidates] are allowed to post, put up and hand out different material to help their race,” said Johnson. Once campaigns are done, voting occurs the following day and candidates are placed into an online voting survey.