This page contains all general resource documents made available by the Election Commission. If you have a question, or cannot find a document that you believe should be located here, please contact the Election Commissioner at tamuelection@gmail.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I am eligible to run for a given position? All eligibility requirements are published to election.tamu.edu/candidates/eligibility. If eligibility requirements are not yet posted for a position that you are interested in, please contact their respective organization representative.
What positions are being elected this Fall? The class president for the class of 2027, and Student Senators for the positions outlined on the “Spring 2024 Elections” page will be elected.
How do I start planning my campaign? As you brainstorm creative ideas to introduce yourself and convey your campaign platform to the tens of thousands of students at Texas A&M, you should be mindful of the regulations in place that help ensure that the election environment is safe, secure, and fair for all parties involved. Please thoroughly read the current Election Regulations, published towards the top of this webpage. In the context of campaigning, careful attention should be paid to Article IV. Campaigning, Article V. Restrictions, and Article VI. Violations, but other portions of the Election Regulations are likely to be relevant as well. In addition to familiarizing yourself with the Election Regulations, you must complete the following steps to officially become a candidate:
- File your candidacy when the filing period opens. Filing instructions will be posted to this website, the Election Commission’s Instagram (@tamuelection) and Facebook (Texas A&M University Election Commission), and detailed in multiple bulk emails to the student body.
- Attend the Mandatory Candidates’ Meeting.
When can I begin campaigning? Article IV. Section I. Subsection (a) of the Election Regulations states that “A candidate may not campaign until the time and dates specified by the Election Commission and these regulations.” For the Spring 2024 elections, campaigning of any kind cannot take place until the pre-campaigning period begins on Sunday, February 18th. During this period, some campaigning activities are strictly prohibited. Please review subsection (c) of article IV. section I. to understand what activities are allowed during pre-campaigning. All general campaigning activities can begin on Monday, September 18th, at the start of the general campaigning period. A summary of guidelines relevant to general campaigning can be found in subsection (d) of article IV. section I.
Where can I find a list of all of the important dates and deadlines during the election process? Great question! A full table of dates is prepared on the “Spring 2024 Elections” page. Please screenshot this and save it in a place that you can quickly and easily reference – you won’t want to miss anything big! Leading up to the start of elections, please check this table frequently as some logistics information will be updated and minor details may change.
Can I plan a “raffle” to help advertise my campaign and encourage students to vote? While the Election Regulations do not prohibit any giveaway-type activity, students need to be aware of the legality of a raffle per Texas state law and the Student Organization Finance Center Instructional Guide. “Raffles” are strictly prohibited in this context per Texas State Law, but giveaways can be conducted if the process follows certain procedures. Contacting the Student Organization Finance Center, or reaching out to the Student Organization Development Administration who oversees many student organization activities, can each be good first-steps in determining whether your specific vision is possible to execute.
Can I run a joint campaign with my friend(s)? Candidates are welcome to endorse each other’s campaigns and encourage voters to vote for both themselves and other candidates running in the election. There is no official declaration required for candidates to campaign together or endorse one another, but any shared materials (bearing the name of more than one candidate) must be expensed at full cost by each candidate. The Election Regulations state: “Any campaign material bearing the name of more than one (1) candidate must be expensed in full at actual cost or fair market value, depending on the appropriate circumstance, by each candidate named.” For more information regarding the expensing of campaign materials, please review Articles VII. and VIII. of the Election Regulations.
How much does it cost to campaign? The amount of money that a student spends on a campaign is completely up to them! While the Election Regulations do set strict budgets for major and minor race campaigns, it is not required that a student spend their entire budget, or any at all for that matter. Major race candidates, which include Student Body President and Yell Leaders, have a $1,500 budget, while minor race candidates, which are all other positions, have a $300 budget. Please reference Article VII. Finance, and Article VIII. Auditing of the Election Regulations for important information regarding the recording of expenditures, and adherence to a budget, during elections.
How do I know exactly which items to expense from my campaign? As stated in the Election Regulations, “Items that have been used in campaigning in any way or have been purchased with the intent to use in any way unless it is an unused campaign item purchased before the mandatory candidates’ meeting, shall be considered necessary for expensing and such items shall be included in audit procedures. (c) Items to be expensed shall include, but not be limited to, items that fit the following criteria: (1) The item meets the description of campaign material as defined in Article IV Section III Subsection a. (2) The item cannot be accessed for free by the regular student.” Article IV Section III Subsection a defines campaign material as: “anything distributed or displayed for the purpose of soliciting votes for a candidate.” Common items that require expensing include, but are not limited to: fliers, t-shirts, art supplies critical to the construction of campaign materials, sheets, PVC pipe, and other related materials used for bannering, personalized buttons, and social media ads.
When can I begin contacting student organizations to speak as a candidate at their meetings? Article V. Section III. Subsection (a). Sub-subsection (3) states: “Candidates may begin contacting organizations via email to request to speak at their meeting beginning two weeks prior to the Mandatory Candidates’ Meeting.”
What are the consequences for not adhering to the Election Regulations? Please see Article VI. Violations of the Election Regulations, where the different tiers of violations are defined and their application during the election is discussed. Most often, candidates are assessed a fine for violating aspects of the Election Regulations, and disqualification is assessed in “cases where the violation can be confidently determined to undermine the free, fair, and safe nature of the election, or the candidate has committed an act which prevents them from maintaining qualification as a candidate within the current election.”