Sept. 29 marks the first day of voting for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) freshman class council elections. 17 candidates are running for five spots on the 2029 class council.
Fall elections are the first of three election cycles that USG holds throughout the year, and the only cycle reserved exclusively for appointing first-year student council members. Later cycles in the winter and the spring include the appointment of council members to specific roles and the election of members from all classes.
The voting process for the fall cycle uses an online ballot format that allows members of the Class of 2029 to vote for as many of the 17 candidates as they support. Voting will close at noon on Oct. 1.
The road to the election for prospective candidates began with a mandatory rules meeting held by the USG election manager. The rules are outlined in an official election guide made available by the USG to all members of the Class of 2029, including a consolidated rulebook, official rulebook, and election calendar.
“The rules are fair, and they’re pretty loose. I wouldn’t say there’s anything hyper-restrictive,” said Emi Ren ’29, one of the candidates, in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “I think the only thing some people might say is restrictive is the $50 spending limit [on campaigning], but that’s a pretty healthy amount.”
“The great part is that [USG] does reimburse us for whatever we spend on our campaign,” candidate Amy Zhou ’29 told the ‘Prince.’
Notably, freshman candidates are required to gather 25 signatures from other students in the Class of 2029 to appear on the ballot, but are restricted from gathering more than 38 signatures.
Additionally, there are numerous prohibitions on campaigning before USG’s officially designated period, including early campaigning in the form of publishing media or information about a campaign, making announcements about a campaign, canvassing, or communicating with multiple people at once about a campaign before the first day of campaigning.
The elections rulebook additionally stipulates that “disqualification can occur as a result of violating serious election rules, such as defamation, bribery, and intimidation.” Disqualification can also come in response to accruing 50 “penalty points” from repeated rule violations, while accumulating 25 penalty points results in being prohibited from campaigning electronically.
The primary methods of student campaigning have been via Instagram, posting physical posters around campus, and meeting students in person.
“I spent a lot of time in the dining halls, meeting people one-on-one and trying to learn about them. I also [changed] my Instagram account to make it directed toward my campaign,” said Luanna Huang ’29. “I also reposted other candidates’ posts that aligned with my beliefs.”
“One Instagram Reel I posted [for my campaign] was a parody of the song ‘2 Days Into College.’ I rewrote the lyrics to fit Princeton and my experience here,” said Lumina Zhang ’29.
Candidates are required to include a disclaimer on their promotional material, such as Instagram posts or group chat messages, communicating that any viewers who feel the campaign may be violating election rules can email USG with their complaint.
On Oct. 7, after all votes have been tallied, a USG welcome dinner will be held to celebrate the elected candidates’ victories.
David Estrada is a News contributor for the 'Prince'. He is from Los Angeles, Calif., and can be reached at de8214@princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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