SG general election tickets confirmed

Candidates for the spring Student Government (SG) general election have been approved for campaigning, according to SGATO Director Gary Manka. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/JUSTIN SEECHARAN

Candidates for the spring 2023 Student Government (SG) senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential tickets have been cleared as of Sunday for all campuses, according to SGATO Director Gary Manka.

Three presidential tickets are in the running for the Tampa campus, including junior Cesar Esmeraldi, sophomore Manik Jindal and junior Sebastian Solano. The sole St. Pete campus candidate will be senior Nathan Poinsette. 

Concurrent Tampa vice presidential candidates include senior Taeler Bell, junior Jessica Malanga, freshman Subhankar Parashar and junior Elizabeth Volmy. No others are listed for the St. Pete or Sarasota-Manatee campuses, according to the memo. 

Other available positions are governor, lieutenant governor and senatorial seats. The Tampa campus currently has one gubernatorial candidate, senior Gustavo Storck, and one prospect for lieutenant governor, sophomore Maria del Real. 

There will only be one ticket running for governor-lieutenant governor at both the Sarasota-Manatee and St. Pete campuses, including sophomore gubernatorial candidate Alexandra Lopez and senior lieutenant governor prospect Bethsagesna Thalon at the Sarasota-Manatee campus. The St. Pete ticket lists junior gubernatorial candidate Abdul Muqueet Khawaja and junior lieutenant governor applicant Taylor Herman.

The number of senatorial seats available for election on each campus will be 60 for Tampa, eight for Sarasota-Manatee and five for St. Pete, according to the memo. 

Once they receive their verification email, candidates can start campaigning in accordance with the consolidated SG Title 7 Statutes, according to the SG Elections website. Those running are also required to follow chalking guidelines, such as those sectioning off campaign advertisements solely in front of the Marshall Student Center (MSC) on the Tampa campus. 

Town hall meetings for each of the candidates will be held on the Tampa and St. Pete campuses on Monday and Thursday, according to the SG Instagram page. St. Pete candidates will be available to speak on Monday  from 11 a.m to 1 p.m in front of the USC lawn. Those on the Tampa campus will be free from 12-1 p.m. on Thursday in the MSC Amphitheater. 

A presidential debate will be held on Feb. 22 beginning at 6 p.m. in MSC 2500. It is unknown if it will be live streamed.

Campaigning for the SG general election will commence Monday for all branches and finish March 2. Voting will begin Feb. 27 and also end March 2. 

The SG Elections website added that those running will not be able to begin campaigning until receiving verification from the SG Elections Rules Commission or Advising Office.