Young Calls for Special Election To Fill Congress

The election, which Young proposed for May 1, will aim to fill the 14 open seats in Congress.

"Congress came to me concerned about the empty seats," Young said. "When there are that many holes, there are problems with representation. We need bodies there to represent all people."

Young said his executive order calling for a special election first will have to pass through Congress' Rules and Judiciary Committee. The resolution then will go for a vote before the full Congress on April 24.

Speaker of Congress Mark Townsend said it is not unusual to have so many open seats, especially with it being so early in the congressional session.

"We have names that are written in, and people find out that it's not really what they want to do," he said. "People aren't aware of how much time it entails."

Townsend said he ideally would like to see all 37 seats filled because it brings more voices to Congress. "It gives more of a sense that all parts of the University are being represented," he said.

Board of Elections Chairman Jeremy Tuchmayer said the voting process for the special election will be the same as the student body elections held in February.

Online voting will be available through Student Central from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

To be listed as a candidate on the ballot, Tuchmayer said students need to have a petition signed by 10 people who live in their district and turn the petition in to Suite C by April 24.

Otherwise, students interested in running for a seat will have to get students in their district to vote for them as a write-in candidate.

Tuchmayer said students can find out more about the open seats by asking Congress members who will be sitting in the Pit beginning Friday. "The purpose (of the Pit sit) is two-fold," he said. "We want to find out from students what their interests are and let students know about the election."

And Student Body Vice President Rudy Kleysteuber said student government will continue holding special elections until they get the congressional seats filled. "If we don't get enough people, we'll just do it every 30 days for the rest of the year."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.