Elections Board to Explain Rules

A mandatory meeting for all potential candidates in this semester's student elections will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday in Mitchell Hall.

All students interested in running for student body president, Graduate and Professional Student Federation president, Residence Hall Association president, Carolina Athletic Association president, Student Congress and senior class office are required to attend.

Board of Elections Chairman Brian Fauver said the meeting will give candidates an opportunity to meet each other and learn about new rules enacted under the Larson-Daum Campaign Reform Act of 2002.

The act, passed Nov. 12, changed the overall design of student elections.

Most notably, the new laws now require candidates to fund their campaign only with money allocated by Student Congress.

They also raised the number of signatures required for students to file a valid petition for candidacy.

Fauver said candidates also need to attend the meeting to pick up petitions and to learn about information regarding deadlines in the election calendar and forums hosted by a variety of student organizations.

"The purpose really is to get everyone convened and discuss important dates," he said.

This year's meeting also will be different from those in past years in that only the candidates and their campaign managers should attend.

Fauver said in past years, campaign workers also attended the meeting, making the group too large and unmanageable. He said this change should make the meeting run more smoothly.

"With a smaller group, candidates will be able to meet each other," he said. "And we might have time for a question-and-answer session at the end."

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