From the ballot to the BOT: How UNC's Student Body President is elected to office

On Feb. 11, UNC students will have the opportunity to cast a ballot for their next student body president.

In 1921, students passed a referendum to add the position of student body president to Student Government. Since then, a student body president has been elected each spring to represent the student body in the upcoming academic year.

“The role is definitely to advocate for the diverse interests of all 32,000 students that come to Carolina,” current President Jaleah Taylor said. 

Former Student Body President Reeves Moseley was elected in 2020. He said the student body president is the only student who sits on the Board of Trustees, Student Fee Advisory Council and other committees that work directly with University administration. 

“So at the end of the day, the student body president is just kind of the representative of student interest to the administration and in the community beyond,” Moseley said.

To file a valid petition with the UNC Board of Elections and have their name appear on the ballot, student body president candidates must obtain at least 1,200 student signatures. At least 300 of those must be from undergraduates and another 300 from graduate and professional students. 

The UNC Student Body constitution does not state any regulations on student body president candidates’ year or grade point average. Traditionally, the student body president stands in the position for their senior year. All students are eligible to vote for the position.

The UNC Graduate and Professional Student Government has their own executive branch with a separate president. If a graduate student were to be elected student body president, there would be a separate undergraduate president. Regardless, the student body president is the highest ranking member of the student government in the UNC community. 

Traditionally, candidates share details about their platforms to help the community understand their policies. Taylor said it can be difficult for student body president candidates to represent the interests of all students in their policies.

“There's definitely going to be times where you know you're missing someone, or you're missing a certain interest," she said. "It's a really hard thing to do, to make sure that you have all of the ideas of every single student.”

Early voting will take place Feb. 8 through Feb. 10, 5 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Government Suite, found in Room 3109 of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union.

Voters can cast electronic ballots through Heel Life or physical ballots in the Student Government Suite from Feb. 11 to Feb. 12, 5 p.m. to 5 p.m.

In 2023, 14.43 percent of eligible voters cast a student body president ballot. In 2024, that number was cut in half at 7.22 percent. 

Taylor said the drop in voter turnout may have been due to the 2024 election taking place on Valentine’s Day, or that voting occurred the day after a well-being day. This year’s election is also scheduled the day immediately after a well-being day.

Moseley said students may not turn out to vote because they believe the student government does not have much power.

“Even I was skeptical coming into UNC and joining student government, that this is just a placeholder title, or student government positions, you don't really do that much just because you don't carry as much weight as you would like to. But that's really not true at the end of the day,” he said.

While serving his term, Moseley said he voted with the BOT on the issues including policy to lift the moratorium on renaming campus buildings and the hiring of men’s basketball head coach Hubert Davis. 

First-year student Florence Walton said one reason students may not vote is due to a lack of information. 

“No one really informs about when, or where or how to actually vote in the election,” she said.

UNC’s Board of Elections sent an email with notice of the election to all UNC students on Jan. 16, with no further direct communication at the time of publication.

“I haven't heard anything from emails or any announcements,” first-year Bailey Heston said.

The ballot for student body president will also include the elections for the offices of president of Carolina Athletic Association, president of Residence Hall Association, president and vice president of the rising senior class and positions in the Undergraduate Senate.

“Students should go vote, and they should get involved in student government,” Taylor said.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story listed election day as only Feb. 11.

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