Candidates begin campaigning for USG elections


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Campaigning for Undergraduate Student Government elections officially began at midnight with candidates and their volunteers placing signs along Trousdale Parkway.

The three USG Presidential and Vice Presidential tickets — Mikey Geragos and Vinnie Prasad, Jared Ginsburg and Samantha Coxe, and Theo Offei and Julia Riley — also began campaigning online by launching websites.

The three USG president and vice president tickets launched individual websites as part of their campaigning. - Rachel Bracker | Daily Trojan

The websites, www.theojulia.com, www.votejaredsam.com and votemv.com, include each ticket’s platform, candidate biographies and other multimedia. Ginsburg and Coxe’s website includes an animated video explaining their platform. The website for Geragos and Prasad’s website allows voters to sign up for a mailing list.

Several senatorial candidates also placed signs on Trousdale shortly after the campaigning began at midnight.

Ten students are running for three Greek senator positions: Matthew Arkfeld, Alexander Cascante, Katherine Grabar, the slate of Bryan Linnell and David Magnuson, Amanda Martial, Max Mellman, Ryan Park, Janet Shamilian and Michael Yoshimura.

Eleven students are running for six residential senator positions: Josh DeMilta, Teja Henry, Emma Katz, Sheena Khann, Sarah Loh, Li Hsuan Lu, Jasmine McAllister, Stephanie Miller, Adeel Mohammadi, Maheen Sahoo and Sona Shah.

Adam Prohoroff is the only candidate for commuter senator, though there are three commuter senator positions.

Voting for both presidential and senatorial candidates will last from Feb. 14 to Feb. 16. On each day of voting, USG plans to have food trucks, including In-N-Out, available for students who have voted.

Elections coordinator Kelly Hahn said USG is aiming for greater participation in this year’s election. About 5,600 ballots were cast in last year’s contest.

“We have a goal in our head about how many people we’d like to see out voting,” Hahn said. “This year, my personal goal is 7,000.”

In addition to an annual debate between the presidential candidates, which is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Ronald Tutor Campus Center 450, Program Board will host a town hall meeting Feb. 13.

Unofficial election results will be announced Feb. 21, and official results will be reported the following week.

For more coverage on the 2012 USG elections, click here.