The student senate will consider a bill altering the timeline of Student Government elections, pushing voting until later in the spring semester.
Under the proposal, which will be formally introduced for debate at the senate's Sept. 6 meeting, voting would take place two weeks before spring break rather than the current three weeks. "Regular" elections would still end after two days of voting, but runoff elections would last just one day. Candidates' filing deadline would be five weeks before spring break rather than the current seven weeks.
Additionally, SG inauguration ceremonies would be held four to five weeks after election day. Currently, incoming executives and senators must be inaugurated the Wednesday following spring break.
The bill's proposed election code changes were developed by Student Body President Ross Lordo in coordination with elections commissioner Erin Brown and Vice President Dani Goodreau. The issue was officially brought to the attention of senate leadership in a letter from Lordo sent Aug. 1.
"So often, we fail to challenge the status quo. We accept things that we have routinely done in the past as the best way to do it," Lordo wrote. "I call on each of you to undertake this to better the way we represent our student body."
In the past, Lordo has connected the issue of the election timeline to his push to get a student vote on the Board of Trustees. He argues that the proposed changes would give a president-elect more time to transition into the role, making them more qualified to be a voting member of the Board.
Under the proposed changes, "a President-Elect [would] attend the last Board of Trustees meeting of the outgoing Student Body President to meet various Trustees, get acclimated to the environment, and be prepared as soon as it is their turn to sit at the table and represent students," Lordo wrote. According to Lordo's letter, his first Board of Trustees meeting as the student's representative was just two days after his inauguration.
His request also argues that changing the timeline would better align USC's elections with those of other SEC schools' student governments.
"After attending the SEC Exchange with my counterparts across the conference," Lordo wrote, "we had a great deal of discussion around mirroring the dates of our terms to further utilize the coalition of schools in pursuing collective initiatives."
The Student Senate will take up the bill at Wednesday's meeting and is expected to vote on its passage on Sept. 13.