Carlos Castañeda/THE RIDER
Student Government Association Elections organized a mandatory candidate meeting where students seeking to run for office attended with the purpose of discussing the election guidelines for the 2026-2027 period.
If a candidate did not attend, it could result in the name being excluded from the ballot. The meetings took place March 3 in the Main Building on the Brownsville campus, March 4 in the Student Union on the Edinburg campus and March 7 online.
“Students that are running for office, I really commend them for wanting to be student leaders of our university,” said Ray Ruiz, an SGA adviser.
SGA candidate campaigns begin today.
During the March 4 meeting, Ruiz spoke about SGA’s function and duties at UTRGV and explained to candidates what is allowed and what is not during the campaign period.
Among these responsibilities, candidates cannot impede the flow of pedestrian traffic nor be less than 25 feet away from polling places or any computer lab. Furthermore, they must provide the elections committee a detailed list of all people working in the campaign.
Candidates must also submit all of their campaign material for the committee’s approval and submit at least one poster, which cannot contain UTRGV or SGA paraphernalia.
By April 12, candidates must present the committee a campaign expense report, which cannot exceed $500.
Miranda Barajas, a political science junior who is running for senator for the College of Liberal Arts, said she decided to run after listening to some concerns from her peers.
“I think I have the drive to be able to hear those concerns and, then, have solutions for them,” Barajas said. “And I think with SGA, it was the clear option for me to choose.”
Carlos Castañeda/THE RIDER
Carlos Castañeda/THE RIDER
She encouraged students to give the SGA a shot and to participate in their student government’s elections.
Delma Olivarez, associate dean for the Center for Student Involvement at UTRGV, encouraged candidates to conduct their campaigns to increase voter turnout numbers.
“Last year was the highest … it was like 9.3%,” Olivarez said. “… We need help increasing voter turnout; we need young, Latino voters to even vote in their campus elections, you know. It’s important. It directly impacts y’all … because you have people that, you know, are representing your specific college or … the campus you go to.”
According to Ruiz, all UTRGV students are eligible to participate in the elections, except School of Medicine students, School of Podiatric Medicine students and high school students enrolled at UTRGV through dual enrollment.
“[For] students that are voting, I would really encourage all of the entire UTRGV student body that is eligible to vote to vote because who they elect is really important because they serve the collective means of the student body,” he said.
The “Meet the Candidates” event will take place at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Main Building courtyard on the Brownsville campus and noon Thursday in the Student Union east patio on the Edinburg campus.
The Executive Candidate Forum will take place at noon April 2 in the PlainsCapital Bank Theater on the Edinburg campus.
The SGA elections will take place from April 6 to 9. Students will receive an electronic ballot through their university email. However, they can also vote in the polling places during election days from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union on both campuses.
Carlos Castañeda/THE RIDER
