Florida A&M University’s fall elections were scheduled to take place this week, but they have been postponed for one week.
The postponement was announced Thursday, one day after campaigns got underway.
The announcement confused and disappointed some who were looking to enjoy the first fully in-person campaign period since the start of the pandemic.
These elections are set to be one for the record books, with a total of 26 freshmen running for eight senate seats. Numbers like this haven’t been seen since 2018, when there was a record total of 45 candidates running for the eight positions.
“Some students spent a lot of time, money, and preparation on this week just for it to be postponed,” Lovely Eveque, a freshman senator candidate, said. “On the other hand, it gave some candidates, like myself, to get a glimpse of how I want my week to go. I feel like the postponement was definitely in my favor and I feel like it will help me prepare better.”
The frustration is clearly evident, leaving some students wanting answers on how this situation came about.
“In all honesty, I view this as a blessing in disguise,” Jeffery Francis, another freshman senator candidate, said. “After learning that it would only be postponed for a week I was relieved, and now this will allow me to have a bit more time in planning so I can have a successful campaign.”
The Student Senate had an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the ongoing issue with the Electoral Commission. The senate decided to postpone the election for one week in order to clear any issues and miscommunication that may arise.
The senate was able to come to an agreement with the new election schedule, with the first day of declaration beginning Sept. 22, followed by the actual campaigning period beginning Sept. 28 and ending on Oct. 4. The election will take place Oct. 5.
The Student Government Association was unable to provide a comment at this time.