Some senator and campus council representative positions are for the taking as Student Government’s (SG) midterm elections commence.

Campaigning began Saturday and will end Oct. 12, according to the USF elections overview. Students will be able to vote Oct. 11-12.

There are seven available Senate seats for the Tampa campus, three for St. Pete and one for Sarasota-Manatee, according to SG Supervisor of Elections Laura Shaw. For campus council, there are four available seats for Tampa, three for St. Pete and two for Sarasota-Manatee.

Applications for both positions opened Aug. 22 and ended Sept. 16, followed by an approval process by the SG Advising Offices that ended Friday, according to the USF elections overview.

The Tampa campus acquired 52 Senate and 31 campus council applications, while St. Pete got five Senate and six campus council applications, according to Shaw. Sarasota-Manatee got two Senate and five campus council applications.

Each position requires candidates to have at least a 2.5 GPA and be enrolled for at least six credit hours if they are an undergraduate student, according to Shaw. Graduate candidates are required to have at least a 3.0 GPA and be enrolled in four credit hours. Students must not have any past disciplinary issues, suspensions or expulsions.

Candidates were required to attend at least one candidate information session on either Sept. 20 or Sept. 23, according to Shaw. These sessions covered Title VII in the SG statutes and other information on the rules of campaigning.

Shaw said an example of a major violation would be if a candidate, who is also a USF employee, campaigned during their work shift.

Tampa campus voters will be able to meet the candidates Oct. 5 from noon to 2 p.m. during Bulls Market outside of the Marshall Student Center amphitheater, according to Shaw. She said she is also currently planning a similar event for the St. Pete campus.

Each campus will have specific polling stations where students can scan a QR code, input their student ID number and cast their vote. The station will be at the MSC for the Tampa campus, the main breezeway at St. Pete and the main rotunda at Sarasota-Manatee.

Students will only be allowed to vote for the candidates on their own campus. This is because part of the student Activity and Service fee is distributed by SG senators, which means they help determine the events that happen on each campus.