Voting for fall University elections began yesterday and will continue through tomorrow night. University students can cast their ballots at www.uvavote.com.
Positions up for election include a spot on the Honor Committee for a Commerce student representative and seats on Student Council for four College students, one Engineering student and one Commerce student.
Students also can vote on a referendum asking whether they would be willing to pay $7 per semester in order for the University to use cleaner energy.
The money would be used to purchase renewable wind energy in order to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used by the University.
The renewable energy referendum was created by Students for Environmental Action and the Student Alliance for Virginia's Environment. The two organizations collected more than 1,200 signatures, well above the 900-signature minimum required for a referendum, according to University Board of Elections Chair Steve Yang.
If the referendum passes, however, it will not automatically be put into effect.
"This is basically just a way to gauge student opinion," UBE member Christopher Broom said.
But if it is passed, the organizations behind it can take it to the administration to support their cause, Broom added.
Along with the referendum, students can vote for various representatives to fill school-wide offices. But there are fewer candidates in this election than there are in the spring.
There are a total of 13 candidates running this semester, compared to around 80 last spring when nearly every position was up for election, Broom said.
This is the second official election that the UBE has officiated since the student elections process was overhauled last year.
UBE officials did some minor tweaking to the election process this fall.
"Last spring we required an interim expenditure report, which we did away with for this election because we saw that it did not give the voters any new information and was a burden for the candidates," Broom said. "We've tried to take rules and requirements out while keeping it a fair and open process."
As the UBE becomes a more permanent part of the University, it hopes to continue to facilitate elections at the University, Yang said.
"Our main goal is to conduct a fair and free election," Yang said. "We strive to make sure there is fair ballot access and all students are enfranchised."
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