The Associated Students of Madison (ASM), the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s official student government, is holding elections for more than 30 Student Council seats, committee members and referendums this week.
Each spring, UW-Madison students vote on 33 Student Council seats, with the most seats up for grabs within the College of Letters and Science. Voting opened on Monday, March 10 at 8 a.m. and concludes Wednesday, March 12 at 5 p.m.
ASM’s Student Council is responsible for exercising legislative powers and duties of shared governance through student advocacy by reviewing and recommending changes to campus policy.
In the Spring elections, colleges including the Schools of Business, Education, Engineering and Human Ecology have open seats with candidates running for these positions. The College of Letters and Science has 12 seats open, with more than 52 candidates running for these positions.
The Graduate School, Special Students and Professional Student committees will also run elections for new members. A full list of candidates is available on the ASM website.
Additionally, five seats are on the ballot for the Student Services Finance Committee (SSFC), which is the allocations branch of ASM that oversees the distribution of over $50 million in segregated fees. SSFC provides substantial funding (typically $20,000 and upward) to organizations that provide a non-academic but educational service to the UW-Madison student body, including Badger Catholic and PAVE.
Unlike local elections for positions in Madison and Dane County, any UW-Madison student who is actively enrolled at the time of the ASM elections is permitted to vote. There are no registration, citizenship or residency requirements for the ASM student elections.
Students vote for Student Council representatives based on the respective college school they are enrolled in. For example, students in the College of Engineering vote for candidates within their college. However, every UW-Madison student is eligible to vote for SSFC seats.
UW-Madison students can also vote on a set of five non-binding referendums which would influence changes in student life and academic expectations, including proposals for ASM to suggest that UHS increases funding to hire more mental health care professionals, an initiative to install lighting on Lakeshore Path and a request to ensure passing periods between classes are at least 20 minutes long. Referendum #5 proposes a new Canvas course to inform students about sustainability-based initiatives and education on campus.
Additionally, Referendum #2 proposes giving ASM bond authority to UW-Madison, which at this time it is not granted. Bond authority would allow the group to borrow money for investments in student housing, and the referendum would recognize the student housing crisis in Madison.
UW-Madison students can fill out their Spring 2025 online ballot at https://asm.uwsc.wisc.edu.
