Student Association Announces Results of Election

Published Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Samuel Lund was elected Student Association President for 2023-24

Last week the Student Association held a campus-wide election, in which all students were able to participate. The purpose of this election was to determine who would be serving in the Student Association next academic year as an executive member or a senator. The polls opened on Monday, April 17 and closed Wednesday, April 19.

Before the results of this election are stated, there were a few unique circumstances with this election compared to recent past elections. Namely, most of our executive positions saw multiple candidates running for the same position. This is something that has not been seen since before the pandemic. This election also resulted in an amount of engagement that is not typical for our past elections with roughly 450 unique votes.

Results:

President: Three candidates applied for President. The candidate who received the most votes was Samuel Lund with 57.5% of the vote in the race. This year, Sam is the current Vice President and was recently voted to receive the award for Distinguished Leadership in the Student Association.

Vice President: Two candidates applied for Vice President. The candidate with the most votes was Ratsamee Lee with 52.1% of the vote. Ratsamee has served as a Senator and Chair of the Student Affairs committee for the Student Association this year.

Treasurer: Two candidates applied for Treasurer. The candidate with the most votes was Sebastian Tilton with 53.4% of the vote. Sebastian does not have any previous experience with the Student Association but was elected to the Treasurer position for RHA as well.

PR (Public Relations) Coordinator: One candidate applied for PR Coordinator. The candidate was Elora Olson with 94.7% of the vote. Elora became a Senator this spring semester and, as evidenced by the uncontested election, is a rising star in the Student Association.

ACE (Appeals, Conduct, and Elections) Coordinator: Two candidates applied for ACE Coordinator. The candidate with the most votes was Hermione Armendariz with 64% of the vote. Hermione became a Senator in the fall of this academic year being remembered for vocality and the unorthodox way the position was earned.

Senators: There were six candidates that applied for senator positions. Each of the candidates received a large enough margin of the votes to be elected to the positions. Candidates Joseph Anderson and Savanna Busch, current senators and chairing the Finance & Special Issues and the Communications & Internal Affairs Committees respectfully, have been reelected. The four new senators are Brock Ward, Avery Anakkala, Shane Rogers, and Cassy Herding. Additionally, there were two write-in candidates who received enough votes to be elected for positions, Patrick Cassidy and Edmond Taye.

President: Samuel Lund, Marshall, MN

Vice-President: Ratsamee Lee, St. Paul, MN

Treasurer: Sebastian Tilton, Minnetrista, MN

PR Coordinator: Elora Olson, Victoria, MN

ACE Coordinator: Hermione Armendariz, Odessa, TX

Senators: Joseph Anderson, Springfield, MN; Savanna Busch, Williamsburg, IA; Brock Ward, Appleton, WI; Avery Anakkala, Brainerd, MN; Shane Rogers, Storden, MN; Cassy Herding, Harrisburg, SD; Patrick Cassidy, Rosemount, MN; and Edmond Taye, Brooklyn Center, MN.

Thank you to all the students who participated in this year’s election, and congratulations to next year’s Student Association Executive Members and Senators!

Note: Ashton Ayres (Ortonville, MN) Student Association President for the 2022-23 academic year contributed to this release.