After closing registration, the candidates for Oregon State University’s 2026 student government elections have been set.
There has been an uptick in candidates from 2025, according to data provided by the Associated Students of Oregon State University Elections Committee Chair Aya Ari.
There are five presidential and vice presidential tickets this year, up from four tickets in last year’s election cycle. There are nine candidates up for the position of Student Fee Committee Chair, an increase from last year’s four.
Thirty-five undergraduate students are running for Senate positions this year, as opposed to the 20 last year. There are 19 students looking to become SFC members at-large, while only nine ran last year.
Only one section — graduate senators — has shown a decline in candidates, going from two last year to just one this year.
According to Ari, the Election Committee has been putting their energy toward in-person outreach to promote candidate registration.
“We’ve been tabling (giving out Celsius, donuts), speaking to classrooms, etc,” Ari said in an email. “Yes, we’ve sent out emails, but having the face-to-face conversation with students has been a lot (more) meaningful. And I believe that our work has been reflected with the number of candidates running this year. We’re hoping to promote ballot opening just as hard as well.”
Candidates are allowed to run for multiple positions, and many of them chose to do so.
This year, the Election Committee’s voter turnout goal is 16% of the student body, which — if reached — would match the voter percentage in 2024’s student government election.
“The plan is to definitely get more than the 8.997% from last year,” Ari said.
Ballots will open on Feb. 23, at noon, and will close on March 6, at noon.
The presidential tickets and SFC chair candidates will be participating in a debate hosted by the Election Committee and Orange Media Network on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Horizon Room.
Students are encouraged to attend in-person, though there will be a Zoom link provided before the event. According to Ari, the Election Committee is planning on having the event catered.
For more election information and to see who is running, check out the 2026 Election Committee’s webpage.
