Voting polls for electing executive positions in the Associated Students Union will be open Thursday to May 11 through students’ Insite Portal emails, and at polling stations outside AA-109 in between the Bookstore and the Applied Arts Building.

“The ASU table will be encouraging students to become senators. You have to be a senator if you want to run for an executive position for the next election (spring 2017). The application period for this semester is over,” ASU Vice President of Club Affairs Safi Ward-Davis said. “But we need to attract students who maybe don’t want to run and get students who are interested in joining. We need to increase the membership of the ASU Board.”

Contra Costa College students will be able to cast their votes for ASU executive positions at the polling stations until May 11, except on Fridays because “there are not a lot of students around,” Student Activity Coordinator Erika Greene said.

“All students can vote online,” she said. “So there is no excuse for not voting. (Greene) will send out a constant contact email so everyone should receive an email to vote.”

Greene said students who are not on campus can access the ballot by signing into their Insite Portal email even after the prescribed deadline.

“We may possibly extend the voting until (May 12),” she said. “There won’t be a physical laptop station, but I will probably leave the online survey monkey (ballot) open until noon.”

ASU Elections Chairperson Jun Chen said that the polling station in front of the ASU Office will be open all day, and the other location in the plaza will be polling students for at least an hour in the morning and afternoon. Chen said on May 10 and 11 the tables will be open two hours for night students.

As of press time Tuesday, the ballot consists of Ward-Davis for president, ASU Senator Francis Sanson for director of public relations, ASU Senator Addy Brien for the position of activities coordinator and Ryan Villareal is the incumbent for parliamentarian position.

According to the Associated Student Union Election Code candidates must be a current ASU Board member in good standing. The candidates also must be enrolled in five units and intend to enroll next semester. A cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher is required as well as being a student in good standing with the college and not on academic probation.

All candidates are running unopposed due to the ASU’s small staff of eight members during the application period that closed Thursday, Greene said. Chen and ASU Director of Public Relations Richa Dahal will be transferring to universities in the fall semester.

Chen said students with questions are welcome to attend today’s ASU meeting in AA-103 from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. to ask the candidates questions and let the ASU know what it should do to benefit students.

Ward-Davis said training for senators, representatives and executive positions and meetings will take place over the summer so the fall semester can begin smoothly.