Rutgers University Student Assembly Elections

What are RUSA elections?

RUSA elections are the time for the student body of Rutgers University to vote in the next members of the student government assembly. These are the people that are going to represent you when talking to administration about policies to better your experience here at Rutgers, so take them seriously and really get to know the candidates!

  • RUSA Election seasons start with several info sessions held around every campus. The purpose of these sessions is to get new members informed on how RUSA elections work and see if they want to join the assembly. At info sessions typically a student will find someone to help them join a ticket in the election, however, a student can run independently if they so choose. 

  • The Elections Commssion will discuss and answer questions about the timeline, and guidelines of the RUSA Election. Candidates, upon request, will be provided with RUSA’s Elections Guidelines, including the “Declaration of Intent.” You are free to drop in at any time to receive the information. If you cannot make any of the Information Sessions, please email the Elections Commission at rusa.elections@gmail.com. The Elections Commssion can send you a recorded version of one of the zoom sessions as well as share the Power Point used in the presentation. The Elections Commission will also send the quiz that needs to be taken after viewing the session.

  • After a student wants to join the assembly and run in an election, they must submit their Declaration of Intent (DOI) by a certain date specifying the position they are running for, the ticket they are on if at all, and a statement about your candidacy.

  • The main and most exciting part of the RUSA elections season is the campaigning and election period itself. During this time, you and your ticket will create flyers and go around the campuses to put them up and hand them out and use social media and work of mouth to spread the word to vote for you. Then once the election period starts, you will have 7 days to get as many votes as possible. Once the voting period ends, the results will be released by the elections committee. 

  • During this period, candidates are encouraged to actively campaign and solicit support. See the Elections Code for specific rules governing campaigning and solicitation of votes. 

  • During this period, eligible students at Rutgers University may actively vote for candidates in the elections. This period may be extended by the Elections Committee in accordance with the Elections Code. An official notice will be sent to all candidates and the student body of the open and close time of the Ballots. 

  • Preliminary results will be announced within 24 hours of the conclusion of the Elections. The deadline for certifying the results will be 10 days after the announcement of the results unless certification is delayed under the order of the Elections Appeals Committee. 

  • A very important thing to remember during an election season is budgets. If any money is spent to aid in the election for a ticket, that ticket must record every cent spent and submit it to the elections committee after the election period. Failure to do so or do so incorrectly could result in immediate disqualification. 

  • If there are any issues from the results of the elections, or complaints during any portion of the election season, an individual may write up and submit an appeal. An appeal is an official complaint explaining wrongdoings or misdemeanors committed by an individual or entire ticket in an election season. Depending on the severity of the appeal, and if the elections committee rules in favor of the writer of the appeal, an individual or ticket may be disqualified from the election. However, appeals are not some loophole to dig up dirt on an opponent in the hopes to disqualify them. They are not a spiteful weapon. Appeals are a formal and serious complaint that the elections code was violated. In life, we all take losses and we have to live them and learn from them. Do NOT write appeals lightly, it will only cause you and the appellee more stress than is needed. Appeals may be submitted at any time until the deadline, consistent with the rules and regulations of the Elections Code. Pursuant to the Elections Code, on issues concerning budgetary reports, appeals by the Elections Committee may be pursued up to two days after the budget deadline.

Election Timelines (Fall 2026)

Information Sessions

Tuesday, September 8th @ 4:00 pm (Virtual on ZOOM), Wednesday, September 9th @ 1:00 pm (Virtual on ZOOM), Thursday, September 10th @ 4:00 pm (Virtual on ZOOM), Friday, September 11th @ 12:00 pm (Virtual on ZOOM), Monday, September 14th @ 11:00 am (Virtual on ZOOM), Tuesday, September 15th @10:00 am (Virtual on ZOOM), Wednesday, September 16th @ 1:30 pm (Virtual on ZOOM), Thursday, September 17th @ 11:00 am (Virtual on ZOOM), Friday, September 18th @ 1:00 pm (Virtual on ZOOM).

Voting Period

OPEN: September 23th, 2026 at 12:00 AM

CLOSED: September 30th, 2026 @ 11:59 PM

  • Campaign Period

    Begins: September 7th, 2026 at 12:00 AM

    Ends: September 30th, 2026 at 11:59 PM

Appeals Submission Deadline

October 3rd, 2026 at 11:59 PM

Declaration of Intent Form

OPEN: September 7th, 2026 at 12:00 AM

CLOSED: September 20th, 2026 at 11:59 PM

Ticket Registration Form

  • OPEN: September 7th, 2026 at 12:00 AM

  • CLOSED: September 30th, 2026 at 11:59 PM

Appeals

All Rutgers University undergraduate students have the right to appeal any election and referendum conducted by the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA), if they believe there has been a violation of the election guidelines, or local, state, or national laws, by a candidate or a group of candidates.

  • Appeal Process

    • The student must submit a written appeal via getINVOLVED. All appeals must be filed by April 10th at 11:59 PM. Students may file any time prior to this deadline. No extensions will be allowed.

    • Appeal should be submitted via the form on getINVOLVED and must include a party being appealed against, the violations being appealed on, any substantiating evidence to back the appeal claims, and the desired outcome or recourse.

    • The RUSA Judicial Council will review and decide on all appeals. The substance of an appeal will carry more weight than the number of appeals filed on a single issue.The number of appeals filed on a single issue does not affect the outcome of that appeal.

    • The Judicial Council will first rule if an appeal has standing before considering the details of the appeal.

    • Once appeals are received, the RUSA Judicial Council will meet, review, and publish a decision on appeals. The Judicial Council reserves the right to call petitioners and respondents to an interview hearing before making a deliberation. This is a requirement for any appeals filed against individual candidates.

    • The RUSA Judicial Council Chairperson will notify both petitioner(s) and respondent(s) after a decision is made and the decision will be made public. This should happen by April 19th at the latest.

    • If you would like to appeal for multiple violations, please fill out the form one time for each violation. Only one appeal per form submission will be reviewed.

    • All rulings of the Judicial Council are final.

    Grounds for Appeal

    • Procedural error that resulted in material harm or prejudice to the petitioner (i.e. by preventing a fair, impartial, or proper election or referendum).

    • Violation of the RUSA Governing Documents, New Brunswick, New Jersey, or federal law that resulted in material harm or prejudice to the petitioner (i.e. by preventing a fair, impartial, or proper election or referendum).

    • All decisions of the Election Commission for review of the consistency of the decision with all applicable authorities on elections.

    • One may not appeal an election or referendum on the basis of outside actors interfering with an election or referendum, as RUSA holds no jurisdiction over outside groups.

    Content of Appeal

    • Any appeals must contain at least the following: a party being appealed against, the violations being appealed on, any substantiating evidence to back the appeal claims, and the desired outcome or recourse.

    • Appeals must be submitted on the form hosted on getINVOLVED. Verbal appeals or appeals submitted via email are not accepted.

    If you have any questions or require further clarification on the appeals process, please do not hesitate to contact the Appeals Court/Judicial Council by emailing rusajudicial@gmail.com.

    Appeals will only be considered if they are received via the getINVOLVED form.

FAQs

  • Elections information is posted in our instagram. You can also email rusa.elections@gmail.com with any questions about elections.

  • There are 2 elections every academic year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Fall elections are for campus and freshman representatives, as well as any unfilled seats from Spring. Spring elections are larger as they are for President, Vice President and Treasurer, as well as School and Class representatives, along with Senators. In addition, internal elections for the Executive Board happen after Spring elections.

  • A normal election has its votes come from you, the student body of Rutgers. The positions the school votes for are those mentioned above. Internal elections are elections for Executive Board positions that only voting RUSA members are able to vote for. These positions are seats such as Parliamentarian, Secretary, SAS Senate Leader, and all of the committee chair positions.

  • When running in the RUSA elections, you are running to represent a certain population at Rutgers. So, those who vote for you must fall under the category you are running torepresent for the following academic year. For example, only Rutgers Business School(RBS) students is currently enrolled in RBS the following semester can vote for RBS Representatives.