Editor’s Note: Although one of the winners is a current State Hornet staffer, The State Hornet does not endorse any candidates in ASI elections.
Results for the Associated Students, Inc. election were announced after a two-day voting period on Thursday.
The elected student positions on the ASI board consist of the president, four vice presidents and nine directors. Total student voter turnout was 3,821 out of the 29,422 total eligible student voters, which is a 13% voter turnout, according to ASI Associate Director Harbir Atwal.
Presidential Ticket
Current ASI President Nataly Andrade-Dominguez ran unopposed and won reelection alongside her new running mate Executive Vice President Gabriel Conejo Gallegos.
“It feels amazing to have the support of the students,” Andrade-Dominguez said. “It is such a beautiful experience, knowing that they believe in our leadership and what we’ve been able to accomplish and continue to accomplish.”
Andrade-Dominguez listed their top three goals as improving basic needs for students, mental health resources and financial accessibility.
Conejo Gallegos said he is excited to accomplish those goals.
“Just excited to work on our priorities for the next year,” Conejo Gallegos said. “We have a bright future ahead of us.“
RELATED: FAQ: 2024 ASI student government elections
Vice President of University Affairs
Sabrina Charleston won the election to represent the student body as vice president of university affairs after running against Armando Julian Perez.
“I feel absolutely amazing because of the changes I want to start doing,” Charleston said. “I’m trying to find the words to explain how I really feel inside. But just know, out of this world, honestly.”
After winning, Charleston said that with her newfound position, she will push to encourage more multicultural interactions on campus.
Vice President of Academic Affairs
Jenn Galinato, who is a current staffer for The State Hornet, won the position of vice president of Academic Affairs unopposed.
Galinato said one of her goals is to include students and families with mixed immigration status in discussions on fees and financial aid more often.
“Mixed family statuses often get left behind and not talked about when we are filling out FAFSA,” Galinato said. ”We need to ensure these students are just as included in the conversation about college affordability, the total cost of college and the ability to attend college.”
Director of Education
Faith Vodak was elected as director of education after running unopposed. Vodak also said that running for office has been a liberating experience.
“I’m so excited to be put in this position and get the opportunity to impact people and make changes,” Vodak said. “I’m the first blind person to be a part of the board.”
Director of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
The candidate Noor, as she was listed on the ballot and voter information guide, won the election as director of natural sciences and mathematics after running against Lizbeth Rodriguez and Zainab Ghani.
In Noor’s candidate statement she said, she plans to prioritize student networking and mental health.
Director of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies
Colin Kemp won the race for the position of director of social sciences and interdisciplinary studies after running unopposed.
“I’ve lived in Sacramento for the past 20 years, and I love the city,” Kemp said. “I want to do anything I can to help it grow.”
Other Results
Other position winners include: Djuan McCraney as director of Arts and Letters, Henna Batool as director of engineering and computer science, Wasim Hamdani as vice president of Finance, Hafsa Abrahemkhel as director of Business and Hisham Hussain as director of Graduate Studies.
Hussain won the position after initially running against Rosa Colin Vasquez before she withdrew from the race on March 26.
President of the Allied Students for Justice Korey Jones endorsed three candidates: Hamdani, McCraney and Galinato alongside his club. Jones was excited to see a Black male elected to the board, something he said he had not seen in his time at Sac State.
Jones said he would also like to increase student interest in ASI, both to run and increase voter turnout in future elections.
“We definitely need to offer a little more incentives into running for ASI,” Jones said. “Maybe more promotion of it, if not a lot of students know about this. Add it into orientation so there’s more discussion about it.”
Two director positions had no candidates; director of Undeclared Students and director of Health and Human Services, both of which will remain vacant.
Atwal said that any vacant positions aside from ASI president can be filled through a search committee that consists of the president and two other board members.
Additional reporting by Daniel Gonzales.
