As the winter 2026 semester begins at Eastern Michigan University, a new student government election is on the horizon. The roles of president, vice president and senator will all be on the ballot since the entire leadership team will be ending their current terms as dictated by the Student Government constitution and bylaws.
As the Student Government constitution outlines, "Student Government is an independent, student run organization established to further Eastern Michigan University students' rights while working with the university. Student Government is a service organization intended to serve the needs of the Student Body."
The Student Government budget allocated by the university for the 2026 fiscal year is $150,000, according to an email from Leigh Greden, who serves as one of two co-advisers to Student Government. Greden, who is also the chief of staff for EMU President James Smith, said the budget is based on each year's student enrollment.
Kevin Williams, EMU's director of access and opportunity programming, serves alongside Greden as the other Student Government co-adviser.
According to the Student Government bylaws, "All currently registered students shall be eligible to cast one (1) vote" in student government elections. In the 2025 election, 644 votes were cast, according to election results published on the Student Government website.
The structure of student government has varied since the creation of the Student Senate in 1914. Currently, it consists of an executive branch that includes a president and vice president and a legislative branch with slots for one senator for every 1,000 students enrolled during the fall semester preceding the election, according to the Student Government constitution. Up to five delegates may also be appointed by the Senate to serve in the legislative branch to represent various constituencies. In addition to the full Senate, the legislative branch also consists of three committees made up of various senators: Internal Affairs, Business and Finance, and Student Services.
Student Government elections are administered by an election commission consisting of an election commissioner, five students and a student government advisor. The senate voted Nov. 4, 2025, to appoint Director of Internal Affairs Max Butler as the 2026 election commissioner.
In a Dec. 9, 2025, email, Butler said he would be receiving additional training for the position in January. The student government bylaws, available on EagleSync, allow any student in good academic and judicial standing to serve in one of the five student slots on the election commission, with the exception of candidates running in the corresponding election.
One of the election commissioner's roles is setting election dates.
Student Government President Jack Booth said the timeline for the 2026 election will be uploaded by the commissioner to the election website by Feb. 1, 2026, as required in the constitution.
While the official timeline has yet to be released, its structure is outlined in the Student Government bylaws as follows.
| Event | Date | Notes |
| Verbal campaigning | "Shall be allowed at any time" | "'Verbal Campaigning' is defined as any spoken campaigning" |
| Electronic campaigning begins | "The first day of the Winter Semester" | "'Electronic Campaigning' is defined as utilizing email, texts, websites, or social media" |
| Candidate applications are made available online | No later than 21 calendar days before active campaigning begins | "Candidates may collect signatures sooner, if desired. By this date, the Election Commissioner shall also post the number of Senate seats available in the election" |
| Deadline for candidates to submit applications and petition signatures to election commissioner Max Butler | "Seven (7) calendar days before active campaigning begins at 5:00 pm" | |
| Candidate meeting | No later than three calendar days before active campaigning begins | "In the event of an executive write-in candidate, a second candidate meeting shall take place no later than five (5) calendar days before voting begins." |
| Active campaigning begins | "May not begin until thirty (30) calendar days before voting begins" | "'Active Campaigning' is defined as campaigning utilizing printed materials and/or written materials" |
| "Deadline for candidates to submit applications to run as a write-in candidate" | "No later than ten (10) calendar days before voting begins" | Write-in candidates must receive at least 50 votes to be elected to the senate. |
| Presidential/Vice Presidential Candidate Forum(s) | "No later than seven (7) calendar days before voting begins" | At least one debate is required to be held. |
| "A certified list of candidates and referenda shall be published" | "No later than three (3) calendar days before the election" | |
| "Deadline for all candidates to submit campaign finance receipts to the Election Commissioner." | "5pm the day before voting begins" | |
| Voting begins | The last consecutive Wednesday of March, no later than 8 a.m. | |
| Voting Ends | On the last consecutive Thursday of March, no sooner than 8 p.m. | |
| Deadline to file a grievance against a candidate | 48 hours after voting ends | |
| Candidate spending reports released | "No later than fourteen (14) calendar days following the election" |
In addition to submitting an application, students who wish to run for office must attend one Senate meeting and turn in a required number of signatures from currently registered students. The signature threshold is 300 for presidential and vice-presidential candidates and 50 for senatorial candidates. Candidate names and tickets will be randomized on the ballot for all positions. Election results are counted by the student government adviser and the election commissioner, who is also responsible for ratifying the election results.
The governing documents also allow for constitutional amendments and referenda to be placed on the ballot, if requirements outlined in the governing documents are met. The bylaws say that referenda may be added "to gauge the opinion of the Student Body on an issue or advocate a change in Student Government policy." Additional guidelines and requirements regarding the election are available under chapter six of the current student government bylaws.
The EMU Student Government offices are in Room 342 of the Student Center. The Student Government can be reached by email at emu_studentgovt@emich.edu or by phone at 734-487-1470.
