Every fall semester, freshmen and transfer students campaign for the Student Government first-year representative position. With a 3.8% increase in voters from 2024, this year’s election marks the highest voter turnout rate since 2019.
The first-year representative represents all freshmen and transfer students. Candidates had a week to campaign until voting began on Sept. 24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sept. 29, the 2025 Election Supervisory Board announced business freshman Ford Myers and civics honors freshman Tanishka Chawla as this school year’s first-year representatives.
“As a first-year representative, I have the opportunity to be a voice for our class,” Chawla said. “This can be through planning events that reflect what students actually want or writing legislation that supports positive change on campus.”
While there was an uptick in turnout, this year did not measure up to the 2017 First-Year Election voter turnout rate of 49.2%. According to the Office of the Dean of Students, this is due to a University-wide referendum added to the Sept. 27, 2017, ballot to restore the historic UT vs. Texas A&M University rivalry, which had not occurred since A&M left the Big 12 Conference for the Southeastern Conference in 2012.
Due to the presence of this referendum on the ballot, voter turnout among first-year students saw a significant increase in 2017, with a slow decrease in turnout in 2018 and 2019 before COVID-19 caused a dip. During the immediate post-COVID-19 lockdown years, the decrease in voter turnout continued, as it dropped to 4.3% in 2022, the lowest rate in the past decade.
Despite this overall growth, there is still a disparity between the number of first-year students enrolled and the number of ballots cast. Theatre and dance freshman Sydney Tate noted the lack of information the election provided about the candidates and their respective roles in SG.
“I did not hear anything about the candidates,” said Tate. “I did not know who was running. … I feel like there should be a bit more information about when (the First-Year Election is) happening, who is running and a bit more press about it.”
Political communications freshman Zoe Moreno noted the importance of voting, even though this election may not be seen as important.
“(This election) is a direct tie between me and my representatives as to what my needs or wants are at UT that aren’t being met to contribute to my and my peers’ success,” Moreno said.
However, Moreno noticed the short nine-hour voting period and the effects it could have on First-Year Election voter turnout rates.
“I wish the voting was a little more accessible in that sense to where (if) someone’s time didn’t align with that schedule, then they could still get their voice heard and vote,” Moreno said.