Senate Passes Bill for Candidacy Signature Tracker
Undergraduate Senate Bill 193 would create a tracker in the UNC Board of Elections so prospective candidates can monitor electronic petition signatures.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Elections
The UNC Undergraduate Senate passed Senate Bill 193 on October 27 to establish a candidacy signature tracker within the UNC Board of Elections. The tracker would monitor electronic petition signatures, which applicants currently cannot see without emailing the board for an update.
Why it matters
Prospective student government candidates need 50 signatures to qualify, and the bill aims to give applicants more transparency so fewer are disqualified. The change could also increase the number of candidates in Chapel Hill campus elections.
Candidates must gather 50 signatures, and 53 people received ballot petitions in the spring general election. The board has not determined how the tracker will be built or staffed.
The players
UNC Board of Elections
The university body that oversees student government elections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and will implement the signature tracker.
Sophia Gibson
An undergraduate student who cosponsored Senate Bill 193 after a friend was disqualified for lacking visible signature counts.
The details
Applicants currently collect signatures through a printed form or an electronic link, and printed signatures are imported into an Excel sheet by the deadline. Staffing concerns have prevented the board from running a similar tracker in the past, and a board member expects a web portal requiring daily or possibly real-time updates.
Timeline
Oct. 27: Undergraduate Senate passes Senate Bill 193.
Spring general election: 53 people are issued ballot petitions.
Fall 2026 Undergraduate General Election: candidate training is outlined in three stages.
Season Trajectory
Senate Bill 193 builds on the existing 50-signature threshold that determines which students reach the ballot in student government races. It would change how that threshold is tracked by replacing emailed status requests with a visible tracker.
Prospective candidates would be able to see their electronic signature counts without emailing the board for updates. Fewer applicants may be disqualified for lacking visible progress toward the 50-signature requirement.
The takeaway
Greater visibility into petition progress could make candidacy requirements easier to meet for students running in campus elections. The bill's success will depend on how the Board of Elections staffs and builds the tracker.
Further reading
For more on how student government races are decided, see Elections coverage in Chapel Hill.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Daily Tar Heel.
