Candidates for the student government president and vice president take their seats at the presidential debate on Feb. 23, in the Pegasus Ballroom. Students can vote starting on March 9 via myUCF.
Keyla Franklin
Three confirmed presidential tickets are battling for UCF Student Government’s top leadership positions during the 2026 Student Government presidential elections. The Charge’s 2026 Presidential Ticket Voters’ Guide is compiled of nonpartisan team reporting by Keyla Franklin, Xiomaris Legarreta, Austin Lamanna and Andrew Cherico.
The president and vice president roles serve as figureheads of the student body as a whole.
“The Executive Branch serves the students in several different ways: by hosting programs to educate and support students, representing the Student Body on University Committees, and implementing change to create a better student experience,” according to the Student Government website.
A presidential ticket debate was held late last month, giving students their first official look at their options for Student Government leadership.
“Students can expect a thoughtful and highly engaging election season this year,” said Andrew Collazo, student government supervisor of elections. “Each ticket brings unique perspectives and platform initiatives outlining how they plan to best serve and lead the student body in the coming year.”
Students filled the Pegasus Ballroom Monday night for the student government presidential ticket debate, eyes fixed on the stage as they prepa…
This semester’s election is the first in which students will utilize ranked-choice voting for the presidential election. The new system allows students to rank the tickets based on their preferences. Callazo says this allows for more illustrative results than the previous voting system.
“This new system allows students to rank candidates in order of preference, ensuring a more representative outcome,” Collazo said.
A presidential and senate candidate exposition was held on March 4 at the Key West Ballroom in the Student Union. Students were able to meet and speak with the presidential tickets and senate candidates as well.
Voting begins March 9 at 8 a.m. and ends March 11 at 5 p.m. Students can vote online via the MyUCF portal. The candidate will be chosen before the election period ends on March 25. If the regular election ends in a runoff, a runoff election will be held from March 23 to March 26, with the period officially ending April 8.
There will be tropical island-themed election freebies throughout the election period, including shirts, stickers, magnets, keychains, rubber ducks and more.
Candidate Guide
Panayiota Laliotis, junior political science major, and Athena Dieguez, junior political science major.
‘Go for gold’: Laliotis-Dieguez ticket launches campaign for student government president
Alyssa Feige, sophomore political science major, and Anna Ellis, sophomore legal studies major.
Best friends on the ballot: Feige and Ellis run for student government
Shivani Vakharia, junior political science and psychology double major, and Dwayne Jones, junior journalism major.
Student government’s Vakharia, Jones make presidential bid
As an independent media outlet, The Charge does not endorse any candidates.