Elections to fill seven Student Association senate seat vacancies created by resignations last semester, and a referendum concerning a security phone system will take place this week.

Senate elections will be held today and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Founders Memorial Library, the Pow Wow cafeteria, and DuSable Hall. A proposed poll location in Cole Hall was eliminated due to the size of the election and it was thought the manpower to staff a poll there would be a waste, Elections Commissioner Rob Perry said.

An SA constitutional bylaw limits voting for special elections, run-off elections and all referenda to only one day, therefore the campus-wide security phone referendum will be held today only from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Senatorial candidates met with Perry Monday evening and discussed election procedures and regulations. Perry said he told candidates the “dos and don’ts” of election policy and went over rules covered in the SA bylaws.

“I’m very pleased with the questions they (the candidates) asked,” Perry said. “They seem very interested. I think the quality of candidates is excellent.”

SA Vice President Gregg Bliss said he will hold a mandatory training seminar for newly-elected senators prior to the SA meeting Sunday. Bliss said the meeting is optional for returning senators, but it would be an opportunity for them to refamiliarize themselves with procedures.

All but one of the senate candidates submitting petitions attended the meeting. Perry said there is not a clause in the SA constitution making Monday’s meeting mandatory so he can not take a name off the ballot because a candidate was absent.

owever, Perry said he would like to see such a provision in the future because the meeting benefits both the candidates and the senate.

Perry said he hopes voter turnout will be large in this week’s election, and added that not needing a class schedule will encourage students to vote. He said the schedule requirement had deterred potential voters in previous elections because not many students carry their schedules with them.

Perry was able to change voter requirements because according to SA bylaws, the Elections Commissioner can determine additional, if any, requirements to prove residency and/or student registration.