Potential candidates for the Student Association Senate met with board of elections officials Tuesday to discuss what is required for the upcoming election.

Students are required to attend one of two informational meetings. The first was held Tuesday; the second will be 7 p.m. today in the Holmes Student Center’s Lincoln Room.

Interested candidates need to sign up for election packets that contain SA rules and regulations, which were further discussed at the meeting.

Campus-wide elections for the senate will be Sept. 28 and 29. Polling places will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at HSC, Founder’s Memorial Library and DuSable Hall. NIU One Cards are required to cast votes.

SA is the student government on campus, which acts upon student requests, interacts with the university administration and advocates student positions on university committees, SA senate speaker Andrew Nelms said.

Senators represent more than 200 organizations on campus, SA senator Rahman Lakhani, who is running for re-election said.

There are eight representatives for each of the five districts on campus, said Nick Pappanduros, SA director of Academic Affairs. Elections will be based on a popular vote.

All fee-paying, full-time students with a minimum of 12 credit hours for undergraduates and nine hours for graduate students are eligible to hold office, Pappanduros said. Candidates who are not elected for senate may later be appointed in a future meeting.

The senate, the legislative branch of the SA, plans to meet 21 times this year. Meetings will be at 6 p.m on Sundays in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of HSC, Nelms said. Senators serve on various committees and are actively involved in the university community.

In past years, the senate has approved things such as the SA Book Exchange, petitions urging the university to lessen use of student social security numbers. The SA also controls the Huskie Bus Line, Nelms said.

The senate distributes all student activity fees – amounting to about $1.4 million last year – toward eligible student organizations, Nelms said.

Allison Thompson, SA director of Public Affairs, said the next SA major event will be the Organizational Expo, which is generally held in mid-September between Grant and Stevenson Towers.