A slate is a group of people running together for political office on the same ballot, and often for the same office (in multi-member districts).

For the purposes of this entry, Slates are UC Davis school government candidates' version of political parties on Campus. While some view them as cliques, many in ASUCD recognize their purpose in providing support and assistance to candidates and senators.

Slates

Slates currently represented in the ASUCD Senate include:

  • Renaissance
  • The Olive Branch
  • Connect
  • Just "DO" it
  • Launch!
  • MOOve
  • ASPIRE

Former slates that are no longer represented in ASUCD include:

  • UNITE!
  • BEST
  • NOW
  • SMART
  • BOLD
  • L.E.A.D.
  • S.L.A.T.E.
  • Student Focus
  • GO
  • ACT
  • JAM
  • F.U.Q
  • Summit
  • BASED
  • Thrive

Previous slates are discussed in more detail in ASUCD Senate History

Slates: A Misnomer

Generally speaking, slates are coalitions of candidates who team up to campaign for an office during a single election. Political parties differ in that they have members who are not candidates for office, they field candidates in multiple elections, and they tend to vote as blocks.

 

Benefits of Running on a Slate

Slates offer a lot of benefits that running as an independent could never offer. Independents may have street cred, but slates already have an open door into many organizations. Candidates receive a lot of support from the campaign, as well as from slate partisans that would otherwise not vote for the candidate. Also, voters tend to rank members of a slate 1-3, so if a fellow candidate gets knocked out the candidates generally receives a bump in votes. The reverse is also true, if the candidate gets knocked out, running on a slate makes it more likely that somebody with similar political views as the candidate gets elected.

Slates are able to pool their campaign funds to purchase campaign materials such as shirts, hats, and flyers. Also, they often have the support of veteran campaign managers, treasurers, and volunteers.

However, although it is easy to show that candidates running on a slate tend to do better than candidates running independently, this may be wholly or partially due to slates recruiting higher quality candidates or higher quality candidates choosing to run with slates rather than any necessary advantage that being on a slate gives. It is also possible that voters who support a candidate on a slate are more likely to support other candidates on that slate.

Other information

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