The most exciting time of the Penn State calendar year is upon us, folks. That’s right, you guessed it: UPUA election season is quickly approaching, and we have an idea of how many candidates you could see on the campaign trail.

As of last night, Head Elections Commissioner Katie Esarey confirmed that there are currently seven presidential packets signed out for the coming election along with 55 representative packets. The packets are a form of official registration to declare candidacy for the election. In addition to filling out the packet, prospective candidates must obtain signatures from students before being allowed to run.

“It’s a slight increase from previous years and we are expecting the majority of the packets that have been taken out to be returned,” Esarey said. “There is still time to take out packets to register since they aren’t due until Friday, March 7, at 5 p.m. in 324 HUB. We are looking forward to an exciting election season this year.”

Esarey added that there may be more than 55 people running for representative seats because students can run for both an executive and representative ticket without signing out two packets. Students can still take out registration packets for the rest of the week by visiting 324 HUB.

Candidates are not allowed to publicly speak about the election until after spring break, so don’t expect to hear who will make up the presidential tickets until a couple weeks from now.