Undergraduate students rejected $87 in referendum fees, approved changes to the Undergraduate Students Association Council constitution and chose new officers in the 2026 USAC election.
From 31,803 eligible voters, 3,205 ballots were cast – a 10.1% turnout, said Syed Tamim Ahmad, USA Elections Board chair, who announced the results at a Friday event outside Kerckhoff Hall. Last year, 8,980 ballots were cast out of 31,848 eligible voters – more than a 5,000-vote difference.
Three referendums that sought to increase student fees – the Bruin Bash, Bruin Life and Undergraduate Experience and Student Success Referendums – all failed due to low turnout. Referendums adjusting student fees require both a majority of voters to approve the measure and 20% or more of eligible voters to vote in the referendum, according to USA Election Code.
The Bruin Bash referendum would have increased funding for the annual welcome week concert. The Student Success referendum would have established a $55 quarterly fee to fund diversity initiatives on campus, and the BLUE referendum would have established a $27 quarterly fee funding Associated Students UCLA programming.
Jayha Buhs Jackson, a current USAC general representative, will serve as the council’s next president. Buhs Jackson did not attend the announcement event.
Buhs Jackson, a second-year African American studies and public affairs student, secured 62% of the undergraduate vote, with Siddharth Munjal, a third-year economics student, gaining the second-largest share at 38%. The USA Judicial Board on Wednesday shortened a total campaigning ban Munjal received from the elections board to about 36 hours, though it upheld the board’s findings that a person who filed complaints against other campaigns was an agent of Munjal’s campaign.
[Related: Total campaign ban for USAC presidential candidate lifted despite violations]
Gabrielle Trujillo, a second-year history and public affairs student, won the council’s internal vice presidency with 56% of the vote. Trujillo also did not attend the event.
Trujillo’s win came after the USA Judicial Board upheld an Elections Board decision barring her from campaigning for the rest of the election period following multiple social media and technology policy violations.
[Related: USA Judicial Board confirms IVP candidate cannot campaign]
Agrin Khatami, Trujillo’s opponent, earned 44% of the vote. The elections board also barred Khatami from campaigning for the rest of the election cycle Tuesday for adding emojis to a reposted endorsement story, which the board said created new campaign material that required approval.
Cecilia Choy won the council’s external vice presidency with 59% of the vote. Choy, a third-year English, labor studies and political science student said she is excited to advocate for students to the UCLA administration, educate students about voting and increase basic needs resources.
Choy added that she will continue the external vice president office’s efforts to lobby in support of Assembly Constitutional Amendment 18 – a proposed constitutional amendment that would add an additional voting seat for students on the UC Board of Regents. She said she also hopes to advocate for funding for retention programs – which aim to uplift students from underrepresented backgrounds – amid campuswide budget cuts.
“It was a pretty hard race, and so I’m really excited, really grateful for my team,” Choy said. “The work isn’t finished though going into this term knowing we have an administration that doesn’t serve us as well.”
Evan Salazar, Pranaya Vijay and Susie Turner were elected as the council’s three general representatives.
Turner, a second-year African American studies and public affairs student, won her race after being reinstated Thursday evening by the USA Judicial Board. The elections board disqualified Turner on Tuesday for exceeding the board’s $200 personal-spending campaign expenditure limit by $8.20, but the judicial board overturned the decision due to ambiguity in the elections code over if her use of a private resource should go toward the monetary threshold.
However, the judicial board said that Turner could not campaign.
Turner said she felt grateful for community members who supported her campaign, adding that she is excited to advocate for a more connected campus environment.
“I expected the obstacles, but I guess the baddest prevailed, and that’s really what it is,” Turner said. “It’s just perseverance.”
Turner added that she hopes to stay true to her campaign platforms by building more partnerships with student organizations and helping students feel safer and more at home at UCLA.
Ashley Ma was elected transfer student representative in the closest race of the election cycle. The third-year labor studies student won by three votes, receiving 818 votes, or 50.1%. Runner-up Diana Raya Pérez received 815 votes, or 49.9%.
Corea Kim was elected financial support commissioner with 54% of the vote. The third-year economics student said she was honored by the students who supported her campaign and is looking forward to increasing financial transparency and supporting student organizations.
Seven of the winning candidates ran unopposed in their races.
Undergraduate students also passed amendments to the USAC constitution that removed redundancies and eliminated contradictions, according to the results. The adjustments did not require a 20% voter turnout as they did not seek to change student fees.
Constitutional amendments require approval from two-thirds of voters, and more than 10% of all eligible student voters must participate in the election.
[Related: USAC 2026-27 constitutional amendments debate]
View the full list of results below.
USAC election winners:
President: Jayha Buhs Jackson
Internal vice president: Gabrielle Trujillo
External vice president: Cecilia Choy
General representative 1: Evan Salazar
General representative 2: Pranaya Vijay
General representative 3: Susie Turner
Academic Affairs commissioner: Angela Ledesma-Grattarola
Campus Event commissioner: Salem Walsh
Community Service commissioner: Maya Gheewala
Cultural Affairs commissioner: Divine Trewick
Facilities commissioner: Paige Zwerner
Financial Supports commissioner: Corea Kim
Student Wellness commissioner: Daniela Castro
Transfer student representative: Ashley Ma
International student representative: Charbel Chehade
Referendums:
BLUE: Bruin Life & Undergraduate Experience Fee Referendum: Failed to Pass
Bruin Bash Referendum: Failed to Pass
#StudentSuccess Fee Referendum: Failed to Pass
Parliamentary Adjustments to the Constitution: Passed
