The CU Independent Editor-in-Chief Greta Kerkhoff and Managing Editor Satori Griffith moderate a debate between CU student government candidates on Nov. 11, 2025. (Sagan Randall/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Boulder Student Government certified its official election results for four representative-at-large seats on Nov. 19. Incumbent candidates Sophie Hoffman and Anthony Caruso were reelected, along with newcomers Hadley Ahrens and Kai Gomeau.
The CUSG election voting took place between Nov. 3 and Nov. 14, with nine candidates on the ballot. 2,755 eligible ballots were counted, comprising 7.14% of the CU student body, a 27.5% increase from the Fall 2024 election. CUSG announced the winners of the election via Instagram on Nov. 20. Official election numbers did not vary from the preliminary results.
CUSG used a ranked choice voting system to elect representative-at-large candidates. Voters were asked to rank candidates in order of preference. Ballots were counted in rounds where the candidate with the least number of votes was eliminated. The votes they received were then distributed to the voter’s next preference.
Candidates are elected when they accumulate more than 20% of votes. Seven rounds were counted in the election. Sophomore incumbent elect, Hoffmann, was elected in the first round after receiving 25% of votes. All other candidates were elected in the seventh round. See the detailed breakdown of the election here.
Hoffmann, who is currently the CUSG treasure, emphasized her passion for student government at the CUSG election debate on Nov. 11.
“I am super passionate about the work that I have done, and I really want to continue it,” she said. “I will definitely continue representing the students, prioritizing what they want, what they need, and I would be really honored to be reelected.”
Newly elected sophomore Ahrens, is majoring in Environmental Studies and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Her election platform emphasized increased sustainability across campus.
“I’m sure that throughout the term, there’s going to be other interests that come up and other things that I’m going to be passionate about,” she said. “I’m just, I’m really excited to see where everything leads me.”
Ahrens said she will be working on legislation related to sustainability over the upcoming academic break into the next semester. One of her main interests was expanding the Swipe it Forward program.
The Swipe It Forward program allows students with meal plans to donate meals to the Basic Needs Center. Meal swipes are then given to students who may be facing food insecurity.
“I am very interested in the possibility of revamping the Swipe It Forward program to be open to a wider range of students, be open for donation during a longer period of time, and optimally including automatic donation of extra meal swipes funds at the end of weekly and monthly plans,” Ahrens wrote in an email.
Newcomer Gomeau emphasized his intent on financial transparency and improving accessibility of student services in the debate on Nov. 11. He also expressed interest in increasing student engagement with CUSG.
“I look forward to the opportunity to have open discussions with people, to really hear everyone’s concerns and address them on an individual basis,” Gomeau said.
Incumbent elect Caruso expressed excitement about serving a second term as a representative-at-large.
“I’m really stoked to be reelected,” he said. “I love to represent people and try and improve student life at Boulder.”
Caruso said that in his first term as a representative-at-large he struggled with learning how to fill the position due to a lack of oversight.
“I really want to make sure that people don’t struggle with the same things I do when I was a rep at large, which is figuring out who to contact, figuring out what to do,” he said.
As a senior at CU, Caruso’s main goal for his term is to create smoother transitions for newly elected representatives so they can “hit the ground running.”
“My big goal is to make sure that we have a consistent onboarding process to make sure that reps know how to do their job as best as possible,” Caruso said. “Make sure that when they have an idea to change student life for the better, they can accomplish and follow through.”
CUSG Representative-at-Large elect Kai Gomeau speaks at a debate hosted by the CU Independent on Nov. 11, 2025. (Sagan Randall/CU Independent)
CUSG Representative-at-Large elect Hadley Ahrens speaks at a debate hosted by the CU Independent on Nov. 11, 2025. (Sagan Randall/CU Independent)
CUSG Representative-at-Large elect Anthony Caruso speaks at a debate hosted by the CU Independent on Nov. 11, 2025. (Sagan Randall/CU Independent)
CUSG Representative-at-Large elect Sophie Hoffman speaks at a debate hosted by the CU Independent on Nov. 11, 2025. (Sagan Randall/CU Independent)
A fifth seat remains open for the Spring 2026 semester due to a change in the number of colleges within the university. The number of representatives-at-large reflects the number of colleges.
In July, the College of Communication, Media and Information merged with The Department of Environmental Design to create the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. Due to this change, there are now eight representative-at-large seats.
The Spring 2025 representative-at-large election elected three seats to be in compliance with the change, according to Jade Kelly, the CUSG faculty advisor. She explained that the CUSG Election code was amended, so four representatives are elected per semester.
“While this created greater consistency, it also resulted in one unfilled seat for this next semester that needs to be filled with a vacancy appointment,” Kelly wrote in an email.
She explained the process of filling a vacancy appointment falls to the Tri-Executives, John Masulit, Camden Sharkey and Gianna Guido. Kelly wrote they have three weeks to appoint someone but can choose not to appoint, in which the Representative Council will appoint a replacement.
“The cleanest and most constitutionally sound way to resolve that gap was to follow the existing vacancy procedure in the Constitution,” Kelly wrote. “Under that process, the Tri-Executives may appoint a Representative-at-Large, and that appointee must then be confirmed by a successful two-thirds vote of the Representative Council.”
Contact CU Independent News Editor Avery Clifton at avery.clifton@colorado.edu
Contact CU Independent Staff Photographer Sagan Randall at sagan.randall@colorado.edu
