Runoff elections would validate A.S. agenda

Last winter, A.S. Council formed the Ad Hoc Task Force on Voting Systems to explore and propose a plan to improve UCSD¹s electoral process, which was a straightforward vote on StudentLink. The task force met diligently and specifically to address instant runoff elections, a system that supporters claim ensures a true majority rule

In instant runoff elections at UCSD, students would rank all candidates in order of preference. If one candidate received majority, that candidate automatically wins. If no one captures the majority, the lowest-ranked candidate would be eliminated and the votes of those who voted for that candidate count for their next-ranked candidate. The process is repeated until one candidate earns over 50 percent of the popular vote.

There are several paths to take for instant runoff elections, and changing StudentLink to accommodate this method is the most sensible choice.

An online instant runoff system is not only more convenient but less costly than the paper ballots method, in which printing and labor costs start to pile up. What seems like a confusing procees and complex change is simple alteration on StudentLink¹s webstie. A.S can either buy such source code or enlist the help of a computer science major on campus.

Since A.S. took the progressive step of forming the task force, discussions have not yeilded much action. With elections just down the road and time ticking down to take action, A.S. needs to step up and aggresively work with StudentLink to make instant runoff elections a top priority.

If A.S. slacks in taking action to change the current electoral system to instant runnoff votng, their actions in the task force have been wasted. It is time to take the next progressive step.

fill me. Fill me. Fill me.fill me. Fill me. Fill me.fill me. Fill me. Fill me.fill me. Fill me. Fill me.