Voter turnout in the current A.S. election looks to be consistent with last year’s numbers. As of Wednesday, 2,190 students — about 14 percent of the student body — had voted for next year’s A.S. Council. At that pace, at least 3,500 students will vote.
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Last year, nearly 3,700 students voted, which was about 24 percent of the student body.
A.S. Commissioner of Elections Jessica Williams said she hopes for a turnout of 25 percent to 28 percent. If current trends continue, about 25 percent of UCSD students will vote by Friday at 4 p.m., when voting ends.
Last year’s turnout was up 5 percent from the previous year, and Williams attributes this year’s relatively high turnout to the vast number of candidates running for all positions this year. For example, while Sam Shooshtary ran for vice president finance uncontested last year, five candidates are running for that position this year.
Students expressed a variety of feelings about the need to vote. Many were solely concerned about the athletic referendum, which requires at least 3,700 students to vote in order to pass, regardless of whether students vote for or against it.
“”I think it’s very helpful. Very convenient for me, and probably for every other student here,”” said Roosevelt junior John Kellar about the A.S.-sponsored voting station on Library Walk, noting that he had voted in every election while attending UCSD.
The station, consisting of 12 laptop computers leased by the A.S. Council, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and usually has open spots except during passing periods.
“”Because half the people are unaware and don’t care, I don’t think they have any right to complain if they don’t vote,”” said Revelle junior Tracy Ho. “”This is the first time [I’ve voted] for elections. I usually vote on the referendums, though.””
Anthony Bellor, a Warren senior, had not yet voted, but plans to.
“”I notice that this year they’re offering the voter pamphlets, and that’s very good, but I’d like to see a bit more of a push from A.S. to get people to vote every year,”” he said.
Other students agreed on the importance, but were apathetic to voting itself.
“”I don’t know if it’s really going to count. I mean, yeah, it’s important, but I don’t really know if I’m going to vote this quarter,”” said Revelle junior William Pascua, who has never voted in a school election.
Some students openly expressed their disdain for the school’s election process.
“”All the candidates suck,”” said Zeus Sevilla, a Revelle junior. “”I don’t think it really matters, honestly. I will vote because there’s a couple people I know who want to get elected. Honestly, though, I don’t think it really makes a difference who wins.””
Sevilla did not completely discount the importance of voting, however.
“”I vote for the student referendums, but not these kinds of elections,”” he said. “”Referendums will affect my social life, not just my wallet. That kind of matters. I feel that my opinion gets lost somewhere. When you vote for a referendum, it’s sort of like your opinion.””
Said Marshall sophomore Lindsay Hamilton: “”This year, I don’t think I really know enough about the candidates to choose a candidate. I’m just going to vote for the referendum, actually.””
“”In general, voting is important,”” said Revelle sophomore Jan Schellenberger.
However, when asked about whether voting at UCSD was important, he said, “”In general, no. I don’t plan to vote. I don’t know any of the candidates or their platforms. I voted last year because I knew some of the people who were running.””
Williams was pleased that the election was on track to meet turnout expectations, but wants to alter the bylaws to make the interface easier to use.
“”Next time we’d like to take the candidate statements off of the on-line ballot and let people refer to the paper copies, just leaving the names,”” Williams said in regard to the problems StudentLink was having with delivering the “”enormous amount of information.””
Williams added, “”I’d really encourage everyone to vote. From their personal computers at home, they can vote 24 hours a day on StudentLink.””
Voting runs until 4 p.m. Friday. Students can vote on StudentLink from any Internet-connected computer, or on Library Walk near the Price Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.