For the first time in UCSD electoral history, a majority of campus-wide student government positions are uncontested.
This year’s uncontested positions include vice president external, commissioner of academic affairs, commissioner of athletics, commissioner of communications, commissioner of programming, commissioner of diversity affairs, commissioner of student services, commissioner of enterprise operations and commissioner of student advocacy. This is nine of 12 A.S. Council positions — in other words, two-thirds of next year’s A.S. Council has already been chosen, provided that none of these candidates gets disqualified or withdraws from the race.
This is not intended to pass judgment on the quality of the candidates running unopposed for A.S. office; undoubtedly, many of them will do fine jobs next year in their guaranteed positions and it’s entirely possible that all of them will be the greatest A.S. Council members ever. But that this unprecedented electoral situation is bad for students should go without saying. Democracy without choice among candidates is not democracy at all — it’s a joke. Furthermore, this situation could very well lead to voters staying away from the polls, which would be a disappointment after last year’s relatively impressive 27 percent turnout.
Irony is also apparent here. In a year when the council’s most heated debate was on the issue of whether commissioners should be elected by students or appointed by the A.S. president, seven commissioners have essentially appointed themselves. In a year when one of the council’s most ambitious projects was the exploration and installation of a new voting system for campus elections, the vote is irrelevant in nine of the 12 races.
The Guardian encourages students to pay attention to the competitive races for president, vice president internal, vice president finance, and the many college senator and college council positions across campus. And to everyone who may be considering running for office next year — please do.