To understand A.S. elections, you have to realize that 16 single-spaced pages of strict election rules regulate the entire process. The reason why every piece of campaign material includes the phrase “Vote on TritonLink 4/8 – 4/12” is because the rules stipulate that this must be so. A slip-up and violation of election bylaws may result in a rival slate filing a “grievance” with the election manager. Since grievances have been used in the past to disqualify competition from the election, slates try to follow election rules to a T.
Slate building starts every year by fall quarter. Slates are built from the top down, usually by presidential candidates who first recruit core executives and campaign managers. They evaluate names, colors and messages for particular constituencies. Then begins the task of recruiting senators to fill out the many positions on the slate.
By this time, rumors about who’s running spread wider than the water leaking out of the King Triton statue. This leads to interesting partnerships. Competing presidential candidates may work together for their mutual benefit. For example, they may share rumors about who else is running, agree to not run certain vice presidential candidates against each other or vet messages with which to jointly attack other slates. By winter, each slate has notified and mobilized the networks of campus communities that they will rely on to back their candidacies. On Thursday of Week Nine, open campaigning is permitted, and the election is officially underway.
Campaigning itself isn’t easy. Imagine deciding that you want to serve a civic duty to the student body and then trying to explain that to students who otherwise DGAF. A successful bid for council presupposes that candidates previously held key distinguishing positions, lucked out with a flattering picture on the ballot and successfully tapped into campus community networks from meetings with student leaders and strategic appearances. With only 22 to 27 percent voter turnout, every vote counts.
A major downside to A.S. Council elections is the mudslinging. Candidates invariably demonize their opposition. This year, for example, nearly every slate has used the council stipend debate to paint One Voice as haters who want to exclude underprivileged Tritons from council. But executive candidates should be fighting misleading stereotypes, not publicly encouraging them. After elections, candidates who ran against one another will need to forge common ground to work effectively together in council. Assuming that one’s colleagues don’t have the student body’s best intentions at heart is a bad basis for council to operate.
Slate building for the next election isn’t too far off. Yet history has shown that hoping for a civil ASUCSD election is mere wishful thinking.
