Elections Committee Election Night

The Elections Committee makes sure that the campus-wide elections, which are held during Spring quarter, follow A.S. campus regulations and are fair to everyone involved.

The committees’ dedication paid off and resulted in an election that went smoothly, with a minimum of conflict.

Candidates’ Forum: Hannah Yen

Their work included managing the A.S. candidates forums (photos click here) and the excitement of election night (photos click here). The Elections Committee did an admirable job on both accounts.

Although ultimately successful, it was in some ways a challenging year. Shortly before the election, A.S. President Harrison Weber vetoed changes in the elections code enacted by Legislative Council. The veto came at the deadline for enacting changes, which meant Leg Council had to reopen the debate after the deadline. At issue was a provision of the code that prevented elected officials from endorsing or otherwise publicly supporting specific candidates. Weber felt that this provision prevented free speech. Ultimately, he prevailed and the code was amended to allow currently serving elected officials to endorse specific candidates.

Election Night L to R: Aaron Jones, Sean Lieberman, Harrison Weber, Chloe Stryker, Jose Raygoza

As in past years, the committee and A.S. support staff, including Ruth Garcia Guevara, Aaron Jones, and Sean Lieberman did an excellent job of working across the campus to coordinate both the A.S. and campus-wide elections.

This year’s ballot included affirmations of existing lock-in fees. It also included 3 major ballot items, capital funding for a new Student Engagement Center, a Finance Board lock-in that would provide more funds to keep up with the ever-expanding range of campus groups applying for A.S. funding and to fund other student centered services, and a College Bound Initiative to substantially increase funds for student initiated recruitment and retention.

Election results can be found by clicking here.

Election Night: Hannah Yen

Election Night: L to R Hannah Yen and Courtney Axner

Photos of election night can also be found by clicking here.