As the Student Association elections are expected to end tonight at midnight, election officials will wait to see if the minimum 10 percent of the student body casts a vote. If the 10 percent plateau is not met, elections will be extended another day.

Yet Alec Sim, chair of the Board of Elections and Membership (BEM), said he will extend voting to a fifth day if the race is too close to call. He said if the race was 55 to 45 percent, for example, he would keep polls open.

SA’s Code of Statutes for elections, however, does not include such a clause. It only states that if one-tenth of the student body has not voted, the polls will stay open for a fifth and final day.

The precedent has been for the polls to close at midnight of the fourth day, no matter how tight the race is.

Presidential candidate Marlene Goldenberg said she does not believe Sim can extend elections if 10 percent of students have already voted because it is not clearly stated in the election statutes.

‘In my opinion, if the 10 percent is reached, the polls are closed,’ Goldenberg, who formerly served as BEM chair, said.

Last year, SA did not reach the 10 percent minimum voter turnout within the four-day balloting period, forcing an extra day of elections.

‘I disagree with what Alec said,’ said Goldenberg, adding in certain situations, Sim may have some jurisdiction. She said Judicial Review Board Chair Adam Jones would be brought in to alleviate any election disputes.

Goldenberg added her members of campaign had heard ‘rumors’ about a possible extension in the case of a close race.

Larry Seivert is Goldenberg’s primary competition. He is the only student running an active and organized write-in campaign.

Seivert, former chair of the Committee on University Affairs, did not return phone calls for this story.

Despite the impending SA constitutional crisis, if Sim does extend the election despite a 10 percent turnout, both he and the candidates are optimistic about this year’s voter turnout.

SA has a new voting process on the more student-friendly MySlice.

‘This year, we shouldn’t have a problem, voting on MySlice will make everything a lot easier,’ Goldenberg said.

Sophomore Sacha C. Forgenie is the only comptroller candidate. There are no active write-in campaigns opposing her.

The need to obtain the 10 percent goal has compelled election officials and candidates to increase their campaigning efforts and promote student voting.

‘We have posters up everywhere with our ‘Vote or Rot’ slogan as well as representatives tabling in Schine Student Center Monday, Tuesday and Thursday,’ Sim said.

Goldenberg has the additional task of not only getting students to vote, but to vote for her.

‘I’ve been up at 8 a.m. putting up flyers on cars and houses, and I have attended as many student events as I can. I tried to cover a wide variety,’ Goldenberg said.

Seivert is also actively asking students for their vote but faces a difficult challenge.

Entering the race late, Seivert is considered a write-in candidate for the election and his name is not listed on the ballot. This predicament explains why his campaign flyers bear the slogan ‘Do the write thing: Write in Seivert.’

Sim assures that even though Seivert is a write-in candidate, the election process will not hurt his chances of winning.

‘Under each category, there is a spot for a write-in candidate; it’s pretty explicit,’ Sim said. ‘But if students are still having trouble, they can vote at Schine and our representatives will be there to assist them.’

All the work Sim has put into advertising the election may be in vain, as the sentiment toward the elections on campus is still not overly enthusiastic.

‘I didn’t even know there were elections going on,’ said sophomore Bill McMillan. ‘I feel like the Student Association doesn’t really affect the way things get done on campus, at least not for me anyway.’

Despite the turmoil, Sim is confident the new voting process, coupled with the efforts by both the SA and candidates, will reach its desired goal.

‘I am definitely optimistic we will reach the 10 percent,’ Sim said.

Published on January 26, 2010 at 12:00 pm