ASB changes election format to reflect real world

Olivia LeganStaff WriterThe next ASB election will stay true to the democratic process: students will flock to the South Gym to vote for their representatives in booths.“The way we used to hold elections was obviously not reflective of a democracy. If you want to vote then you go and vote rather than people coming to your home,” ASB President Azia Calderhead said. “We hope to change that; students will now take the initiative and go to the polls on Election Day. This change will make it easier to keep track of how many students are voting.”The ballots will remain anonymous, but the system will be more organized. According to Calderhead, Election Day will be run the way ASB’s blood drives are carried out. Teachers can elect to have their classes go to the South Gym to vote, or students can ask their teachers individually for a pass. When students come to vote, five working seniors will cross their names off a list so one student cannot vote twice. Poll booths will be set up, where voters will privately circle their choice and turn it in on the way out.“Last year we had some discrepancies involving the legitimacy of the vote for ASB President. The candidates were upset by the fact that they didn’t feel it was a complete democratic appointment. This year, I didn’t want to deal with anyone complaining so I decided we were going to try a new type of voting,” ASB Commissioner of Elections Leilah Franklin said. “We’re going to see how this goes.”Some concerns may be raised about students’ initiative to go vote on their own.“[The turnout] could be a problem this year because, even though it’s going to be open all day, I’m not sure that all students are going to go down there and vote,” last year’s Commissioner of Elections, senior Omar Martin, said. “Not everyone is willing to take time out of his or her day to vote.”Another alteration to the new policy is all students can vote for representatives of all grades. In the previous policy, freshmen were told to only vote for freshmen, sophomores for sophomores and so on. However, the ballots sent to homerooms had all candidates on it so there was no way of telling if students were following the regulations. If there were two votes on one ballot — say, if someone voted for a junior and a senior — then those votes were disqualified.“Overall, if you want to vote, you can vote. It is less up to the candidates to campaign,” Franklin said. “We really want to see true candidate participation and rallying for their votes, not just a popularity contest — which of course it will always be, but we’re trying to get rid of that mentality.”Yet there is some dispute over whether this change in elections will diminish the popularity factor or elevate it.“It’s always been a popularity vote. I think [it will be] more so this year because we’re not going to see if students are in the house that they are voting for — people are more able to vote for their friends,” Martin said. “I think that last year, the ballots made it less about popularity.”Franklin believes that no matter what, this system is sure to be an improvement from the Homecoming elections. The voting was held during lunch.“Last time turned out to be a little bit messy, less than what I’d wanted to see, and candidates were upset,” Franklin said.There will be three weeks of campaigning, one during spring break. The actual Election Day will be held after live speeches from the candidates.olegan@thesamohi.com