Instead of a single-day sprint to the primaries, candidates in this year’s ASUO election begin a campaign marathon today that won’t end until Thursday.
Matt Swanson, office manager for the Elections Board, said he has high hopes that the extended voting period combined with computer polling will push voter turnout above the 10- to 15-percent marks of previous years.
Voting for ASUO Executive, Student Senate and other committee positions will be conducted entirely by computer via Duck Web 24 hours a day for the next four days. Duck Web voting has existed for the past two years, but this will be the first election without ballot voting or polling booths on campus.
Although the voting period is longer, the campaign itself has been shorter this year. The first elections coordinator appointed by ASUO President Jay Breslow resigned before the appointment could be approved by the senate. Swanson said that with the shorter timeline, the campaigning on campus has seemed very quiet.
But many of the candidates fighting for ASUO president and vice president said they will be more visible during the next four days, handing out fliers and talking to students on the streets.
Candidate Nilda Brooklyn said she wants to bridge the gap between members of student programs and the general student population, who might not be aware of the candidates or the issues involved.
Brooklyn’s running mate, Joy Nair, added they have a strong base of volunteers who will also help them campaign.
Eric Bailey, who is also running for Executive, said his campaign will also be more visible as he tries to gain votes.
“We’ll be out on 13th [Avenue] É wearing our shirts and handing out fliers,” presidential candidate Eric Bailey said. “We’ll just try to be available.”
Bailey said he and his running mate, Jeff Oliver, are planning other specific campaigning events for later in the week as they work to keep momentum going through a 96-hour Election Day.
“In an ideal world, we’d prefer to have more time to prepare,” Bailey said. “Campaigning for four days is pretty hard, [but] given the circumstances, four days is best.”
But candidate Bret Jacobson and his running mate, Matt Cook, both said they’re looking forward to the final push to the primary election.
“Even though it’s a strain, we love what we’re doing, and we’re going to keep going,” Jacobson said.
Cook said the pair will also revisit many student groups and make the crucial push to assure students don’t just support them, but that they also vote.
“It’s all gone very quickly, but it’s also been very educational,” Cook said.
Brooklyn said she and Nair will try to stay enthusiastic and keep morale up past Monday, so their volunteers don’t lose momentum, either. Brooklyn added that, besides the issues, the key for her campaign will be eating well and not “sugaring out.”
“The key words: Excitement and protein,” Brooklyn said.
The top two candidates in each race on the ballot will advance to the general election March 5-8. But a candidate or ticket can win outright if it garners more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary.