ASUO election season will span two weeks this spring rather than the three originally planned after the student government pushed voting forward to prevent the elections from hurting candidates academically.
Students will now be able to vote in the primary election between March 29 and April 1.
The general election will take place between April 5 and April 8. Each vote had originally been scheduled a week later than the new dates.
Campaigning places heavy time demands on students, who often spend much of their nights and time between classes in planning sessions or meeting constituent groups.
“Current ASUO members expressed a strong favor for elections being completed before the third week of classes and midterms, in order to reduce everyone’s stress levels and maintain voter participation in the elections,” the Elections Board wrote in a press release.
However, one of the few candidates already registered to run voiced disappointment at the decision.
“We choose to run for ASUO,” vice presidential candidate Maneesh Arora said. “It’s students’ decision. We know what we’re going into. Part of this is being able to go to school and do your campaign.”
Arora said shortening the campaign will damage candidates not already involved in the ASUO because it will shorten the span in which they can find new voters not already informed about the election.
Presidential hopeful Alex McCafferty questioned that idea, however. “I don’t understand how having connections in the ASUO would give you any kind of an advantage,” he said. “The ASUO as a whole is only 200 students, and that’s a really small number when you look at the overall number throughout campus.”
McCafferty said the election would be won by the most organized campaign, regardless of its length.
OSPIRG’s campus leader, Charles Denson, said the decision to curtail the campaign will hurt his group’s efforts to regain funding through a ballot measure.
“It will mostly end up making voter turnout lower and people will be less informed,” he said.
OSPIRG will be campaigning for a ballot measure that asks students whether they want the ASUO to fund the group. No matter what the result of the vote, its decision is not binding because state law prevents the ASUO from allocating money via referendum.
Denson said his organization’s chief method is grassroots campaigning, “actually being able to talk to students about issues,” which he said the decision would hurt.
McCafferty also questioned Denson’s reasoning.
“If the campaigns are able to have a good showing and get out support in two weeks,” McCafferty said, “then OSPIRG should have the same ability.”
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Campaign season shortened for exams
Daily Emerald
March 1, 2010
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