As the term begins and the University springs back to life, the freshly tanned student population will return only to be caught off guard by an event of premiere importance that flies below most of the school’s radar — the imminent ASUO elections.
The first round begins only a week from Wednesday with the primary elections leaving voters, who often return on the eve of new classes or even midway through the first week, woefully uninformed and unaware of the candidates.
We appreciate the hard work the Elections board does each year to inform and aid potential candidates, but setting the primary election for April 6 hardly seems in “the best interests of the student body,” as the ASUO Green Tape Notebook specifies. The Emerald aspires to provide the best coverage, yet the scheduling of elections soon after the break severely limits the availability of candidates and drastically lowers the visibility of the election.
ASUO rules stipulate the board has from
Feb. 1 until April 30 to complete regular elections and sadly, every single year the Elections Board gets it wrong — apparently stabbing blindly at their desk calendars without regard to the importance of the dates they have selected. Last year’s proposed election date twice coincided with the Law School’s Dead Week, and this year’s date is almost equally inappropriate.
The board cannot be faulted for weak candidates, simplistic campaigns or apathetic constituents, but considering the static nature of spring break, its poor planning and lack of consideration of students’ needs does deserve some blame. If this year is any repeat of previous low-turnout ASUO elections, steps should be taken in the future to strategically plan an appropriate date for elections.

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