With the highest turnout in three years and just one officially acknowledged violation of the election codes, this year’s Student Association elections were unusually smooth, according to SA officials.

About 17 percent of the student body turned out to vote, compared with the 11 to 12 percent that normally take part in SA elections, according to Jessie Cordova, the Board of Elections and Membership chairwoman. She said the increase in student interest was because of the referendum vote on naming the student section in the Carrier Dome – which students voted should be christened The Juice Box – and the intensity of the presidential race.

‘I think that’s really attributed to who the candidates were, and they brought in a lot of people,’ Cordova said. ‘It was the kind of controversy that actually started getting students who wouldn’t normally think about the SA elections thinking about them.’

Record attendance at the debates convinced many SA members that the races – especially the presidential one between Travis Mason and Jonny Umansky – would be extremely close, Cordova said, adding that she thought it was going to come down to a couple hundred votes.

‘It was getting that close, and I was getting kind of worried, because if it’s close enough, it leaves you thinking,’ Cordova said.

Voting also got an early start in this year’s election, reaching the required 10 percent threshold to count on the first day, Cordova said.

‘Jessie and the other members of SA were really impressed with the turnout on Monday,’ said Travis Mason, the SA vice president and president-elect. ‘It was exciting from our side, as a member of SA.’

In some past elections, members had to wait until the final hours to know if the results would be valid.

‘I’m happy with the way it went, just because the voting system was perfect,’ Cordova said. ‘There were no flaws with the voting system, as far as the voting process went and obtaining the results.’

This year’s race was also remarkably clean.

‘I really took time this year to include extra material and emphasize specific things that (candidates) are usually confused about,’ Cordova said. ‘I made sure I made that crystal clear.’

Revisions to the election code in preparation for the race also cleaned up language that Cordova said was ‘ambiguous,’ and had tripped up candidates in the past, specifically with regard to where and how fliers could be placed during Election Week.

Because on-campus computers are considered polling stations, mass e-mail campaigns, instant messenger endorsements and other electronic ways of appealing to voters are against the election codes during Election Week, as well.

‘Jessie tried really hard to specify the codes more,’ said President Drew Lederman. ‘There was less opportunity to take advantage of them.’

Mason agreed that the race was fairly clean, but said he and his staff noticed some misconduct.

‘Overall, I think it was a clean race,’ Mason said. ‘You still had people who are trying to make sure I didn’t get into office, but we remained silent about it and we ran a good campaign.’

Umansky, who ran for president, also noticed some irregularities in the race, but didn’t think it was unusual.

‘Of course there are going to be bumps along the road,’ Umansky said. ‘But when the students’ voice is heard, that’s the most important thing; we need to look for the best SA and the best SU.’

Published on November 11, 2004 at 12:00 pm