After months of campaigns, informational forums, and social media marketing students are at the polls.
The Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) elections kicked off on Tuesday with a Ballot Bash outside the Kennel Bookstore. Polling stations were set up with laptops for students to cast their votes while a Dutch Bros drink truck parked nearby to increase voter participation.
Destiny Armendariz, the elections commissioner for ASI, tabled alongside her team and Student Involvement, encouraging students to vote.
“I think it’s important because you want to know who is going to represent your school, you want to know who is going to be your president,” Armendariz said. “It’s really important to know who is going to help you advocate for better student life on campus.”
Students could vote at the polls or through digital ballots sent via email until Thursday at noon. Each ballot provides a brief informative message of each candidate.
For Armendariz, events like the Ballot Bash not only encourage students to vote, it provides an opportunity for the student body to become better informed about ASI.
“We’re going to be here explaining who we are, letting [students] know what’s going,” Armendariz said. “This is for next year. This is going to affect students. It’s a chance for everybody to kind of get to know us better.”
The race for president of ASI picked up within the last week after all three presidential candidates met for the Presidential Candidates Debate hosted by The Collegian on March 24.
In addition to the presidential candidates and the senator-at-large positions, students will vote on two referendums. The first is the addition of two senator positions, including senator of diversity, equity and inclusion and senator of veteran and transfer affairs. The $200 Bold New U tuition fee increase to pay for the construction of a new student union is the second referendum on the ballot.
John Hunt, a graduate student who came out to vote and pick up a cup of Dutch Bros planned to vote on his cell phone. He was still on the fence on voting yes or no on the Bold New U.
“Part of me feels we don’t use the student union that we have to its full capacity, but at the same time when they say that the old one or the one we currently have is only fit for a certain amount of students and we’ve increased [student population], that makes sense,” Hunt said. “I would just hope it’s not just a cosmetic thing.”
Other students, like Heather Goldman, a senior majoring in advertising, wore a “I voted yes on the Bold New U” sticker to show their support for the referendum.
“I think it’s important for the university to grow, and I know in order to do that we would need funding,” Goldman said.
Elections will continue through Thursday. Polls stations will be set up Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again on Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon. Winners will be announced later on Thursday, March 30.
