Elections petition deadline extention
By RYAN SMITH
Associated Students approved election committee requests Monday to extend
the deadline for election petitions to April 4, giving potential candidates
an extra week to decide if they want to run for student government.
The extended deadline is an attempt to get more students involved in the
election process, said election commissioner Deborah Napoleon.
“This year, we are really trying to achieve not just higher student
participation (at the polls), but a higher number of candidates running
for office,” Napoleon said.
There will be an orientation meeting for all candidates on April 6 and
the following day is the official day to start campaigning.
Monday’s meeting was also intended to update AS about changes in
the wording of election petitions, which Napoleon said would make the
petitions easier for students to read. She also said the committee used
the meeting to inform AS about possible advertising dates for publications
such as The Collegian, as well as other promotional ideas for this year’s
election.
“We knew we didn’t have enough time to get everything done,
so we really got on the ball and have really been aggressive in promoting
the election,” Napoleon said. “I don’t remember commissions
in the past being as aggressive as this year.”
Not only is this year’s election committee competing against last
year’s higher-than-normal election turnout, but they also have the
added pressure of setting up a successful election in just six months.
Election committees usually have a year to work on elections, but this
year’s commissioner position was left vacant for about half the
year before Napoleon applied.
Though the commission has not had as much time to prepare, Napoleon said
she thought they had everything under control. She said they had been
busy handing out petitions across campus, with an emphasis on the Greek
system, Upward Bound and other clubs and organizations.
Brent Hansen, executive vice president of AS, agreed the election commission
was doing a good job, especially under the circumstances.
“So far, the commission has been great with helping us make the
election run smoothly,” Hansen said after a senate meeting Thursday.
“They have been meeting with us frequently; they are getting a lot
of good publicity and doing a good job getting the petitions finalized.”
Napoleon said, it is particularly difficult to get a high voter turnout
at Fresno State because it is a commuter school. As a result, she said,
a lot of students are apathetic because they don’t spend much time
on campus.
“My theory is that, probably, the same people who are in office
just keep switching places,” Napoleon said. “Not enough people
know how important these positions are. If we let people know and tell
them about how important it is, I think they will get more involved.”
Another change Napoleon said was important to voter turnout was in how
students vote.
While voting booths will be located near the same areas as last year,
all booths will be moved inside, instead of outside during elections on
April 20 and 21. The change comes as a result of student complaints about
faulty ID card readers that declined legitimate IDs during last year’s
election.
Napoleon said that the move indoors will help election officials communicate
with key card office employees to ensure that students aren’t wrongfully
turned away from the polls. Napoleon doesn’t think the new locations
will affect turnout negatively.
“We will make sure we have plenty of signs and balloons directing
people where to go,” Napoleon said. “I don’t think it
will be a problem.”
Both Hansen and Napoleon think the new changes and long hours the commission
has put in are going to pay off in this year’s election.
“Last year, we saw a significantly larger voter turnout than in
the past, but I definitely think we will see that again this year,”
Hansen said.
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