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.