Members of AS Election Commission may receive bonus

By David Kassis
The Collegian

With only seven percent of the student body turning out to vote in last semester’s Associated Students elections, the new election commissioner will be in charge of increasing participation, and may receive a cash bonus in the process.

Associated Students hopes to raise this year’s turnout to at least 10 percent of the student population, and if that happens, the election commissioner will receive a $50 bonus, and possible academic credit through the office of Civil Engagement and Service Learning. The election commissioner may also receive a stipend through Career Services instead of or alongside the bonus. In addition, the commissioner will receive a $250 stipend.

The position has not yet been filled, and any potential candidates have until October 6 at 5 p.m. to turn in their application at the AS office in the University Student Union room 316.

AS President Juan Pablo Moncayo, a fifth-year physics and finance dual major, is working on the process of bringing in a new election commissioner. “We have a limited budget and decided to do something small,” Moncayo said. “If the election turnout is raised from seven to 10 percent, the entire commission would receive a bonus of $50.

“I hope people feel more involved to vote this time, because AS is the recognized student body government on campus, and students have a lot of say and input. It is the official voice of the school.”

Some of the duties of the office include coordinating student elections, ensuring a fair and equitable election, and preparing a final report to the Senate to announce the winners and make recommendations for improvements for the following year.

Candidates for the position must be enrolled at Fresno State with an interest in the political process, student advocacy and civil engagement.

Although the election commissioner will be heavily involved in the entire election process, some feel that a cash incentive for the officer will not result in a higher voter turnout.

“Commissioners themselves don’t have much of an impact on turnout,” said Kenneth Hansen, an assistant professor in the political science department. “Turnout just depends on interest. In the real world you have an elected commissioner, but they don’t receive a bounty for who shows up. Their job is to count votes, not get people to the booth.”

Adam Horn, a fourth-year political science and communications dual major, also thinks this is not the best way to get students to vote.

“The majority of campus knows about voting, the commissioner can’t make much of an impact,” Horn said. “I think the best way they could increase voter turnout would be to create an absentee voter system, but that might be too expensive.

“For the most part, it seems like students don’t care about voting, they have too many other happenings in their lives.” Another reason Horn thinks more students don’t turn out to vote is the fact that they will be done with school by the time their vote becomes a reality. “I do feel AS is needed to organize the chaos around campus. It gives the students a place to voice their opinion.”

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