UA elections plagued by malfunctions

Downed computers shut polls The Undergraduate Assembly elections began yesterday with problems plaguing the Nominations and Elections Committee, which runs the elections. Throughout the course of the day, the computers, which the NEC uses to check the eligibility of each student who wants to vote, intermittently shut down. During the time when the computers had to be shut down, polling places had to be closed. NEC Elections Chairperson and Engineering junior Jim Strangio said the weather was to blame. "The computers weren't meant to be functioning in the cold," he said last night. "We needed new monitors and then the same problem happened again with the new ones." College freshman Davida Rapoport went to vote at a polling booth outside Steinberg-Dietrich Hall at approximately noon yesterday. "They weren't open yet because the computers broke down," she said. "It was inconvenient because I thought they were closing at 5 and I had class until 5 and no time to go tomorrow." NEC Chairperson and Wharton senior Sharon Dunn said she ran the Hill House elections from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and "there was a half hour or so where the computers were down." "It took us a while to get everything set up and going," she said. "[But] we had a great turnout while I was there." Though Rapoport was able to vote later in the day, she said voting should be extended because "a lot of people were inconvenienced by the fact that polls were closed right around lunchtime." Candidates agreed with Rapoport last night, saying their constituencies were affected by the technical problems. A UA candidate, who asked not to be identified because of an NEC rule prohibiting candidates from speaking to the press, said the Stouffer polling area was also closed at noon. "It was totally unintentional, but it was a very biased election," she said. "As a freshman candidate, most of the people who were going to vote for me could not vote because [Stouffer] was closed." Wharton sophomore and UA member Quang O said he had supporters who waited until the polls re-opened in order to vote. "But people without a personal stake in the election might be turned off and would have just left," he said. "If [the problem] was very serious, I think they should extend elections by a day or increase the number of polling places [today]." One candidate, who requested anonymity, called the NEC "pathetic." "It's pathetic that such an organization which prides itself on its organizational skills could display such incompetence," he said. "But if the elections was extended? I doubt that they'd be able to do any better." UA candidate and College freshman Laurie Moldawer voiced similar sentiments. "The entire UA election was a shoddy operation," she said. College sophomore Jonathan Slotkin, University of Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Service captain, said his organization's ballot referendum might be affected by the computer breakdown as well. "There was a significant amount of polling time lost," he said. "I think we can get a fairer turnout if the balloting is open an extra hour or two tomorrow." Despite these concerns, Strangio said no increase in polling hours is going to be made. Instead, polling will be held outside Stouffer, in addition to the previously announced Steinberg-Dietrich, during the hours of noon to 5 p.m. Some students also encountered difficulty in attempting to vote in today's election even though they met the NEC's eligibility requirements. The NEC allows full-time University students to vote. And Strangio said each school has its own definition of "full-time." The College of Arts and Sciences defines full-time students as those taking at least three credits. But full-time students in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences must take at least four credits. Several College students who are taking three credits were turned away yesterday because the computer did not identify them as "full-time" students, Strangio said. And candidates were angered by this situation as well. "A three-credit student has every right that a four-credit student has, and should be given the opportunity to vote," said a UA candidate . Strangio said the NEC computer is hooked into the Registrar's Office, which requires four credits for every University student to be "full-time." But Dunn said the NEC follows the individual schools' policies. "You need to be a full-time student in your school," she said. Strangio said anyone who was wrongly prevented from voting yesterday will be allowed to vote today. "I don't want to deny anyone the right to vote," he said. Candidates said they hope yesterday's difficulties will not affect the final numbers of voters who turn out for this election. "I don't want to see those numbers blamed on apathy," an unidentified UA candidate said. "The blame falls on the technical problems."