Election results to be in tonight

There were few charges filed against candidates for UA and class boards. After seeing voter turnout skyrocket for this year's student government elections, the Nominations and Elections Committee will announce the fate of the Undergraduate Assembly and class board candidates tonight. The NEC announced yesterday that approximately 2,508 students -- about 30 percent of eligible voters -- participated in this year's elections, the first to be done entirely on Penn InTouch. The number is nearly double that of last year's election turnout, when 1,220 students -- 17 percent of the voters -- cast ballots. Election results will be announced after the NEC's Fair Practices Code hearing at Steinberg-Dietrich Hall tonight at 7 p.m. During the hearing, the NEC reviews any campaign violations brought to its attention by other candidates. There were few alleged violations this year. Senior class treasurer candidate Matthew Thornton charged the NEC itself with violating the FPC because of an incorrect link from the Penn InTouch election page to his picture. And three candidates were automatically disqualified from the races for not handing in their spending forms on time -- UA candidates Wharton freshman Christopher McLeester, College junior Maria Wormack and Sophomore Class Board candidate Nicole Shevins, a Wharton freshman. NEC members attribute the high turnout to the new and versatile voting platform -- Penn InTouch -- which allowed students to cast their ballots with little or no problems. "The first year on Penn InTouch was great," NEC Vice Chairwoman of Elections Teresa Lee said last night. "The UA will have more legitimacy," the Wharton and Engineering junior added, saying that the high voter turnout will give students a student government more representative of their interests than it has been in the past. Lee added that the freshman class was the most active voting group. Approximately 1,000 of the 2,508 students who cast ballots were first-year students. Of the 59 students running for the 25 seats for upperclassmen on the Undergraduate Assembly, 14 of them are incumbents seeking re-election. Eight seats on the 33-member assembly are reserved for next year's freshman class. Thirty-four candidates ran for the 16 available College seats. Of the 34 students, seven are College UA incumbents. There were nine students running for the four seats available for Engineering students on the UA, of which three are incumbents. Fifteen students ran for the four Wharton seats on the UA, making the race the most competitive in the elections. Of the 15 candidates, four are UA incumbents. One Nursing candidate is running unopposed for the one seat for his school. Results for the three class boards will also be announced after the hearing. Of the 56 students running for class boards, 10 students are incumbents seeking re-election. Due to the extension of the petition deadline and alleviated signature requirement for class boards, all positions have applicants with the exception of the Junior Class Board Nursing representative. This unfilled position will be filled by appointment by the NEC in the fall.