Voter turnout likely to top past years in student government elections

E-mail inboxes, listservs and Facebook walls filled to the brim as this year's student government elections opened early Monday morning at 12:01 a.m.

As of Tuesday afternoon, two days into the week-long election window, voter turnout stood at 34.16 percent - just 10 percent shy of the total number of students who voted last year.

College junior and Nominations and Elections vice chairwoman of elections Rachel Levick attributed this positive trend to a variety of reasons, ranging from changing the voting period to begin on a weekday rather than a weekend to this years candidates using more technologically savvy campaigning.

She also noted that she thought the increased student interest in this year's race stemmed from the Class Board elections - all three presidential elections present highly contested races.

The election for the Class of 2012 Board election features four separate contenders for president, and the Classes of 2010 and 2011 each have new nominees attempting to oust the incumbent presidents.

The Undergraduate Assembly also has 38 candidates running for 24 seats.

As Levick told the group of hopefuls at the initial candidates meeting, "the extraordinary number of candidates this year" means "more voter turnout and more candidates elected for the right reasons."

Candidates this year, however, did not turn to the more-traditional campaigning methods to stand out among their peers. Instead of the normal overflow of posters on College Green, voters have encountered more creative and technological plugs - from Facebook and e-mails to text messages and Blackberry messages. One crafty candidate handed out Sudoku puzzles to passersby.

Whether fearing the University's $1 fine for each illegal poster and under-the-door flyer or just looking for creative ways to save out-of-pocket election expenses, candidates this year have steered away from tactics of past campaigns.

This Thursday, however, Locust Walk will be littered with signs urging students to vote on PennInTouch. The NEC-sponsored Candidate's Day, with its "Get out the Vote" event from 2 to 5 p.m. on the Compass Patio, will help raise awareness for the campaign and provide an added platform for candidates.

Ultimately, Levick stressed at the candidate meeting on March 24 that word-of-mouth continues to be the most widespread and effective method of getting the vote out.

Candidates will have to wait until Friday at 7 p.m. to know what worked.

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