With elections starting April 18, the Graduate Students
Association is gearing up for weeks of debate and campaigning.
This year, the only contested position is the GSA president.
Students Taking Action and Re-energizing GSA, the only graduate
student slate, is running unopposed candidates for the vice
presidents of internal affairs, external affairs and academic
affairs.
STAR GSA’s presidential candidate, Monica Sanchez Rivas, a
doctoral student in education, is running against Anthony Dunbar, a
doctoral student in information students.
With relatively little competition compared to last year’s
heavily contested election, the GSA Elections Committee is worried
about voter turnout this time around, said Tiffany Nurrenbern, GSA
director of elections.
In an effort to increase voter turnout, the GSA Elections
Committee has created more fliers advertising the elections than
last year, is sponsoring a Rock the Vote debate Friday, and will be
offering beverage coupons as a voting incentive.
The Rock the Vote debate will be during the first hour of Grad
Bar and will include debate as well as an audience
question-and-answer period, Nurrenbern said.
In addition to voting on GSA positions, voters will also decide
on a referendum. The referendum will ask for a $3 fee, to be added
to campus-based student fees, to fund writing coaches who could
help graduate students with dissertations and grant proposals,
Nurrenbern said.
Mac Marston, incumbent candidate for vice president of internal
affairs, said even though he is running unopposed, he will
campaign.
“I’m not only campaigning for myself, but also for
the other members of my slate and for the referendum,”
Marston said.
There is no minimum voter turnout required to validate the
officer elections, but a 10 percent turnout is necessary to approve
a referendum that will be included on the ballot, Nurrenbern
said.
Jared Fox, the current GSA president, said that since voting has
gone online through MyUCLA, there has not been a turnout of less
than 10 percent.
Last year, GSA had its highest-ever voter turnout, at 22.77
percent, according to Daily Bruin archives.
Dunbar said he is not worried about running as an independent
against a slate.
“Not only am I proficient in what I’m doing, but
I’m enthused about GSA,” Dunbar said.
Dunbar collected a record number of signatures as part of his
application to run, Nurrenbern said.
The election committee has also changed the way endorsements are
made. Current and past GSA officers and Forum representatives have
the option to endorse candidates they feel are qualified.
This year endorsements can be made both for and against
candidates, as well as for, against or neutral toward the
referendum. Pro and con statements about the referendum will also
be included on the ballot, which marks a change in the way GSA
elections are handled, Nurrenbern said.
Dunbar said he will not be soliciting for any endorsements for
this election, saying his work speaks for itself.
All candidates will also be required to report how much they
spend on campaign materials, though there are no restrictions on
campaign financing, Nurrenbern said.
Voting for GSA elections is scheduled to take place from April
18-24 and will be conducted through MyUCLA.