The original version of this article contained information that was unclear and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
Student representatives appealed recent election results at their graduate student government meeting Wednesday night, citing technical problems that may have affected voter turnout.
Forum members of the Graduate Student Association said problems with MyUCLA’s server prevented graduate students from voting in the graduate student government elections at intermittent times from 11:51 a.m. to 10 p.m. on April 11. The election began on April 9 at noon and ended Monday at noon.
The representatives expressed concern that the malfunction occurred during the hours of the Elections Grad Bar, an event meant to increase voter turnout, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 11.
The GSA Elections Board approved the election results Tuesday night.
The four GSA positions were uncontested, but a quarterly fee increase referendum for the Graduate Writing Center and an advisory referendum about UCLA’s leave of absence policy were on the ballot.
The student representatives’ concerns centered on the fee referendum, which needed a 10 percent voter turnout to pass. The referendum would have increased graduate student fees by $1.50 per quarter to support the writing center.
About 66 percent of voters approved the referendum, which would have passed if the turnout threshold was met.
The referendum fell just seven votes short of the minimum threshold, with the elections garnering only 9.94 percent of eligible voters.
The GSA Elections Board will consider the appeal and what further action they will take, said Daniel Goodman, GSA commissioner of elections. The board can reopen voting on MyUCLA for a certain length of time or dismiss the concerns entirely.
While the GSA Elections Board certified the election results Tuesday night, the results are unofficial until the GSA approves them at its next forum meeting on May 8.
Compiled by Amanda Schallert, Bruin contributor, and Stephen Stewart, Bruin senior staff.
Clarification: Forum members of the Graduate Student Association said problems with MyUCLA’s server prevented graduate students from voting in the graduate student government elections at intermittent times from 11:51 a.m. to 10 p.m. on April 11.