As the undergraduate student government elections head to the
World Wide Web for the first time in UCLA’s history, slates
find themselves in new territory ““ the likeliness of a larger
voter turnout.
The three slates competing for positions in this year’s
Undergraduate Students Association Council’s elections have
refined their campaign strategies before students begin to log on
to their MyUCLA accounts and cast their final votes next week.
Most candidates said they are indeed expecting a higher voter
turnout due to the elections being online this year.
Council voted to have the elections online during fall quarter
after the success of the USAC fee referendum vote in October. More
students voted in the referendum election than in the last two
general elections. A large percentage of students also voted during
the time periods when a paper ballot was not available.
The change in voting method is a factor that candidates with
slate affiliation said they will consider when they begin
campaigning.
For some candidates, it will make campaigning a little more
difficult.
“This year, we can’t just pack up each night, we
have to constantly be campaigning,” said Matt Kaczmarek, the
external vice presidential candidate from the Students First!
slate.
When students voted with a paper ballot, there was not a big
distance between the campaigning areas where slates distributed
written material and voting location, but now there is, Kaczmarek
said.
To compensate for this, he said it is important that students
have access to public computers on campus. Still, it is likely that
most students will vote at home and First! will have to accommodate
for it, Kaczmarek added.
The slate is building momentum for the elections by focusing on
the issues like fighting student fee increases, said Students
First! presidential candidate Anica McKesey.
Other candidates said the new voting system would affect their
campaigns to a lesser extent.
“There might be some changes, like increased campaigning
at the edge of campus and closer to students’ homes,”
said Adam Harmetz, the presidential candidate from the Students
United for Reform and Equality slate.
Despite the changes it would cause, S.U.R.E. candidates still
felt online voting would benefit their slate the most.
The higher the voter turnout, the more S.U.R.E. will benefit
because it is the more moderate slate that represents the views of
most students, Harmetz said.
“We are more moderate in that we don’t require
ideologies to get involved,” Harmetz said. “We have a
broad spectrum of views.”
But candidates from the other slates contested that they are
also in favor of the higher voter turnout because they too would be
representing all students on campus.
“I definitely hope that more students come out and vote
… (it) gives more validity to the councilmembers,” McKesey
said.
McKesey added that the issues First! is concerned with are
issues students care about.
“We seek the input of the average student as well as
student organizations,” she said.
Candidates from the newest slate, United Independents, agreed
their goal was to increase student representation on council.
“Our slate demands each candidate provide whole
representation,” said U.I. presidential candidate Andrew
LaFlamme.
Members of all three slates said they are attempting to be more
inclusive this year.
“I am an example of that. … I am not affiliated with a
specific student group,” said Kaczmarek.
In the past a majority of First! candidates have been associated
more with student groups, but this year more candidates are
associated with the office itself, Kaczmarek added.
First! also changed its name from Student Empowerment! to be
more inclusive, McKesey said.
Other slates simply said that they would be sticking to the
basics of campaigning.
“The fundamentals are the same; we need to shake hands,
get to know people and give a face to student government,”
said S.U.R.E. internal vice presidential candidate Gideon Baum.
U.I. candidates shared the same sentiment.
“Our campaign still involves developing relationships in
the community,” LaFlamme said.