ASUC Election Stuff, Part III
Parting Shots

I swear, this is my last post on elections, this year’s and next’s. A couple more random musings…

1. The Greek Voter Guide, for once, might have had an effect on Greek turnout. It seemed like Panhellenic came out in force this year (+150 voters more than usual?). People can talk about Greeks in whatever light they feel is appropriate, but as long as the voting pool is so small, a community like that will continue to have a potentially significant impact. Ultimately, all of its endorsed Executives won, and 13 of its 22 senator endorsements finished in the top 25. If only IFC could get its shit together… IFC President (at the time) Sam Endicott endorsed both Brandon Smith from CalSERVE and (everyone’s favorite) Zach Liberman. If the extra votes from Panhellenic swung to the Student Action slate they just so happened to endorse, it definitely complimented…

2. …the substantial and growing “Asian Christian” voting block. This year, the vote seemed divided somewhat between SA and Independents, but the numbers may not be reflective of reality. The only Exec to pull votes away from SA was Billy Wang, who managed to pull ~720 votes, but most of the second-place votes went back to Anil Daryani of SA. Of the four Asian Christian senators elected, only one (Ki Hong Lee) was from Student Action, but one other (David Kim) has already stated his intention to join SA, and one (Billy Wang) is a former SA senator, with some mentioning a possible return for him after his somewhat embarrassing run with BU. Speaking of which…

3. … I don’t see any way that Bears United can make another comeback. It didn’t run as a party this year, all of the major players are going to graduate very shortly, and Zach Liberman might have dragged the remnants of the party down with his charades. Unfortunately, there will be no APPLE in the foreseeable future to challenge SA… unless…

4. …SOMEONE figures out how to make online voting work for them next year. If the new method expands the voter pool by just 25%, bringing it to 9500 voters (~1/3 of campus), everything is up for grabs again. It may increase impulse voting, the Internet will be a new source of campaigning, and small parties + independents may fare better. Only time will tell with the lasting success of the new system.Email This Post!