Collegiate Times

With Student Government Association elections nearing, the SGA is trying to make voting for elected officials as accessible as possible for students. This year, students will have new opportunities to vote for their elected SGA representatives in voting booths set up around campus, as well as on the online voting system used in previous years.

For this year's election, there are two tickets, as well as over fifty senate candidates from different colleges. Students will be able to vote for President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and a Senator from their respected colleges.

Elections will be held today and tomorrow. This year, as in years past, there will be elections held online from 9 a.m. today until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow.

"We have a good turn out with the online voting process; it is easy and convenient and people can access it whenever, but people forget about it," said Liz Hart, Director of Public Relations for SGA

Because of this, the SGA decided to set up booths from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow. They will be located outside of McBryde, inside Squires near Au Bon Pain, at Newman Library and near Dietrick hall.

Hart said that SGA representatives will be at the booths to remind people to access the polls in their free time.

"It is always good to have an SGA presence on campus where students come and go so students aren't just faced with a computer," Hart said.

The SGA will also provide information about each of the tickets running for the executive committees, as well as online profiles for both executive committees and Senate candidates.

"That way, students will not only be voting, but making an informed vote as well," said Catie Morin, SGA chief Associate justice and senior biological systems engineer.

The SGA has been promoting the elections by table cards, ads, campus mailers, speaches in classrooms, listserv emails and Facebook messages. This year, the SGA will also be handing out "I voted" stickers to students who vote at the booths.

Becca Slutzky, an SGA associate justice and senior political science major, said the major focus this year is on getting more people to participate in the voting process.

"We are really hoping that the booths will significantly increase voter turnout," Slutzky said.

Morin said that there are generally between two and five thousand voters each year and there isn't much variation from year to year.

"The idea is that if it is not at 100 percent student turnout then there is more that can always be done," Hart said. "Until the day that every single Virginia Tech student is voting in an election that affects them, we will always be finding ways to get students involved in the process."

Hart explained that the goal this year is just to increase from last year and hopefully set a trend in increases over the next few years.

"It is a long term goal," Morin said of the goal for 100 percent student voter turnout. "But just so it increases every year; we are trying different tactics and (the voting booths are) one of them."

Morin also explained that elected officials are essentially representatives of the student body to faculty, staff and administration. They express the concerns and address the issues of the undergraduate student population to commission boards and university officials, work alongside SGA programming, like Hokie Effect, Relay for Life and Big Event and approve legislation going through the House and Senate.

"The executive committees serve as representatives of the student body of Virginia Tech," Slutzky said. "In order for this to be a successful representation, it is essential that the student body play a role in this selection process."