Although not all legislative seats will be contested in today's elections, Duke Student Government officials are still satisfied with the pool of candidates.
"We're pretty happy about the turnout," DSG Attorney General Will Fagan said. "There's a lot of competition on East, and some competition on West."
Students will elect representatives in five areas: Central Campus, East Campus, North Campus (Trent), West Campus and off campus.
On East, 24 students will run for 11 positions, and 19 candidates are running for 17 spots on West. However, only four students are running for Central Campus's six seats, and four off-campus candidates are running for the five available positions. No one is running for Trent's single seat.
DSG President Joshua Jean-Baptiste said that an average number of students applied to run this year. "The numbers match numbers in the past," said Jean-Baptiste, a senior.
Fagan, also a senior, said he was expecting someone from Trent to run.
"If people don't want to do it, then they're not giving the area representation," he said. "We tried to do as much as we could publicity wise."
Fagan said the organization sent students a campus-wide e-mails and placed newspaper ads inviting them to apply for a spot on the ballot.
After the elections, Ford said a committee will interview candidates for 14 at-large positions to ensure all 50 seats are filled on the legislature.
Besides the legislative individual projects each representative will undertake, Jean-Baptiste said the legislature will also look at budgeting and ARAMARK's dining contract in the spring.
Last year, DSG experienced a minor problem in the election process. The organization elected only 11 legislators from East Campus, instead of the intended 12, when it listed a candidate as a representative for both East and North campuses.
DSG will send out e-mails to the student body with an Internet site where students can submit votes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fagan said. Polling stations will also be open at the Marketplace, the Bryan Center and the Cambridge Inn from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and also at the Marketplace during dinner time.
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