Duke Student Government decided to maintain the current structure of Senate and executive board elections for Spring 2012.
The approved system continues the separation of Senate and executive board elections, which are distinguished by a two-day buffer period. Campaigning for executive board candidates will begin April 3 and end with elections April 12. Senatorial candidates will begin their campaigns April 16 and election will take place April 23.
The rationale behind this format is, in part, that it allows candidates who lose in executive elections the chance to run in for Senate, said Executive Vice President Gurdane Bhutani, a junior, adding that having the elections as far back as possible will also motivate DSG to stay active until the end of the school year.
“There are essentially two issues we need to address [in the election model]—having a de-consolidated election system as opposed to a consolidated system and voter turnout,” said sophomore Marcus Benning, senator for Durham and regional affairs.
Bhutani introduced the proposal to combine the two elections in September in order to address lower voter turnout at recent elections. Members and supporters of the change raised concerns that this drop in votes is attributed to voter burnout because the student body participated in too many subsequent elections.
A joint election, however, presented the issue of having an overload of candidates. The de-consolidation of Senate and executive elections avoids oversaturating constituents with too many candidates, said sophomore Stefani Jones, senator for athletics, services and the environment.
“A [consolidated election model] would invite more random voter turnout as opposed to a well-informed voter turnout,” Jones said. “[This is] not in our interest at all.”
Additionally, some DSG members said that holding elections so late in the school year would prevent a smooth transition between boards.
“An April election does not give new elected candidates time to transition and make cabinet decisions,” said senior Kaveh Danesh, vice president for academic affairs. He added that new executive members should have more time to become acquainted with the current policy initiatives and with their administrative counterparts for the coming year.
In support of maintaining a similar election model from past years, members said the problem of low voter turnout could not be reduced to flaws in the electoral system.
“We should not blame the electoral system if you have low voter turnout—it’s a much broader question,” said sophomore Fedja Pavlovic, senator for residential life and dining. “For example, senators tend not to campaign as hard as the executives and [that] is reflected in voter turnout.”
In other business:
Junior Alexandra Swain, vice president of Durham and regional affairs, raised the issue of providing administratively funded transportation to election polling sites in election years when there are no on-campus polling sites. There will be no campus polling site for the November 2011 elections.
“We believe that the University should encourage student political participation and continue to fund transportation to the polls,” Swain wrote in her resolution to the Senate.
The resolution was approved unanimously.
DSG also voted on its support of a candidates forum, during which members of the Duke community will have the opportunity to meet City Council candidates. The Senate allocated $487 to the Durham and regional affairs committee to support the forum.
The City Council candidates forum for the 2011 municipal election will be held Nov. 3.
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