Dan DaranciangWhen Aaron Keyak learned he had been listed last on the ballot for Student Union’s Arts & Sciences Senate election, he expected the placement to work against him. But as an incumbent senator with a strong record running against nine other candidates for eight total positions, he didn’t expect it to cost him re-election.
Yet when the results came in, Keyak, a sophomore, was one of the two incumbents not elected. The other was sophomore Jeff Zove, who also boasts a record of involvement. Zove was listed second to last on the ballot, right below Keyak. SU officials agreed that such results indicate apathy on the part of voters.
“It’s disappointing,” said Keyak. Speaking of Zove’s experience and past performance, he added, “It’s really a shame, and I can’t rationalize how Jeff lost without considering the ballot order.”
SU Election Commissioner Andrew Benard, a freshman, organized and oversaw the elections. He explained that the ordering of candidates on the ballot was randomized and that candidates were made aware of their ballot position before the campaign period.
He acknowledged the tendency for uninformed voters to select the candidates listed first, but he suggested that effective campaigning could overcome a disadvantageous ballot position.
“The reason that Aaron Keyak and Jeff Zove didn’t win re-election is possibly a combination of their location on the ballot and the amount of campaigning that was done by them and the other candidates in the race,” said Benard.
Benard explained that the SU Constitutional Council is considering revising the balloting process, randomizing the order of every ballot so that no candidate is given preference. In the past, logistical difficulties with the WebSTAC voting system have prevented this technique from being used.
SU President David Ader noted that both senators had contributed greatly to SU over the past year.
“They’ve been two of our most active senators,” Ader said. Keyak and Zove were two of this year’s five finalists for Senator of the Year.
Keyak organized and ran the recent Digital Expo, which introduced students to the music downloading services that SU might purchase for them. Zove, who served as chair of the Food Committee and was once Student Union’s Senator of the Month, was noted for his work organizing the Taco Bell student surveys.
Ader acknowledged a tendency for students to vote for the first candidates listed on a ballot, perhaps without being familiar with the candidates. He said that the issue of voter apathy continues to be a significant concern as Student Union works to ensure the fairness of elections.
In e-mail correspondence with sophomore Tommy Honton, who expressed concern to Ader over the fairness of the election, Ader wrote, “We believe the true problem is voter apathy, lack of information regarding SU and SU’s abilities and a lack of effort by SU to get students involved in its own elections.”
“It’s a problem we have to deal with, and we’re constantly trying to improve,” said Ader.
SU takes several steps to promote its elections and encourage students to become informed about the candidates, Ader explained. This year SU sent e-mails to students and bought advertisements in Student Life to remind them of the upcoming elections.
Ader explained that Zove would be appointed to a vacant seat and thus might be able to serve in next year’s Senate. Keyak, however, may not be as fortunate.
Zove said that while he had no complaints about how the election had been run, he hopes that the system itself is reconsidered.
“I think the whole process needs to be re-evaluated,” said Zove. “It’s clear that there’s a correlation between the order of a candidate on the ballot and the number of votes.”