An amendment to streamline the Student Union constitution passed in a special election Friday, while a proposed amendment to reduce the number of signatures required for a student group to get on the ballot for block funding failed.

Any changes made to the constitution must first pass through a student body vote and in this case, a special election was held to allow those changes to go into effect before the next election in the spring. Special elections are a relatively uncommon occurrence for SU, with no other special elections being on record in the past three years.

One of two of the two ballot items was centered around streamlining different sections of the constitution to remove any inconsistencies or contradictions and to change small nuances. This item was passed with 69.71 percent of the vote.

The other ballot item was intended to simplify the process for student groups to receive block funding through Student Union. It would have lowered the threshold of signatures required for a block funding issue to be placed on the ballot and would have created an alternative method for student groups to pursue block funding through SU Senate and Treasury. This item failed, with only 35.96 percent of votes in its favor.

SU Vice President of Finance junior Shelly Gupta said that despite the proposal not passing, it was good to see students getting engaged in the election process.

“In any election, it’s important that our constituents engage with us, because otherwise, you wouldn’t put it [up] for a student body vote,” Gupta said. “It was eye-opening to see the other perspectives on the amendment and I respect the fact that it wasn’t voted through because ultimately, it’s the student body’s decision. I think we can now use the backlash and comments to improve the amendments for the future.”

Despite the attention surrounding the block funding amendment, this election was marked by low turnout, with approximately five percent of the student body casting their ballots. SU Vice President of Administration sophomore Steven Kish said that this could likely be attributed to the generally low turnout surrounding most campus elections.

“I think considering the extremely low turnout number we had, that’s something that we absolutely have to take into consideration when we’re deciding the best routes to take to make sure that we’re having informed and impactful decisions being made by the student body,” Kish said. “That low turnout is certainly something that I would consider in the future when thinking through whether or not it’s best to ask for a special election.”

Going forward, Gupta emphasized the importance of the March SU election to select next year’s SU executive members, Senate and Treasury.

“If the student body wants to put power in their leaders, then we empower them to vote in the elections,” Gupta said. “I think that’s something to look forward to, and I think we’re doing a lot in SU to hopefully get a higher voter turnout in the spring.”