More campaigning needed
This year’s Student Government Association elections lured voters in with an interesting incentive: the possibility of winning an iPod, Fireside points, or money to the school store. It seems as though this tactic may have worked for them. More students seemed to be voting this year than in previous years. The SGA did a nice job of getting people to vote.
Everyone knew that elections were happening, and everyone had plenty of opportunities to vote all over campus. It was well advertised this year. In fact, an impressive 610 people voted this year, crushing the previous record of 415 from two years ago.
Now that the SGA has found a way to attract more voters through prizes, they need to campaign better.
This year there was very little campaigning. Occasionally you would pass by a poster for the candidates for president, but there was little to no information supporting them. Many voters found themselves wondering who the candidates were, how qualified they were and what the positions were.
More campaigning would not only increase public knowledge of who was running for what and what their credentials were, but it would also spice up the competition, making things more interesting.
And honestly, who doesn’t love a little friendly competition?
If SGA can get the campaigning down, I think they could draw more attention to their elections, rather than having to rely on the prizes to draw in more voters. The prizes are still a great idea, but that’s only half of the battle.
If next year brings more campaigning and competition, I think the SGA elections could be a huge success.