Only 394 USFSP students – out of more than 5,000 – voted in the fall midterm Senate election.
But that number still “set a record for the most votes ever cast in a midterm election,” said Alyssa Winston, Student Government’s supervisor of elections.
“There were 15 seats open and 14 candidates, so all could have made it if they each got 25 votes,” Winston said. “Eight people got a minimum of 25 votes, so those are the only eight that will become senators.”
Students had from midnight on Oct. 26 until 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 to vote in the election, which had some eleventh-hour controversy.
Three days before voting began, Student Body President Jozef Gherman issued an executive order that changed the number of candidates a voter could support from five to one.
That prompted some spirited debate during the General Assembly meeting the day voting began.
“Senate is here for a purpose and that singular purpose is a selfless one – to serve,” said Senate candidate Sarah Adams. “With this executive order we have branded senate as a popularity contest.
“Whether it is unconstitutional or not is debatable,” she said. “What is not debatable is the fact that limiting the votes from five to one is unjust.”
With 23 votes in the election, Adams fell two short of earning a seat.
But Gherman said that wasn’t the intent of his order, which stood for the election, but is under appeal.
“My executive order did not conflict with any of the governing rules,” Gherman told the Crow’s Nest on Sunday, Nov. 8. “The amount of senators a student could vote for, and the minimum amount of votes a senator needs has always been up to the discretion of the supervisor of elections. “
Winston sent out an email to candidates on Oct. 21, disclosing that each student could only vote for one senator and that each senator needed a minimum of 25 votes to be elected. When her discretion on the matter was challenged, she asked Gherman to make a standing policy.
“This isn’t a popularity contest, the point of the senate is to be representative of the student body,” Gherman said. “If you cannot succeed in getting enough votes in order to secure a seat, then that’s the will of the students.”
Despite the disagreement surrounding the issue, Winston said she was “extremely proud of all the candidates and all the work they put in.
“And I would like to thank all the students who showed their support for student government and voted.”
