Pictured Above: Fall student government election turnout has declined over the last five years. In fall 2015, 394 students voted; in fall 2016, 340; in fall 2017, 250; in fall 2018, 256; in fall 2019, 220; in the fall 2020 special election, 30; and in the fall 2020 interim special election, 11. Information collected from The Crow’s Nest’s past student government coverage.
Trevor Martindale | The Crow’s Nest
By Trevor Martindale
Only 11 students voted in Student Government’s second special election of the semester to fill its vacant Campus Council – 0.29 percent of eligible students.
This marks a nosedive from the dismal voter turnout of 30 in the first special election of the fall semester.
The turnout may be impacted by the low on-campus population, as the fall election before the COVID-19 pandemic garnered a turnout of 223.
Like the first special election, the second was uncontested, meaning students only needed one vote to be elected.
Yamaris Rodriguez and Daniel Lujo finished in first, with 10 votes. Kayla Idzior, Britney Clarke and Stephen Fleming received nine votes respectively. Connor Chilson and Brandon Majercin finished in last with eight votes.
All candidates will assume seats in the Campus Council, meaning seven of the nine available Campus Council seats are filled.
While the Campus Council was vacant, the interim funding process, where local committees make budgetary recommendations to be approved for the federal Activities and Service Recommendation Committee (ASRC) was void.
ASRC has 15 sitting members from the federal executive and legislative branches, with the majority of them being Tampa students.
Now the Campus Council’s ability to make budgetary recommendations through the interim funding process will be instituted.
Although there are still two open seats in the Campus Council and one open seat in the Senate, Student Government will not hold another election until the spring semester.
