This year’s Student Government Association elections received a total 3,532 votes from students, the second highest turnout rate in the last four elections.
Zach Huffman, elections board chair, said having three slates running made the race more appealing.
“I believe that all three slates featured very strong candidates who are very involved on Ball State’s campus,” he said. “Therefore they’re well connected with students.”
The elections board had a partnership with the COMM 210 classes. Students enrolled in the course this semester had the opportunity to receive extra credit for attending a debate.
Many students who take the class are usually underclassmen who may not be familiar with SGA.
“It was my goal to have those students attend a debate, and hopefully it would allow the wheels to start turning in their minds about future possibilities,” Huffman said.
President Paul Ferguson sent out an email to students encouraging them to vote in this year’s election.
“I think the president’s video to the student body showed the importance of voting as a student,” SGA adviser Jennifer Jones-Hall said.
Huffman said Ferguson’s support helped set the tone for how important SGA is.
The 2013 election saw a voter turnout of 4,985.
Current SGA President Nick Wilkey said the reason the 2013 election received more votes is because electronic voting had not been prohibited yet.
Wilkey said he expected more votes than last year’s race and he was pleased with the results.
Campaigning students used to be able to walk around campus with tablet devices and encourage students to vote.
“People were getting harassed to vote,” Wilkey said. “They weren’t really doing their due diligence.”
In January 2014, changes to the elections code prohibited the use of electronic devices to solicit votes from students.
Article 6, Section 4, Subsection B.1 of the election code states, “Candidates, campaign managers, and staff may not present electronic devices to any Ball State University student in an effort to solicit a vote.”
During last year’s election Jones-Hall said the change would make the election more equal.
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