SGA voting for 2017-18 executive board opens

  SGA:                Homecoming:

2015:  3,392                4,056

2014:  3,532                4,910

2013:  4,985                4,098

2012:  2,199                4,250

2011:  1,932                3,431

2010:  N/A                   4,225

2009:  3,282                3,638

2008:  2,466                4,438

2007:  4,034                4,248

2006:  3,567                4,568

Voting for the Student Government Association elections has been over shadowed by votes for Homecoming royalty for the past nine out of ten years.

In 2015 and 2014, SGA votes were outnumbered by those for Homecoming by more than 600 and 1,300 votes, respectively.

RELATED: More students vote for Homecoming royalty than for SGA elections

This year, however, members of the slates said they have made some efforts to increase votes.

OPTiC's presidential candidate Greg Carbó said that students need to know what student government is and does before voting.

“That’s huge, you know how many students say, ‘dude I’m so glad you introduced [me to] what it actually was because we don’t know what a platform point is, we don’t know what a slate is,’” Carbó said.

OPTIC's secretarial candidate Lizzie Ford said she also wants to keep voting fun.

“I think it’s because everybody thinks, ‘oh politics,’ like that’s not fun,” Ford said. “I want to make this fun. I want to be civil and friendly and just go out to people and be like, ‘you should vote, you have a voice,’ and let them ask me questions.”

Ignite's presidential candidate Gabrielle Lloyd agreed that speaking to organizations is key.

“The first thing we say when we go to an organization is ‘hey, this is what voting is, this is when it takes place, here’s how you do it — and above all — your voice matters,” Lloyd said.

Students should be sure to check their emails today for the link to vote in the Student Government Association executive board elections. 

Voting opens at 8 a.m. today for the board. Students should receive an email with this link allowing them to sign in and vote.

There are two slates running for executive board this year: Ignite and OPTiC.

Are the slates' platform points feasible? Find out in our fact check here.

Ignite consists of Gabrielle Lloyd (president), Zoe Taylor (vice president), Caleb Conley (secretary) and Theodore Hoffman (treasurer). 

OPTiC consists of Greg Carbó (president), Katy Volikas (vice president), Lizzie Ford (secretary) and Kaia Thompson (treasurer). 

Learn more about the slates.

Voting will close at 5 p.m. Tuesday, and the winning slate will be announced after 5 p.m. in the Office of Student Life.

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