Running an ASUI election is not as simple as it may seem, said elections coordinators Brianna Larson.
Larson, who became an elections coordinator this semester, said she”s had a hectic schedule the past two weeks. As a former ASUI senator, she said moving to the executive side of ASUI has given her a new perspective on the organization.
“Switching over to this side of campaigning has definitely been a challenge,” Larson said. “It”s interesting and I like it because you get to see the inner workings of campaigns instead of just tunnel vision on what you”re doing. I think the reward of putting good people on senate is going to outweigh the difficulties of my role.”
Larson said she and Brown have split the duties of elections coordinator, with Larson taking over responsibilities related to policy.
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Senators look over the agenda at the ASUI meeting Wednesday. Voting for ASUI positions opens Monday.
“I”m collecting the receipts because there”s a limit on how much candidates can spend on campaigns, so I”m regulating that to make sure they aren”t going over the limit,” Larson said.
She said the system is largely honor-based, where coordinators ask candidates to follow the rules and to keep an eye out for their peers to do so as well.
“If we can”t trust them to follow the rules as a candidate, then we can”t trust them to be in the role that they”re running for,” Larson said.
Larson said so far she has not run into any problems with candidates and hopes the rest of campaigning continues on the same path.
One change Larson said they have made this election season is the way they announce the winning candidates. She said this is an attempt to make the process more exciting, since she said in past elections announcing the new senators has been bland.
Announcing the winners will still occur in the rotunda of the Idaho Commons, however Larson said she didn”t want to give away any spoilers.
“It is a big deal who wins the election, and we want to make it feel like you”ve accomplished something when you get it,” Larson said. “They know they have accomplished something, but we want them to feel like we celebrate the fact that they”re becoming a part of ASUI.”
Brown has been an elections coordinator since fall 2015 and said this election season has been much more manageable with the help of Larson. Brown said during this year”s fall election there was a lot of work condensed into two weeks, so the extra hands during the spring election process have been beneficial.
While Larson oversees policies, Brown said she handles communicating with candidates and running forums.
Brown said this election season has been running smoothly so far, but there aren”t as many candidates running for ASUI as she had hoped.
“We base it a lot off of voter participation as well and last fall we had a great turnout for voters,” Brown said. “We”re hoping to see the same kind of turn out this spring.”
She said one notable change she and Larson have made this season is the inclusion of a presidential debate.
“I think it would be something people are interested in,” Brown said. “We”re trying to be more enthusiastic about the process.”
Jessica Gee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JessicaC_Gee