AS to use new Web ballots for elections

By Molly Leaverton

For the second straight year, Associated Students will use online voting for its upcoming elections, this time with a new system created by Media Services that AS hopes will avoid an embarrassing repeat of glitches last spring.

The new system, which will debut for elections April 26, was created after the voting site used last year, SurveyMonkey.com, prevented some students from casting ballots because of technical difficulties.

"I know that there were a lot of problems last year, but hopefully we will avoid all of those this year by keeping it in-house," AS Vice President Jasper Seldin said.

In addition to online voting, AS said it has modified the election code to include provisional paper ballots in case students could not access the site or have difficulties.

Tony Pehanich, a Web application developer for Media Services, said the new site will incorporate the security of eCampus -- students would use their student ID to log in -- and will give voters a confirmation number after they cast a ballot.

To curb fears about the loss of anonymity with online voting, Seldin said election administrators can only tell if a student voted based on eCampus ID, but not whom he or she voted for.

AS will send students an e-mail on the day of elections, which contains a link to eCampus and explains the new voting procedures.

"One of the reasons for low voter turnout in the past has been our assumption that most students walk through Benson," Seldin said. "Most students here check their e-mail everyday. This way more students will have the ability to vote."

Also included on the site will be links to the Web sites of each candidate.

AS will have a table in Benson Memorial Center on election day with laptops for students to vote, and to remind students to check their e-mail and cast their vote.

To ensure accountability, each student will be given a receipt that contains a string of numbers after voting, said Seldin. If a student is worried that his or her vote was not counted, the student can give AS the string of numbers included on the receipt, and AS will be able to go into the system and find the recorded vote of the student.

The new system, Seldin said, also gives election administrators tools to monitor for suspicious activity.

However, the glitches that cropped up during online voting last year have caused some students to question AS's decision.

"I worry that, because of last year's fiasco, students will not trust the new system. Some people may worry that it will not work again and choose not to even try to vote," said junior Patricia McGlynn.

Still, others are happy with the decision.

"I would be likely to vote online, because usually when I am walking across campus I am walking to class and do not have time to vote," said junior Becky Ahrens.

Ultimately, AS officials hope that the new voting system will allow for more student participation and a more organized procedure.

"Overall it is a great move. Anytime we can use technology to make our job easier and increase student involvement is good," said AS Chief Justice Chris Fischer.

Elections are scheduled to be held April 26, runoffs will be held on April 28 if necessary. Before the elections, students will be given the opportunity to meet the candidates on April 24 and to hear some candidates debate on April 25. Both events will be televised.

Contact Molly Leaverton at (408) 554-4546 or mleaverton@scu.edu.