After observing the process and problems of its first campus-wide elections held online, Student Government is changing the rules that will govern future elections.
The Senate voted unanimously for crucial revisions last week, and President-elect Michelle Gieg will soon propose to the Senate a revision committee that will work this summer on making major changes to the code.
Because changes to the SG election code must be made a semester before they take effect, the Senate’s changes will govern next fall’s election.
Any changes the committee recommends this summer will not affect the elections until next spring.
Gieg said the committee will examine student voting habits and determine whether elections should continue until midnight — students could vote until 11:59 p.m. in this spring’s election.
Gieg said the committee will also examine the way tickets are formed. Currently, tickets are formed in secret because of restrictions on active campaigning before the official start date.
Because the officials who govern residential halls and academic buildings make rules about campaigning in their areas, the committee will also look at how to better accommodate those rules in the election code.
Gieg said the committee will also consider whether candidates approaching potential voters with laptops to vote is voter intimidation. While campaigning for the past election, Gieg said many candidates pushed students to vote on laptops, which could have influenced votes.
Polling locations also may be abolished, Gieg said. Commissioner of Elections Devin Reid told the Senate on Wednesday night that because students can vote from any computer, “accessibility is not an issue on this campus,” and polling locations may not be needed anymore.
The summer committee will comprise SG officers appointed by Gieg and the speaker of the Senate. Gieg will appoint all committee members except those senators whom the speaker appoints. She said the committee will have representatives from all aspects of SG, such as the commissioner of elections, a University Court justice and the speaker of the Senate.
Gieg also said she is asking advisers to help with the revisions. She said a representative from the Dean of Students’ office and a legal adviser will offer guidance to the committee.
“We are really trying to open this conversation up,” Gieg said.
The bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday night made changes clarifying certain words and explaining the definition of a public forum more clearly, which caused a lot of confusion and debate this spring about what kinds of student-organization meetings are considered public forums.
Bo Staples, College of Arts and Sciences senator and co-author of the bill, said the bill was debated in the Senate Rules Committee for about four weeks.
“We are trying to do it the right way and not rush into anything,” Staples said.
Staples said new problems are raised about the election code every semester because candidates find ways to get around rules.
“It’s a living document,” Staples said. “We fix the bad and build on the new.”