Student Government is keeping the same voting system despite computing problems that turned what should have been one fall SG election into three.
SG officials say they can only change the online voting process that began last semester with a two thirds vote in the Senate and a presidential signature. But they say the Office of Computing Services will run pre-election tests to ensure no problems occur this semester — especially since 70 percent of SG elections and top offices are voted on in the spring.
Before last fall, full-time students could only vote at specific locations designated on campus the day of the election. Barbara Evans, associate director of Enterprise Solutions in OCS, created the computer program last semester. The program allowed full-time students to vote on any computer through a link on their PAWS account.
SG Commissioner of Elections Devin Reid said he supports the system because it increased participation last semester.
“I am for the system that gets the most students voting in SG elections,” Reid said.
Last fall there was a 104 percent increase in student participation, compared to the fall 2003 election.
But the increase was hindered by voting problems. SG had to re-run their entire election last semester because when students voted “no” to referendum No. 43 — a $1 fee increase to fund the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Newspaper Initiative — the computer would not confirm or submit their vote. Instead it sent them to a blank screen.
While fixing that problem, OCS also found the program allowed 179 part-time students to vote, which is against voting policy because part-time students do not pay student fees.
Evans said all University students’ information is kept on the University mainframe, a large computer that connects computer terminals on campus with the same information. When she tried to transfer information about students’ enrollment status from the mainframe to the voting application, Evans said a glitch occurred — allowing part-time students to vote.
Evans said the problems with referendum No. 43 were caused by bad data in the program.
When asked about the test that will be run pre-election, Evans said no one from SG has been in contact with her. But she anticipates there will be pre-election tests based on meetings she had with SG last semester, she added.
Evans said the pre-election tests will consist of SG members voting with sample ballots to ensure the program is working properly.