Student government approves new presidential election, old votes discarded

After rejecting the election results on Monday, April 10, over questions about the electoral process, student government has chosen to hold a new election.

The senate did approve all other election results for the uncontested seats. They have opted to approve a new election for president and vice president, discarding all previously casted votes.

The senate voted to approve a new election for president and vice president, with the stipulation that all previously casted votes be discarded. 

Everyone, regardless of whether they voted in the first election, is allowed to vote in the new election which will take place from April 18 at 10 a.m. to April 20 at 10 a.m. 

The votes were thrown out after discrepancies were found in the election process. These were brought to the attention of the senate last Monday and during the special meeting on April 13. Roughly 4% of students had difficulty voting through GetInvolved, according to vice president candidate Jared Jess. This, along with voting times of only 36 hours, the election commission was not approved by the senate prior to the election and accusations of a biased election committee were all brought to the attention of the senate during the emergency meeting.

Senators discussed possible solutions to problems in the first election such as extending the voting times, and providing an easily accessible link through social media and email for students who may have trouble with voting. 

Voting is now open. Links were emailed to all students’ emails. The voting will take place until 10 a.m. through GetInvolved or a separate secure link if the first link does not work for certain students.