Council members are predicting this year's College representative elections will be different. In last fall's elections, 11 candidates ran for six College representative positions and only 7 percent of all students voted. But this year 22 candidates will run. Student Council officials said they hope the increase in candidates will be mirrored by an increase in voter participation.
Elections Committee Chairwoman Nancy Peterson stressed the efforts that both Council and the candidates put into increasing participation.
Council's biggest innovation towards this goal is the new voting booths in Newcomb Hall, Peterson said.
Vice President of Administration Brock Jolly said he was enthusiastic about the large field of candidates.
"Everybody is out campaigning really strongly," Jolly said. "This is a good group of people - they should hit the ground running."
Council President Taz Turner also expressed enthusiasm for the election.
"It's amazing," Turner said. "This shows that the Student Council is gaining much more interest."
There are three incumbent candidates who will be running for re-election. All three will support each other, said Justin Pfeiffer, incumbent and third-year College student.
Pfeiffer said he feels the large candidate field is "good because it increases interest in the election."
Nathan Cook, second-year College student and incumbent, said he was forced to "step up" his campaign in response to the large candidate field.
Kelly Harris, second-year College student and challenger, said although the increased number of candidates is a positive change, many of the candidates seemed to be running to "just get their name out there," rather than making the effort to run on issues.
The elections will be held Nov. 2-4.
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