The spring 2009 elections saw a 38 percent voter turnout rate, nearly double the rate from last year’s elections and the highest rate since 2005, according to statistics released by the University Board of Elections last night.
Only the Darden and Education Schools experienced decreased turnout, as students across the University selected representatives for the Honor Committee, the University Judiciary Committee and Student Council, while also weighing referenda to the constitutions of those organizations.
UBE Chair Alisa Abbott, a fourth-year College student, attributed the leap in voter turnout to “increased publicity and highly contested referendums.” Abbott said the hotly contested honor referendum likely drew a high volume of students, as voters decided whether to amend the University’s single-sanction policy of expulsion for honor offenses.
Abbott said the University Board of Elections set up tables on the Lawn everyday last week and also sent out an e-mail to University community members to help increase election participation. These publicity efforts helped the University Board Elections monitor spikes in voter turnout throughout the election, Abbott said, adding that the Board was able to gauge which publicity initiatives were most effective. Moving forward, UBE will be able to implement these best strategies for even greater exposure, she said.
Second-year Nursing student Emily Flavin, who was re-elected as one of two UJC representatives from the Nursing School, also attributed the increase in voter turnout to the candidates’ heightened publicity efforts.
“The candidates did an amazing job getting their names out there,” Flavin said. “Their names were very well-known for the most contested elections.” She also cited the “Vote No” campaign initiated by the Students for Honor group as a major reason for the increase in turnout. This campaign encouraged students to vote against the honor referendum sponsored by Hoos Against Single Sanction.
The first year class, in particular, saw a higher volume of members voting in this spring’s elections, as 59 percent of students cast their votes. That figure represents an increase of 18 percent from last year. Similarly, the Engineering and Architecture Schools each saw increases of 15 percent, attaining rates of 38 percent and 35 percent, respectively. The rise in voter turnout in the Medical School also was significant, as students turned out in record numbers: 34 percent cast ballots, compared to only 5 percent the year before.
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