Ryan ChartrandThis year, voters don’t have to stand in line and wait to check off their choices for Associated Students Inc. president or Board of Directors; ballots will be cast online directly through the My Cal Poly portal.
“Because of last year’s run-off election and having to hold another ballot casting, we decided to re-examine how the ballots are tallied, so now it will be instant run-off instead,” Election Committee Chair Amanda Rankin said.
Instant run-off will enable students to rank the candidates by choice. If no candidate has the majority of votes, the candidate with the least amount of votes will be disqualified. If your choice receives the least amount of votes, your second choice will automatically get your vote.
“It is important to vote because we are shaping what’s going to happen for next year and who we want representing our colleges and our school,” Rankin said. “If you don’t vote, your voice is not heard on how you think our school should be run.”
Rankin explained that any computer can be used to cast a ballot, whether it’s located on or off campus.
“Even a students studying abroad can cast their votes for the election,” Rankin said.
There are computers available for student use in the University Union, Kennedy Library and in each department. Students can vote through eVote links on the My Cal Poly portal, Cal Poly Web site or ASI Web site.
Students can also cast a paper ballot at the Student Life and Leadership office in the UU.
The voting process for the Board of Directors races will be slightly different because there are more choices. Students will pick their top five choices, and the number of representatives chosen will depend upon the population of each college. There will be three to five members for each college.
Elections will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
Information on the candidates for ASI president and voting process is also available on the ASI Web site at http://www.asi.calpoly.edu.