Sean McMinn
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Candidates need a majority of the vote – 50 percent – to win the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) presidency. But what if that doesn’t happen?
With three candidates running for the presidency this year, it’s a very real possibility the one with the most votes might not have enough to win outright. This brings in a practice called instant run-off.
When students vote for their next president, they can also choose a second candidate. If their No. 1 pick doesn’t win and the overall winner doesn’t have at least half the votes, the student’s vote will be transferred to their No. 2 choice.
This happened last year, when four candidates ran, because current president and agricultural business senior Jason Colombini wasn’t able to win at least half the votes in the first round. Political science senior Daniel Wasta, who ran against Colombini and is managing Joi Sullivan’s election campaign this time around, said he thinks the strength of this year’s candidate pool could mean an instant run-off scenario is likely.
Still, it doesn’t appear to be changing any election strategies. Wasta said while the campaign managers are aware of the rule, it’s not continuously on his mind.
“We’re not running this campaign telling people to vote for Joi as your No. 2 choice,” Wasta said. “But we’re saying, ‘Even if you’re not voting for Joi, make sure to rank another candidate.’”
Voting opens at 7 a.m. Wednesday and continues until 7 a.m. on Thursday. Students can vote for president and Board of Directors on their My Cal Poly Portal. ASI will announce the winners on Thursday at 11 a.m., after the Atmosphere concert in the Recreation Center.