Kristen MarschallThe preliminary numbers are in: Todd Maki will represent 18,000 Cal Poly students as the Associated Students, Inc. president for the 2006-07 school year as announced Thursday night.
"I'm amazed by the turnout; I'm amazed by the voice of the students and I'm so proud to have had that support," Maki said.
Maki took 2,746 of the votes, while Anne Giapapas took 958 in unofficial results, according to John Azevedo, chair of the ASI elections committee.
ASI President Tylor Middlestadt had hoped for a 25 percent voter turnout; what he got was 22.5 percent. Jacob Swartz, a sophomore mechanical engineer, voted for Maki. He attributed the decision to the fact that Maki seemed “well put-together” with his advertisements.
“It was kind of cool that he was sponsored by both the Cal Poly Republicans and the Democrats,” Swartz said. “(It shows he’s) not a one-sided president and is unbiased.”
Others were simply impressed with Maki’s endorsement T-shirts,
“The T-shirts ” that’s why I would have voted, because I saw the T-shirts,” said Kaha Sariashvili, an electrical engineering senior. “But that’s why I didn’t vote.”
Voting locations were scattered throughout the campus and were managed by the League of Women Voters, who have been helping the Cal Poly polls for the last 20 years.
“We run it like a regular polling place,” said member GlennaDeane Dovey. “There is no electionary present within 20 feet (of the polls).”
Judy Alter was another league member who worked at the booth in the University Union on Wednesday and the library booth on Thursday.
“This is a very slow place,” she said of the library, adding there were more voters at the UU the previous day, many of which were from the College of Science and Math and the College of Engineering.
But one thing did remain consistent between the voting days.
“We didn’t have any education students (yesterday) or today either,” she said.