Election officials say they expect record voter turnout during this year’s ASUC election.
Elections Council chair Jina Yoo speculated that voter turnout would increase this year based on the number of views the election website has received so far this election.
“I’m hoping that voter turnout increases, because the propositions that are on the ballot this year affect all students,” Yoo said. “Last year’s election experienced record turnout, and this year, the ASUC has put more money into advertising and social media than previous years.”
Before the election, the ASUC’s voting website only had about 3,000 views, and now it has more than 20,000, according to Yoo.
Around 12,600 students cast votes in last year’s election — the highest voter turnout in recent history.
The expected increase in voter participation, however, comes after the number of polling places on campus decreased from prior years. Yoo said that a majority of students voted online in recent elections, and the ASUC decided to reduce polling places to save money.
Yoo said that the ASUC wanted to see which polling stations would be the most efficient to have on campus because many people elect to vote online. She also cited the additional cost of running a polling station.
“I haven’t seen anyone actually use the computers (at the polling stations) to vote,” said poll worker Katie Rice. “I usually refer people to the website to vote.”
Although many students have already cast their ballots, others say they will not vote at all.
Shahin Bavarsad, a junior psychology major, said he does not plan to vote this year.
“I feel like if I’m voting for something I don’t know anything about, I’m abusing my right to vote,” Bavarsad said.
Thursday is the last day to cast a vote, with the last physical polling station closing at 9 p.m. and online voting closing at 11:59 p.m.
Contact Matt Trejo at [email protected].