ASUC Senate May Shut Down Less-Used Polling Stations

The ASUC Senate will consider a resolution Wednesday night that would reduce the number of on-campus polling locations to promote online voting for spring elections.

The amended bill, authored by Student Action Senators Jeff Manassero and Sammy Averbach and Elections Council Chair Jessica Wren, states that five polling locations will be cut from the existing 17, saving $3,645.

Polling locations would be eliminated from the Haas School of Business courtyard, the Boalt Hall courtyard, the plaza and walkway between Soda and Etcheverry halls, and the Genetics and Plant Biology building.

The polling location at the Valley Life Sciences Building Addition would also be removed from the bylaws, as it has not been used in three years, Wren said.

The amended bill also states that the “Elections Council would make an effort to establish an informative display at sites of former polling locations” to direct voters to the nearest polling location or computing facility.

The five polling locations slated for removal are among the least utilized locations, with only 85 of the 10,683 votes of the 2006 elections cast at Boalt Hall.

“We spent a lot of money in startup costs for online (elections),” Averbach said. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t cut costs where there’s very few voters.”

The original version of the bill also eliminated polling locations from the International House, Crossroads, and the dining commons for Unit 3, the Clark Kerr Campus, and Foothill.

However, removing polling stations from the dining facilities was found to be in violation of the constitution, which states the Elections Council “shall provide for the placement and operation of polling places at the dining commons, or no more than fifty feet away from the perimeter if a polling place absolutely cannot be installed, of each of the residence hall units owned or managed by the University, including the International House.”

If the bill passes, students could vote at any of the remaining 12 polling locations or through the online voting system, provided that the student is a registered student with a Calnet ID, Wren said.

The money saved from removing polling stations would be used toward online elections publicity, Wren said.

Manassero said encouraging students to use the online elections system will help the student body with the money saved.

“It’s always a concern of the ASUC to better serve the student body,” Manassero said. “Every dollar saved is a big step to serving them better.”

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