Commendation to ASG elections committee for handling a sticky situation

The Associated Student Government (ASG) Elections Committee Chair Luke Harrison hailed this year’s ASG presidential elections as one of the largest in terms of candidates and voters.

However, it also saw many more complaints and accusations as well, leading Harrison to spearhead the effort to revise and rewrite the elections packet.
We at The Advocate would like to take this opportunity to commend Harrison and the Elections Committee on their handling of this situation.

Too often it is easy for the students at MHCC to fall into a sort of apathetic lethargy in regards to student life and government, but this group of students has taken a hands-on approach to solving an identified problem.

It should also be noted that people often find it easy to criticize a group for shortcomings without much thought as to how difficult it can be to work your way through issues involved with such a delicate situation, yet the elections committee has been able to push through these complications.

One of the controversies in this year’s election was the allegation that President-Elect William Miller and his Vice President, running partner Antonio Guerrero, used off-campus food incentives to garner votes as well as offering their personal hand-held devices to voters.

While there has been no action taken against Miller and Guerrero, the number and nature of the complaints has led Harrison to initiate a rewrite of the current elections packet in order to clarify the alleged gray areas in the ethical conduct of candidates, especially in regards to campaigning.

The Advocate heartily welcomes this action, especially the willingness of Harrison to take suggestions from students about perceived wrongs and errors in this year’s election. Harrison said that suggestions should be emailed to [email protected] or turned in to the drop-box in the College Center.

We at The Advocate would also like to take this time to add a couple of our own suggestions for the new elections packet:

— Specific polling areas should be set up in the Main Mall or the College Center and partitioned off to allow students more privacy in voting as well as less pressure from an attendant. Elections Committee members should monitor these areas to ensure ethical conduct of voters.

— Increased surveillance of candidates while campaigning at school to ensure ethical conduct. This would include making sure no candidates have the option to campaign anywhere there are computers or offer their own hand-held devices to students wishing to vote.

With changes such as the aforementioned, ASG elections ought to be more peaceful and easier to conduct. While the excitement of an election scandal is undeniable, an orderly and fair election is far more preferable.

The Advocate hopes that students will indeed take Harrison up on his willingness to listen and consider suggestions and provide their own informed feedback on the election process.

So, with this year’s election behind us and an eye to next year’s, The Advocate applauds Harrison and the committee for his leadership and initiative in that most desirable of campaign motifs: change.