More than 1,000 students voted in this year's fall Student Government elections, a slight decrease from last year's numbers.
Board of Elections Chairwoman Amy McConnel said she considers the election a success despite the decrease in participation. The polling station on the quad during Friday's Artemas Ward Week activities was a new addition this year and helped to raise awareness and participation in the election, McConnel said.
Twenty-seven of the 30 student Senate seats are now filled, and half of the school and class council vacancies were filled after this election, with seven remaining unfilled, McConnel said.
Many of last year's senators did not run for re-election, and some hoped to be more involved with the executive or other branches of the SG, Senate Clerk Seth Cutter said.
The small crowd that gathered to hear the official election results Friday night was largely composed of freshmen. The freshmen Senate and Council seats were the most highly contested.
Newly elected At-Large Senator Savonia Vassell, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, said she was nervous before the announcement and very pleased with the results.
"I'm excited the student body listened to me as a freshman," she said.
Vassell's main goal is to "get the student body's voice out and maybe pass a student bill of rights," she said.
Vassell won 12.3 percent of the vote in the At-Large Senate category with 244 votes. Vassell's main campaign efforts were chalkings and passing out fliers, she said.
Al Smith, a candidate for 2011 class president, came in second in that race with 25.9 percent, or 133 votes.
"I'll definitely run again," Smith said.
His campaign platform focused on new programming, especially in the residence halls, Smith said.
Smith said his only campaign materials for this election were posters, and that he would run a better campaign next time.
McConnel said this year's elections ran smoothly because there were no formal hearings.
"Those take a lot of time," she said.
McConnel cited a change in the election bylaws that gave write-in candidates more of a fair shot at winning as helping to fill more the Senate and Council seats. Candidates must now get a plurality of votes instead of a majority. Eight write-in candidates were elected this year.
"Even though people can be elected with two votes, I think it's good. Our goal is to get positions filled," McConnel said of the new rule.
Sunday's weekly Senate meeting marked the last meeting of the Second Undergraduate Senate and the swearing-in and first meeting of the Third Undergraduate Senate.
