SGA election committee hoping for more student voters

While SGA presidential candidates and senators are gearing up for elections on March 2 and 3, the SGA Election Steering Committee is preparing as well.

The Election Steering Committee is in charge of the election and voting process – which includes getting students to vote.

In 2013, a total of 2,000 students voted in the SGA elections.

However, in the 2015 election, 1,201 votes were cast for the presidential election and 1,293 votes were cast in total for senatorial seats.

Numbers from the 2014 election aren’t available, Nick Bratvold, chairman of the Election Steering Committee, said.

Bratvold said the decline in voters between the 2015 and 2013 elections might have been due to the fact that only one team was running.

“This past election wasn’t actually an election,” Bratvold said. “This year, with there being two presidential candidates and a plethora of candidates in the different senatorial seats, I think that helps.”

In the 2015 fall semester, 9,971 students were enrolled at USD, according to USD’s website.

“The correct sample size when you’re looking at most data at this level is about 15 percent,” Bratvold said. “So if you get that much that’s good and anything above that is better.”

This means that about 1,495 students need to vote to have a proper sample size of the campus community.

“I would (vote), the only reason I wouldn’t is because I don’t know what it is or where to vote,” said sophomore Regan Enos.

Bratvold said the Election Steering Committee likes to wait to educate students on the election.

“There is some data that supports the idea that essentially you are not going to remember something if we start pushing it about a  month out,” he said. “We try to make the big push for voting in the two weeks closest to the election time because that’s when it really shows that people are going to vote.”

Bratvold said the committee hopes the upcoming debates will bring the election to the attention of student voters.

“Between the debate this week and the debate next week and then obviously voting … it’s going to be a lot about outreach on the candidates’ part,” he said. “On the actual days of voting, we are inviting any senatorial and executive candidate to come to the MUC Pit Lounge and hang out while we have computers available for people to vote.”

The Cross Media Council will host its debate Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. Students can watch the debate live in the Al Neuharth Freedom Forum Conference Room, on cable channel 21 or at volanteonline.com. A second debate sponsored by SGA is set for Feb. 29 in the MUC Pit Lounge.

SGA Debate Video from The Volante on Vimeo.