ASUW election primaries ended with record-setting numbers this week.
Not only were historic highs set in the number of votes cast and the number of candidates running, but the President-Vice President race ended with a less than 0.1 percent edge for the victors. Two Presidential-Vice Presidential candidates and two candidates for College of Arts and Sciences senators were eliminated when results were announced Wednesday night.
Henry Rawlings (Presidential candidate) and Anya Tracy (Vice-President candidate) squeaked by Mhamed Samet and Henry West 723-721. ASUW Election Commissioner Noah Hull said it was the first time he had hand-counted ballots.
“It took about six and a half hours,” Hull said. “I just didn’t want to run the risk of error.”
Hull said he could not account for why a record-high number of students – 2,192, to be exact – voted this year, but said he hopes it will carry over into the general election. Primaries, he said, tend to have a higher voter turnout.
“I think a lot of people vote this time and thinks it’s done, so we’re trying to remind people there’s two more weeks,” he said. “You have less President-VP tickets so you have two [campaigns] trying to pull as many votes.”
Ahmed Balogun (Presidential candidate) and Ricardo Lind-Gonzalez (Vice-President candidate) carried the most votes at 896. Mitchell Nedved and Chris Ellbogen received the least votes in the presidential race at 492. Sarah Maze and Emily Kath carried the A&S Senator race at 223 and 221 votes respectively.
A presidential debate is scheduled for Monday in the Union West Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and will feature the candidates taking anonymously submitted questions. Hull said candidates will have a limited amount of time to answer questions and make their case for why they are the best choice for votes.
“This is where they clarify what their platforms are,” he said.
Balogun and Lind-Gonzales have been students at UW for three years and say they plan to “develop and strengthen current programs,” according to their election application. Specifically, the candidates look to establish an online student forum called WyoVocal for discussion and to “monitor progress of proposed campus improvement initiatives.”
They also want to expand on-campus storage for RSOs to “promote resource sustainability.” By expanding ASUW, they hope to gain support for students to participate in conferences and build a user-friendly” CollegiateLink system.
Rawlings and Tracy say they want to ensure students will have a voice in AUSW and “want to ensure those elected representatives remain approachable and most importantly, relatable,” according to their application.
Candidates will be reaching out to voters throughout the next two weeks through various means.
Each candidate, Hull said, receives $1,000 in campaign financing and will try to reach out to students until general election voting begins on April 14 at 12 a.m. The polls will close on April 16 at 5 p.m. and Hull said an announcement will be made that evening.
