Moon takes presidency, voter turn-out decreases
KASEY DOYLE/News editor
Issue date: 4/14/05 Section: News
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Kristin Hale, chair of the election committee and ethics administrator for SGA, said there was good student participation from all four campuses in this year's election, and 1,784 students voted this year.
Last year, 2,341 students voted in the SGA elections, and this year student participation was down by more than 500.
"(Students) were a lot more enthusiastic than I expected," Hale said.
Smith said one goal of the candidates was to increase the number of student voters.
"I still wish more students would get involved in elections," Smith said.
Hale said the student e-mail server shut down for 20 to 25 minutes, which occurred around 5:30 p.m.
"I'm sure that there are a handful of students who didn't get to vote," Hale said.
The election committee deliberated and decided to count the votes Tuesday night and announce the results because the time the server was down was not significant enough to affect the results.
Moon and Smith won the Presidential race, winning 1,148 votes. C.E. Huffman and Jenna Kane received 542 votes.
Moon said he was happy with the results of the election.
"I really couldn't grasp it at first," Moon said. "It just overwhelmed me."
"I was so excited, I didn't even hear my name announced," Smith said.
Smith said her goal as executive vice president is to improve the retention rate among Senate members.
"I want Senators to feel pride in what they are doing," Smith said.
Moon said he wants to improve student involvement on campus, as well as on a local and state level.
"I can only encourage more students to get involved in SGA," Moon said.
Students also voted for vice president for Student Activities Council, vice president for Residence Life Council, Senate and candidates for SAC. Lindsay Baker was re-elected as vice president for Student Activities Council with 948 votes. Alison King received 569 votes.