Burnt Orange Report

Ticket Voting and "Baby Steps" Chaney

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

The Texan has an article up today on tonight's Student Government meeting where a couple of issues will be voted on in the name of SG Election reform, the big one being the elimination of large Tickets for campaigns.

I'll harp on some comments made by SG President Brent Chaney first.

SG President Brent Chaney, whose Focus ticket swept the 2004 election by 100 percent, said though he believes the election process needs reform, SG needs to take "baby steps" toward change.

Oh please, enough with baby steps in Student Government. If you want to know why people feel SG doesn't get anything accomplished it's because it's baby stepping around all the time. Want to know when they are recognized for actually doing something? Big, single issue, clear moves: Increasing Webmail Space, Student on the Board of Regents, Tax Free Textbooks. And seeing that Mr. Chaney is responsible in large part for 2 of those 3, one would think he understands the nature of bold moves.

However, the English senior said one weakness of running individually was a possible separation of the president and the assembly, who could be pitted against one another if not sharing the same basic goals.

Oh heavens, like Washington, DC, or Austin? Maybe there would be more discussion and student imput and lobbying of Student Governement if it was more like an actual government instead of a jolly glee club where everyone can pat each other on the back because they are all so awesomely the same.

He said the main focus of the elections should be to increase voter turnout and to educate voters.

Well, SG seems to keep failing in this category. Beyond the fact that voter turnout was up because of online voting, it fell back down by 5 points this year in what everyone thought was a more contested election. And as far as educated voters? Well I know the 8 people on the Daily Texan Panel were but I dare say that more than a quarter of those who voted actually cared enough to cross ticket lines or have some real grasp on what they were voting for. Maybe it's because individuality has been squashed by the current system where 40 candidates become swallowed up by a Party label that has no meaning and dies as soon as it is elected.

Until the structural system of SG elections changes, I feel we will never reach a point where we increase turnout and voter education. It's not in anyone's best interest as a Ticket. If we leave the current system in place, I'm in favor of pushing turnout down to the point where it favors those people that actually make a discerning choice between candidates, not parties.

If you are available tonight, come to the SG Meeting at 7 pm in the basement of the SSB. Give your opinions in the Open Forum at the beginning. If you want a summary of the bills, SG fly on the wall, Tim Allen has AB 18 here and AB 19 here.

An e-mail listing of all Representative is located here, should you want to just drop them a short, "I'm in favor/opposed to XX Bill" e-mail. I'll be there tonight for a BOReport from the Floor of course.