Campus Election Results Reveal Low Voter Turnout

By Jordan Schraeder in Blog on March 2, 2012 at 2:37 pm | No Comments

With the exception of the postponed president/VP elections, the results of UT’s campus-wide student elections were released today. And though many newly elected students have something to celebrate, there’s one disheartening aspect: a lower voter turnout.

Participating voters for Daily Texan editor dropped from 8 to 7 percent of the student body; University Co-op Board of Directors, from 11 to 7; and Student Events Center president, from 8 to 5.

Only 4,600 students—approximately 10 percent of the student body—voted on the tuition referendum that was attached to the Student Government ballot. Of those voters, 71 percent voted against budget cuts to UT programs and services, while 64 percent voted in opposition of the proposed 2.6 percent tuition increase.

Officials aren’t saying whether they believe the messy UT student-body president elections—which are currently postponed and at the mercy of the Travis County Court—affected this year’s voter turnout.

Disqualified running mates Madison Gardner and Antonio Guevara filed suit against the University this week claiming the election code used to disqualify them violated their First Amendment rights.

Do you agree with the pair’s course of action? Vote below!

[polldaddy poll=6000186]

Photo by Rebeca Rodriguez. Courtesy the Daily Texan.

Tags: Antonio Guevara, Daily Texan, Madison Gardner, student government, Travis County Court, University Co-op