Every spring students have the opportunity to elect one of their peers to the offices of president, vice president and senators for the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW).
Over the span of three days starting next Monday, students may vote for their candidates of choice via a new ranking system, also known as alternative voting, which was implemented this year.
“It’s just a better way to represent all voters and so that people get who they want in the sense of ranking,” said Tess Stonehouse, ASUW’s elections commissioner.
Voting will be done online through using a QR code or through WyoWeb, and food will be provided. Students can vote next week at the following polling sites and times:
- Monday at the Wyoming Union from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., outside the Arts and Sciences building with Jimmy Johns from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at Coe Library from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday at the Union from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Washakie Dining Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. and at Coe Library from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., with donuts served at all locations
- Wednesday at the Union from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts with pizza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at Coe Library from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Current ASUW President Alexandra Mulhall said that anybody can run for any position, but said the best qualifications for any of the positions is caring for the students at the University and having their best interest to make campus life enjoyable.
To begin the election process, candidates must apply for the position they plan to run for to give ASUW a chance to see if the candidates are full-time students and are in the college that they want to represent.
The elections are a “free-for-all” for any student that wants to represent their college, though there are some credit limits for certain positions. Students must have completed at least 24 credit hours as an undergraduate and 18 as a graduate student to run, and have a minimum GPA of 2.0 as an undergraduate and a 3.0 for a graduate student.
“One thing that I don’t know if a lot of people understand about ASUW is that the senators are running for their specific college,” said Stonehouse. “They’re not actually running for all student representatives.”
Unlike senators, the president and vice president do represent the entire student body instead of specific colleges. which is a reason for why their campaign spending budget of $1,000 max is much higher than the senators’ maximum of $100.
For president and vice president, Mulhall said that it is important for candidate to be able to communicate well with others and to be professional, innovative and good at making decisions. She said that experience in ASUW is helpful to these candidates but not necessary.
While she said she likes the candidates running for president and vice-president, Mulhall said that she would like to see more people running for more competition in the future.
Before student candidates get the opportunity to campaign, they must attend an informational meeting to learn about all of the rules and guidelines to run, and then they may campaign until the voting session.
Past years have shown that the voter turnout at the University has been small, something that Stonehouse has been expecting for this year, but is hoping will change.
“That’s kind of my goal for this election is to increase the voter turnout,” said Stonehouse.
Mulhall said that she thinks that voter turnout might increase this year compared to previous years. She said that they have different strategies in getting students to vote such as awesome “I Voted” stickers, polling in multiple locations, food during the voting week and have a drawing for prizes to those who vote.
Having been ASUW president for the past semester, Mulhall has decided to step down to Senate for the College of Arts and Sciences during her senior year.
“Having to deal with different stresses next year, I thought it would be just wise for me to step it back a bit,” she said, “take a little more time for myself and some of those things I need to work on for the future. But I still wanted to stay involved and help continue what I’ve done while I’ve been here.”
Mulhall expressed her love for being president and vice president in the past and how much it has helped her personal and professional development.
“It’s been a really unique opportunity to see the different side of the University and then use that to help other students, which has been way cooler than I could’ve ever imagined,” said Mulhall.
Student with questions on the election process may contact Stonehouse at asuwelection@gmail.com or ASUW at asuwgov@uwyo.edu.
