Students are not yet done voting for their new Students’ Association vice president. No vice-presidential candidate received 50 percent of the vote, so frontrunners Rebecca Dial and Julianne Hart will undergo a runoff election on Friday.
Voting will take place in the McGlothlin Campus Center from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Other elections reached resolution Thursday. Connor Best will serve as SA president, and Carson Henley will serve as SA treasurer.
Both Dial, junior political science and history major from Lexington, S.C., and Hart, junior political science major from Austin, said they asked to have run off elections pushed to next week.
“I think that’s not enough time to inform students and get everyone aware of the situation,” Dial said. “Plus, a lot of people are leaving tomorrow, and that hinders students from voting and being aware of what’s happening.”
However, SA Vice President Jared Elk, senior political science major from Savoy,said voters only would benefit from a delayed runoff if SA had planned another big event prior to casting votes, at which candidates could share their platforms. Because campaign events already have finished, Elk said the lapse in time would only diminish voter turnout.
“We want to capitalize on the momentum we currently have from the elections,” Elk said.
Hart, however agreed with Dial, saying conducting the election the next day could hurt voter turnout.
“I’m a little worried with the quick turnaround that people won’t know what’s going on and vote a second time,” Hart said.
Both Dial and Hart said they plan to visit dorms and other large student gathering places to let students know what’s going on and encourage them to vote Friday.
Both also said they would still be involved in SA Congress if they don’t win
And Best said he was excited about the prospect of working with either vice-presidential candidate.
“I think no matter who wins vice president race, we are going to have three very hard workers,” Best said. “The work ethic of the two vice-presidential candidates is very high. We all want to see SA accomplish its full potential and get back to what it can do.”
He also said Henley’s commitment to SA would make the new treasurer an excellent leader.
Henley said he was ready for next year’s cabinet to begin collaborating.
“Knowing the issues that SA has had the previous two years, that has taught us that we need to make SA work a lot better,” Henley said. “Connor and I are best friends on this campus, and whoever the VP is will fit into the puzzle.”
Best said he’s been thinking about the presidency all week, but now that he is officially elected, he can develop plans for next year.
“I’ve taken this week to think about and pursue visions for ACU,” Best said, “and now, knowing it’s official, I’m going to start talking to other officers and figure out a vision we can have for next year.”
