DeKALB – At Friday’s Student Government Association Senate meeting, two new resolutions were passed altering election protocols.

CHANGES TO ELECTION PROTOCOLS

Resolution 55037, which clarifies candidates cannot campaign within 100 feet of any building containing a voting station on Election Days, was passed by a vote 12-1-0.

Sergeant-at-Arms Niko Bereolos said the purpose of the resolution, which he authored, is to be able to punish candidates more efficiently with better evidence that they violated the 100-foot campaigning rule.

“It’s just to stop people, from other candidates pressuring people into voting for them, because it happened a lot last in the last year’s election, that it was blatant, but the election commission didn’t do anything about it because they didn’t have enough evidence,” Bereolos said.

Although the resolution did pass, Chair Person Demetri Anastopolous debated the campaigning change.

“What was the benefit of this other than just wasting more manpower from people enforcing a quote unquote 100-foot rule? Because I think that those people that will be hired can be allotted to do something else or something a lot more useful,” Anastopolous said.

The senate also passed a resolution adding one more day to the elections with a vote of 10-3-0. Rather than just having election days on Tuesday and Wednesday, Monday will be added as well.

“This will allow for people if they’re not on campus on either of those two days to vote in-person. As I’m not on campus Mondays, so I know at least one major isn’t on campus that day,” Bereolos said. “It’s just allowing more people to vote.”

THREE NEW STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS RECOGNIZED

The following student organizations gained recognition: Belegarth Medieval Combat Society, Gender and Sexualities Alliance, and Association of Graduate Economics Students.

SGA meetings are open to the public and held at 2 p.m. on Fridays, with locations posted in the senate’s agendas. SGA minutes and intent to speak forms are available on Huskie Hub.