“It is the key to Democracy to have all people equally represented in government,” according to a Student Association Senate bill to add another polling place to “allow more voters the chance to have a choice for their elected officials.”

The SA elections historically have had low attendance. Last fall, the senate appeared to want to fix this.

During the Nov. 12, 2006, SA meeting, the senate voted to amend its constitution and bylaws to include a fourth polling place. This would put one at the Holmes Student Center, DuSable Hall, Barsema Hall and the Campus Recreation Center.

Many, including election commissioner Erick Brenes, were under the impression that this change would take effect in the spring. This is not the case. SA President Adam Novotney and speaker Robert Batey say this won’t happen until the fall, after the spring executive election.

The original amendment included a provisional polling place to float around over the course of a couple years to find the most high-traffic area. This would have been implemented in fall ’07. The senate voted against this part, but say it is keeping the fall deadline. This means the spring executive elections will still feature the same three polling places, and possibly the same 2 percent turnout.

A polling place at the Rec would make sense. Thousands of students visit the Rec every day. It would be the closest to the four main residence halls, making up most of the 1st and 2nd districts. It is also hooked up to the OneCard system. Why the senate is choosing to wait makes no sense.

The Rec already serves as a polling place for local elections, as well as the presidential election. It is obviously suited to serve as a polling place for a student election.

There is legislation on the agenda to support online voting for student elections next week. This bill, if it passes, would only mean the SA is pursuing the idea of online voting, but not binding them to any sort of concrete plan.

If the senate was really interested in representing more voters, applying a more effective form of election should take priority over legislation to allow the Speaker to cancel meetings because of the weather.