Student Association officials announced Tuesday night 692 students voted the first day of executive elections.

Praveen Anbudaiyan, a senior accountancy major and the SA elections commissioner, said if as many students vote tomorrow, turnout will exceed last year’s numbers.

1,300 students, or 5 percent of NIU’s almost 25,000 students, voted during Student Association executive elections last year.

Craig Marcus, senior organizational/corporate communication major and current SA president, said students need to make their voices heard and can do so by voting.

SA presidential candidates are campaigning not only for their respective tickets but for students’ interest in voting.

The SA allocates money that comes out of students’ pockets and for this reason students should vote, said Raoul Gravel, presidential candidate and senior political science major.

The SA controls about $1.3 million in student fees, including the student activity fee and the busing fee. Each student pays about $75 toward that total.

The Board of Trustees approved a 5 percent, or .16 cents per credit hour, student activity fee increase on March 24, the first increase in three years.

About 3 percent of the student activity fee, or about $40,000, funds salaries of the president, vice president, treasurer, chief-of-staff, speaker of the house, SA directors and elections commissioner.

DuJuan Smith, SA presidential candidate, current SA treasurer and a senior psychology and sociology major, said voting holds a unique importance for him.

“Coming from the standpoint of an African American, we were not always allowed to vote, so I look at voting as something completely different altogether,” Smith said. “So I always try to stay informed and know exactly what is going on to make the proper vote”

The SA also appoints students on various university committees. The student government makes over 150 appointments each year, Marcus said.

Eddie Williams, vice president of finance and planning, said students are represented through the committees on issues such as tuition and student fee increases.

“Students should be aware of how their money is spent and how the decisions are made,” Williams said.

Low turnout at student government elections is not uncommon and is the same at almost all other universities, he said.