A broken election

This week's USG elections more closely resembled the elections of a banana republic than of a mature democracy. It is a shame that a University that has a great record of producing national and international leaders held elections for student government in which the majority of the most important offices went uncontested. This lack of choice reveals problems with the current USG elections system.

The USG's current system for soliciting candidates places those without previous experience in USG at a serious disadvantage. The lack of publicity informing potential candidates about the elections, the lack of time for candidates to complete their paperwork and the short period for campaigning, which advantages those in office who already have name recognition, makes for a very incumbent friendly environment. The USG website also contains almost no information for potential candidates. Indeed, great diligence is required to find any information about how USG elections are conducted. While there is nothing wrong with candidates gaining an advantage from previous USG experience, this advantage should manifest itself in how people judge the merits of each candidate — not in who has an easier time getting on the ballot.

Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of this year's elections was the lack of publicity before the qualifying deadline for candidates. Under the current system, the USG president is responsible for announcing election information. Alex Lenahan '07, however, failed to execute this duty competently. The USG needs to consider experimenting with other methods in order to better publicize elections. These might include: postering, setting up a table in Frist Campus Center and holding additional information sessions where potential candidates can learn more about the various USG positions and the election process.

In addition, the calendar for the entire elections process should be elongated. The period between the day Lenahan sent out the first email about winter elections and the time when voting began this year was only 16 days. In the days immediately preceding the hectic Thanksgiving holiday, candidates were expected to learn about USG offices, decide to run, fill out all the required paperwork and finally after the holiday, campaign for a week. Under the current calendar, there is too little time for potential candidates to declare their candidacy or for the student body to make informed choices by getting to know the candidates.

A fair, open and efficient system of elections is perhaps the most fundamental requirement of a democratic system. It is for this reason that the USG needs to undertake reforms that encourage more candidates to run and more students to feel they have viable choices regarding who will represent them.