Students should perform civic duty and vote

By Rice Editorial Staff     2/26/14 9:45am

The Thresher would like to acknowledge that the election rerun is a complicated issue. We understand the University Court’s decision, because certain aspects of the previous election were undoubtedly incorrect. 

The Thresher would like to acknowledge that the election rerun is a complicated issue. We understand the University Court’s decision, because certain aspects of the previous election were undoubtedly incorrect. However, we would also like to recognize that, after the problematic votes were disregarded, the Student Association presidential election resulted in a clear winner. 

We do not wish to judge whether or not a rerun was justified; that was the job of UCourt, and that decision has already been made. Rather, we think it is important that students across campus take the appropriate steps to make sure that the current election goes smoothly and that we do not have election-related problems in the future. 

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We would like to suggest that language in the constitution be clarified so that a “joke candidate” cannot be on the ballot. We know that the current language does not disallow for the inclusion of a “joke candidate” on the formal election ballot, and therefore understand UCourt’s decision. However, we also believe that the debate over the inclusion of a “joke candidate” has caused a lot of confusion. In the future, we would like everyone to recognize that a graduating senior is not a viable candidate for the SA presidency; we believe that any person who does not intend to actually serve a full term as president should not be on the ballot, both to avoid confusion and to encourage students to take the actual voting process more seriously. That is not to say that we would like to prohibit the involvement of a “joke candidate” in any part of the elections. We understand that the concept of a graduating senior running as a joke candidate is a Rice tradition that provides entertainment and draws attention to the election process, and we do not want to see complete participation of a joke candidate eliminated. 

Most importantly, we want to emphasize how essential it is that students vote in this rerun. We understand that some students are frustrated that they have to vote again, and we recognize that many people across campus have found this confusion tragically comical. However, it is extremely important that we remember that the outcomes of this election will dictate how aspects of life at Rice are governed for at least the next year, and we urge students to approach this rerun with the same level of thought and careful consideration they would use to make decisions in their own lives. 

 

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.

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