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ASG changes campaign rules

Austin Fast

After high voter turnout in last year's student body elections, Associated Student Government (ASG) unanimously voted Tuesday to revamp election procedures for the spring of 2009.

Since 2003, ASG bylaws have prohibited presidential and vice presidential candidates from campaigning by political party, banding together in a ticket or sharing campaign resources.

ASG's election committee recommended loosening all three provisions, in an attempt to open up ASG election campaigning.

Doug Haynes, president of the senate, hopes this will allow candidates to discuss their values and campaign alongside like-minded candidates.

"I don't think it's right to tell people they can't run together," Haynes said. "You're imposing a rule and there's no real reason for it. You should be able to vote for the people who have values you think are most important."

The changes apply to the four publicly elected positions on ASG's executive cabinet: president of the student body, vice president of the student body, vice president for student organizations and vice president of campus activities.

The candidates will still not appear together on the ballot in ticket form, but the new bylaws now allow candidates to endorse each other and share resources however they deem necessary.

Last year, ASG held off-campus senator elections in the spring for the first time and allowed candidates to campaign together.

The legislation claims allowing senators to campaign together did not form cliques within ASG or cause major problems, so the elections committee said the same concept could be applied to executive cabinet positions.

Although most senators did not have any qualms with passing the legislation, Matt Forrest, secretary for on-campus affairs, was concerned it could prevent people outside of ASG from getting elected.

"Some people think ASG is elitist and you can't get in unless you're already in," Forrest said. "I don't want to see this become something that is exclusive and people banding together to keep people out."

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Student Body President Mike Scott had concerns that removing the ban against campaigning along party lines could keep non-ASG members from participating in elections.

"What is the point of allowing for political parties?" Scott asked. "I think by having them, you allow for much more exclusivity in the process."

John McNabb, vice president for student organizations, dismissed Scott and Forrest's concerns, saying there are plenty of ways for students to get involved in ASG.

"You can get in the system if you want to," McNabb said. "I don't think this does anything to make us more or less exclusive."

The election committee plans to release more specific rules guiding the election within a few weeks.

For now, the tentative plan is to start open campaigning at midnight Jan. 16. Four weeks later, a primary election will whittle down the candidates for each position to two choices before the general election two weeks later selects the winners.