The Daily Gamecock

SG constitutional referendum fails to pass

More than 80 percent of voters favored a change in Student Government’s constitution in Wednesday’s election, but the referendum did not pass due to low voter turnout.

A little more than 2,000 students voted to pass the revised constitution, which would have created a bicameral legislature for graduate and undergraduate students.

But at least 10 percent of the student body­ — or 2,510 voters — had to vote in the election for a change to occur, according to SG codes. Only 2,447 did.

This means graduate student advocates are back to the beginning, and the SG chamber will stay the same.

“I’m disappointed it failed by such a slim margin,” said Ben Bullock, president of the Graduate Student Association. “But it will not hurt our association’s relationship with SG.”

The proposed constitutional change passed after months of debate on the Senate floor last spring. It eventually passed overwhelmingly.


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