Proposed bill reflects desired changes
If you've been around here awhile, you know the frenzy of Student Government elections.
Snickerdoodle cookies and glasses of lemonade that may or may not have been legal. Candidates who are disqualified from elections while living overseas. Nasty slurs about beer runs and hotdog references across candidate posters.
You know, fun stuff. Sometimes, too much fun. So in that spirit, the proposed SG bill to shorten the campaigning time period for SG elections from three weeks to two is an excellent idea.
Last year, the elections ran for an exhausting four weeks — complete with a runoff election. How much campaigning can one really take? By the end of week two, who cares about igniting Carolina? We just want to ignite all the banners.
Lessening the election time might make students care more. Who knows? It's worth a shot. Since only about 25 percent of the student body typically votes, can it get worse?
And while we're talking about Student Government elections, let's make one more quick point. Runoff elections are pointless. When there are more than two candidates and none get 50 percent of the vote, name the highest vote winner as the next officer and move on.
It's difficult to get students to vote once; asking them to spend 10 extra seconds and sign on again is asking the near impossible. As we've seen time and time again, fewer students vote the second time around.
We're already looking forward to this spring's elections.
And if you ask us, snickerdoodles should always be legal, even if they're given out next to a computer where you can vote.
