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For the first time since 2015, the candidates for Student Association president and vice president are running unopposed.

SA presidential candidate David Bruen and vice presidential candidate Darnelle Stinfort will be the only campaign on the ballot when voting opens April 26. But they’ll still need to receive votes from at least 10% of the student population, or about 1,650 votes, to win the race.

Although Bruen and Stinfort are running unopposed, they said it’s still important for students to vote and ensure that their voice is heard. They’re confident that they’ll be able to reach 10%.

“We definitely need everyone to vote,” Bruen said. “Yeah, we’re the only candidates, but I think we’re offering a bold, unique vision for the future of the SU community and we want to make a big difference, so we want as many people engaged as possible.”

If Bruen and Stinfort don’t receive the 10% they need, SA bylaws allow them to extend voting by 24 hours, said Brendan Treloar, chair of SA’s Board of Elections and Membership. If voter turnout doesn’t reach 10% by the end of the extra day, the results will be invalid, and the speaker of the assembly will become acting president until SA can hold another election, said Bruen, the current speaker of assembly.

SA had to expand voting on its new constitution by one day this year to reach the required 10% mark. Less than three hours before that election ended, SA reported a 9.7% turnout — 43 votes shy of meeting the 10% threshold. But the remaining votes came in on time.

Bruen and Stinfort have been working to increase their social media presence, which they said is one of the most important tactics for increasing voter turnout.

The pair created an Instagram page where they’ve been sharing information about their platform, student endorsements and promoting their campaign, similar to accounts made in previous years.

“In order to get a good following, you have to really put yourself out there,” Stinfort said.

SA is hosting a town hall Thursday in partnership with CitrusTV, and it will set up in-person polling sites where students will be able to scan a QR code and vote immediately, Treloar said.

Treloar is also not concerned about voter turnout, but he said that this election has been much different with only one pair of candidates. Although Bruen and Stinfort have been running an excellent campaign, only having one pair of candidates limits the choice students would otherwise have, he said.

“There is something missing when you have candidates running unopposed,” Treloar said. “It just doesn’t really feel like an election.”

The pandemic was likely the biggest reason why Bruen and Stinfort are running unopposed, Treolar said. Since the start of the pandemic, SA has found it difficult to be involved on campus to the same extent it used to be, he said.

“It’s kind of hard to be very engaged in student government when a lot of students are online,” Treloar said. “There isn’t as strong a sense of in-person community as there has been in the past.”

But Stinfort and Bruen view running unopposed as an opportunity to improve SA long-term.

“I don’t think this is a sign necessarily that students aren’t engaged on campus,” Bruen said. “I think this is a sign that SA in some ways isn’t doing what it’s meant to be doing in these times. Our hope is that we can change that so people become more engaged and interested in competing in some ways to lead.”

Much of their campaign focuses on longer-term solutions and ways to encourage conversations about mental health, financial accessibility, academic advancements and community inclusivity. They’re also hoping to get more students involved in SA and increase the organization’s presence on campus.

Bruen said many campaigns in the past have only focused on similar short-term solutions for issues at the university. Stinfort and Bruen hope their platform will set a good foundation for future SA leaders.

“With us, we kind of have that freedom to really push the limits and expand in what has been normally done,” Stinfort said. “It’s starting a precedent of looking long-term and to really benefiting the SU community even more.”

Treolar said students should pay close attention to positions on the ballot besides just the president and vice president. Many of the other assembly seats students can vote for are contested, he said.

Voting also shows that students are engaged and care about issues that affect them at SU, Stinfort and Bruen said.

“It’s the first step, and it is the bare minimum,” Bruen said.

Published on April 21, 2021 at 9:01 pm

Contact Maggie: [email protected] | @maggie_hickss