Rianne Quigley
Staff Writer
ASISU elections for the 2019-2020 school year have come and gone once again, and a new group of representatives are poised to take their new seats next fall.
But out of 8,183 eligible students, only 773 students actually participated in the elections. That’s a 9.45% participation rate.
These numbers, however, are optimistic. Despite the slight dip from last year’s number of 861, there is still a general incline, especially when compared to 2016’s turnout of 205 voters.
But the numbers are still lower than ideal. Newly elected senator for the College of Health Professions, Aayush Jha, attributed low turnout to a lack of awareness.
“From my experience, most of the students did not know what ASISU is and what it does to make student life better at ISU,” he said.
ASISU, Associated Students of Idaho State University, is a group comprised of students elected to represent the students in their respective colleges. Representatives use money paid by students to fund clubs and improve the school for students.
Despite the group’s crucial role, voting turnout remains low.
“It’s important to vote because ASISU links the gap between administration and the student body,” said current ASISU president Logan Schmidt. “ISU is changing for the better, and they need the right representatives to be their voices.”
Generally, there seems to be a lack of awareness about elections on campus. ASISU General Manager and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Lowell Richards said the university needs to help inform students of their opportunities to participate.
“Making sure people are aware that elections are happening and why that may be important for them to get involved in that process is something we will continue to try to improve and work on in the future,” he said.
Richards also cited a lack of competition for low student participation in the elections.
“The more participation we have in those who we are running for office typically exhibits more people actually voting in the elections,” he said.
There are plans to improve voter turnout for next year. Nyele Alvarez, the recently re-elected senator for the College of Arts and Letters hopes to increase awareness of ASISU elections, and in turn voting.
“I want to start having ASISU tables once a month in the Rendezvous and Student Union buildings,” she said. “The tabling will act as a ‘get to know your senator’ and allow for students to ask questions about senate and get to know who their representative is.”
She also indicated plans to introduce herself in Arts and Letters classes and to professors.
Schmidt suggested that students’ schedules might also be a factor in low turnout, but referenced recent progress.
“Most of our students are highly involved in various clubs and organizations,” Schmidt said. “I think it was an excellent turnout that we will continue to grow.”
