At the stroke of midnight, elections for the Michigan Student Assembly, College of Literature, Science and the Arts Student Government and University of Michigan Engineering Council representatives began.
The online voting system was scheduled to boot up last night and will be available to students until 11:59 PM on Thursday.
Online voting became available to students three years ago, and since then students have had the option to cast a ballot using any computer with Internet access. Because of the online voting opportunity, the number of paper voting sites has been reduced drastically - this year paper ballots are only available at Pierpont Commons and in the Fishbowl in Angell Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MSA President Trent Thompson said he expects a high voter turnout today and tomorrow not only because candidates have been posting fliers in University buildings, but because of the "grass roots" campaigning candidates have conducted, going door-to-door in the residence halls to voice their platforms.
"Voter turnout is going to be high because we have three parties that are campaigning their hearts out," Thompson said. "Students are a little more aware than they have been in the past."
During the winter 1998 assembly elections, nearly 20 percent of the student body voted - the highest in the assembly's history.
The online system will be collecting votes 24 hours a day during the election period, but there may be a few 10- to 15-minute disruptions during the early hours of the morning, when the system updates itself. The brief disruptions shouldn't affect the voter's ability to fill out a ballot, according to the voting Website.
03-24-99
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