Campaign posters and fliers: $300.
Billboards, T-shirts: $700.
Realizing that you wasted money because of election mishaps: priceless
The spring 2006 elections are over, but not without numerous problems.
From miscommunications on behalf of the Electoral Commission, to an inefficient way of counting votes, these elections were frustrating.
The voting polls were supposed to open in all precincts at 9 a.m.
But the Dyson Pharmacy precinct did not begin until almost 10:30 a.m.
Also, because no official roster of eligible nursing and pharmacy students was available from the registrar’s office, some pharmacy and nursing students could not vote until almost 11 a.m.
What about those students who had other priorities or obligations and could only vote early? They were told to come back later.
Even extending the voting times from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. did not completely rectify the situation because there was no efficient way of communicating this information to all the students in a timely matter. Not even Facebook messages can perform this task.
Students were told to show their rattler card and write their name on a sheet of paper and proceed to vote.
At one point, voters at the pharmacy precinct did not even have to show any proof of being a FAMU student.
It is for this reason that I am skeptical of the results of the election.
I understand the Electoral Commission has the responsibility to make sure that all parameters for voting go as smoothly and adequately as possible. It had ample time to make sure the list from the registrar is as accurate as possible.
The Electoral Commission should take the time to get an official list printed out days in advance and check with each college and school to make sure every student is accounted for.
Yes, this is time consuming, but nobody forced this position on them. Again, it is the Electoral Commission’s responsibility for voting to be as fair and efficient as possible.
There is no excuse for the School of Business and Industry running out of ballots within the first two hours of voting.
I honestly have sympathy for all candidates that participated in this year’s spring elections.
Spending a substantial amount of money and sacrificing sleep to find out it did not matter because of disorganized voting practices is a difficult fact to realize.
I charge the new Electoral Commission to make sure these mistakes do not repeat in the future.
Jerald Grace is a third year pharmacy student from Jacksonville. He can be reached at jayrock485@msn.com