Long lines and disorganized student listings were the only negatives at this year’s spring elections. Voters went away largely satisfied with their chosen candidates and the electoral process.
Electoral commission member Jordan Glenn, 19, a second-year MBA student from Houston, said the ballots were easy to understand, and overall elections went pretty well.
“The ballots have been very clear,” Glenn said. “It was a good election.”
Last year’s election was marred with controversy over missing candidate names on ballots and low voter turnout.
This year was a different story as students’ complaints focused on long lines at the poll.
Damany Daniels of Washington D.C. said his first spring elections voting experience was a good one.
“The voting experience was straight minus the long line at the Grand Ballroom,” said Daniels, 18, a freshman general studies student.
More than a thousand students flooded voting precincts at Tucker Hall, the Dyson Pharmacy Building and the Grand Ballroom. There were also precincts at the School of Business and Industry, and the engineering school, as well as the College of Law in Orlando.
Students voting in Tucker Hall may have experienced longer waiting lines because of inaccurate student listings. The list was not in alphabetical order, and some classifications were incorrect.
The electoral commission relied on an electronic list to check off students with majors in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Problems at the poll seemed menial at most, as the election rolled to a close.
But Andre Dawson said he almost overlooked the fine print at the bottom of the ballot.
“I almost missed the small print saying to turn the ballot over,” said Dawson, 19, a second-year business administration student from Tampa.
SGA President Monique Gillum, 21, said the overall spring elections were not only efficient, but also exciting.
“My voting process went well,” said Gillum, a senior political science student from Gainesville. “I was excited to see all the different campaign teams out and about and even more excited that I didn’t have to be out there myself this year.”
I hope win or lose people will continue to work for FAMU because that’s what this is truly about,” she continued.
Many voters were impressed by the performance of Electoral Commissioner Marva Butler and her team.
Senior Sen. Elijah Bowdre, 22, said this election season was a largely positive and productive event. He said it was probably the calmest he had ever experienced.
“I didn’t have any negative experiences or issues with the voting process,” said Bowdre, a senior business administration student from Long Beach, Calif. “I felt this years election’s was one of the most civil and well ran during my tenure at FAMU. I believe it epitomized the essence of what a FAMU election should be.”
Electoral Commissioner Marva Butler was unavailable for comment.