On-line balloting begins in student govt. elections

The first day of on-line voting for the Undergraduate Assembly and the class boards started with a bang -- over 300 students voted yesterday, according to Nominations and Elections Committee officials. On-line voting began yesterday morning at 8 a.m. and will continue until Monday at 5 p.m. Students can vote from any computer with Internet access by logging onto the World Wide Web site at http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~nec/vote.html. NEC officials said they were pleased with yesterday's voter turnout, though some candidates said there were too many technical difficulties. "[The NEC] really thought the PennNet ID was going to be a thorn in our side and it's not," NEC Chairperson and Wharton senior Neha Champaneria said. "I think the reason voter turnout and interest has been raised so much is that the UA's done a terrific job this year. The more students respect student government in general, the higher voter interest is going to be." After students enter their PennNet ID password, the computer program checks the expiration date on their PennCard -- which is based on their expected graduation date -- against their class standing. If the two match, a ballot tailored to the student's year and school will appear on the computer screen. If a student's expected graduation date conflicts with their class standing, the student will not be able to vote on-line. This proves a problem for students who have several Advanced Placement credits or who have taken a heavy courseload and may have advanced class standing, which prevents them from being able to access a ballot. "It's better to be inconvenient [by not allowing these students to vote on-line] than compromise the security of the election," Champaneria said. "[The NEC] is making every effort to accommodate students." Champaneria said the security check mostly affected students in the International Studies and Business and the Management and Technology programs, as well as those students who came into Penn with several AP credits. Approximately 50 students contacted the NEC yesterday with requests to participate in paper polling. Originally scheduled to last only one day during the election period, paper polling has been extended to three days. Students who experience technical difficulties can vote at the Class of 1920 Commons tomorrow and Friday from noon to 2 p.m. and next Monday -- the last day to vote -- from noon to 4 p.m. There will likely be more hours added to the schedule, NEC officials said. Several candidates also complained that students had difficulty voting. "The technical [aspect] has caused problems," said Senior Class President hopeful Matthew Benbassat, a Wharton senior and former Daily Pennsylvanian credit manager. "I think [the technical difficulties] will decrease the number of people who vote for senior class president and that hurts, unless you're the incumbent." Benbassat estimated that he received over 30 e-mails yesterday from students who had difficulty voting. But several students were enthusiastic at yesterday's Get Out The Vote event, sponsored by the NEC to kick off the week of elections. College junior Mark Christy called on-line voting "the wave of the future" and said it made candidates "more accessible." Several candidates were on hand at Get Out The Vote -- which lasted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on College Green -- to distribute food and do some last-minute campaigning. According to NEC officials, only about 10 out of the 77 candidates running for UA or class boards made speeches during the event and at least 30 participated by distributing food. NEC officials estimated that nearly 1,000 students attended the event. UA candidate Jonathan Jungblut said the event was helpful in publicizing the elections. "It encourages [everybody] to vote, not just the block of people who always vote," the Wharton junior said. "It's more important to get people to vote than to vote for me."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.