A semester after bungling online elections for freshmen Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate positions, the Elections Board (ELBO) will attempt virtual voting again tomorrow.
The election will fill positions in the TCU Senate, TCU Judiciary, and the Committee on Student Life (CSL). With the exception of four CLS seats, all elections are uncontested.
The new web site, based on the same system as SIS Online, will feature enhanced security capabilities and the ability to sustain heavy traffic. ELBO members have been working with Dean of Students Bruce Reitman and other Student Services personnel to create a secure online voting procedure since the group's reorganization this February. Though the process has been tested, Wednesday's election will be its first full-scale trial.
Last semester, late elections were held by paper ballot after ELBO failed to organize the online procedure through an outside contractor, iballot.com. As a result, two of the group's members resigned and the remaining member, junior Valentino Caruso, came close to impeachment by the TCU Judiciary. The prospect of online elections has left some candidates wary that the election could turn into a popularity contest.
"Now that you can vote from your room, people could just walk through their dorms and knock on doors and say 'will you vote for me,'" CSL candidate Jodi Gilman said. "I think it's going to become more of who knows more people, than the people who actually care about the election coming out and voting."
ELBO Chair Joe Coletti expressed confidence in the new procedure despite previous online troubles. "It can handle a large number of people coming onto the server," he said. "The same one as when you register for classes or buy tickets. We don't expect it to be a lot of traffic all at once."
Students will be able to vote at the new website- webcenter.studentservices.tufts.edu - any time tomorrow between 9 a.m. and midnight. By giving voters a span of 15 hours in which to sign on, ELBO and Student Services expect to avoid heavy online traffic.
In previous years, voter turnout for campus elections has been low. A recent Daily poll found that as few as 15 percent of students polled participated in elections. ELBO members hope that online voting will increase participation.
"We're pretty much bringing voting to the people instead of having them come out and vote," Coletti said in response to voter apathy concerns. "Everyone will get an e-mail with a link explaining how voting will work. I know that some people check their e-mails at different points during the day, so they'll still have time to vote."
The website will also offer other features, such as class-specific ID recognition and a candidate biography page. If the system is used in the future, freshmen-only elections will be secure from ID fraud.
ELBO also plans to set up a table in the campus center on Wednesday to demonstrate the online voting procedure on a laptop computer.
"For all that effort and all the time it has taken to look for an online election venue, the turnout is everything," Caruso said. "Increased budget and all the previous effort aren't worthwhile unless there is a significant increase in voter turnout."
A special committee of TCU and CSL representatives elected two new ELBO members in February. Before then, Coletti was the only member. ELBO plans to increase membership to the requisite five members when elections are held in the fall.
Coletti commented on the preparation for elections with only three members. "When it's undermanned it makes it harder," he said. "It's been a collective effort. I think it will be run successfully."
