The ASB senators uphold the approval voting act of 2014

Tuesday, The Approval Voting Act of 2014 was written to change the Ole Miss ASB voting election process.

Emerson George, ASB Vice President, discusses the benefits of The Approval Voting Act of 2014 on Tuesday, April 15 in the Overby Center 

The University of Mississippi currently uses a variety of voting systems for personality elections and run-off elections for government elections. The bill will change the voting system into an approval voting system. This allows students at the university to vote for as many candidates on the ballot. Also, it will give students the opportunity to write in one candidate as they so choose. 

The senates host a meeting every Tuesday night to discuss ways to improve the study body. Recently, The Approval Voting Act has been a main topic as the ASB senators agree to either pass the bill or not. Fifty-three senators voted in upholding of the bill. No one voted in denial, and one senator voted on nonparticipating.

Sen. Paul Neubert presented the bill and thinks to see a change in the student body by promoting fairness. Neubert said, “The Approval Voting Act of 2014 will support democracy as it will give each student on campus a chance to express themselves’ better.” This bill is opening new ways to improve the election process on campus.

Sen. Sam Hearn said, “ I find the current voting system has been working affectively for years now. It’s the one voting system predominately used in America.”

Sam Hearn, Vice Chairman of the committee on Education and Administration, discusses his opinion about not passing The Approval Voting Act of 2014.

Although Neubert and Hearn have very valid points, the bill will be brought back to the senate floor next Tuesday, April 22. If the bill is passed, the Ole Miss voting system will change for the following government elections on campus. On the other hand, Ole Miss will continue with their traditional voting methods.

This bill is reaching out to the Ole Miss student body by giving more of a democratic style to the voting process. However, other universities use this voting system too. For example, San Francisco State University has been using it for more than ten years in every student government elections. The University of Colorado Boulder has been using it for a couple of years, as well.