After two botched elections last spring, the Associated Students of Madison will hope for better results this fall and host a third election process for the Living Wage and Student Union Initiative referendums.
Newly elected ASM Chair Dylan Rath said the elections will be conducted using a paper ballot system similar to the one used in the third round of Student Council elections last spring.
According to Rath, ASM spoke to three electronic companies this summer in an effort to find an alternative to the University of Wisconsin's Department of Information Technology, which hosted the electronic voting system that caused so many problems last semester.
However, Rath added, none of the companies were able to establish an adequate system in time for the fall elections, scheduled for balloting from Oct. 17-19.
The Student Judiciary will make the chosen paper ballot election plan available to the student body for feedback before it is approved, Rath said.
"I think for sure [the elections] will be smoother since we've had so much time to get the paper ballot system in place," Rath said. "Still, there [are] concerns about box security and how to make it as fair as possible."
While Rath said he remains confident that this fall's election process will be successful, Student Labor Action Coalition member Ashok Kumar, whose group supports the Living Wage referendum, expressed a different outlook.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the election [was] thrown out again," Kumar predicted. "It seems to be a trend. [The referendum] election keeps getting thrown out for some reason when students decide what to do with it."
The Living Wage referendum, one of the referendums facing a vote, proposes to raise the hourly wage for limited-term employees and student employees at University Health Services, Recreational Sports and the Wisconsin Union.
The current wage of approximately $7 an hour would be raised to more than $10 an hour, which SLAC said is currently the necessary living wage for a family of four.
In each of the discarded elections last spring, students voted to pass the referendum.
Although Kumar said he is unsure whether this third election will proceed smoothly, he maintained the importance of passing the Living Wage referendum.
"Student workers, like any workers, deserve to have a decent wage," Kumar said, adding many UW student employees come from low socioeconomic status.
The other referendum, the Student Union Initiative, is administered by the Wisconsin Union Directorate. Formerly known as the Wisconsin Union Facilities Improvement Plan, it calls for an increase in student-segregated fees in order to build a new Union South and to renovate the Memorial Union.
Whereas the Living Wage referendum boded well in both discarded elections, the Student Union Initiative would have been defeated had either election been counted.
If passed, the Student Union Initiative would make Memorial Union handicap accessible, install an updated fire-alarm system and create more student lounge space and meeting rooms.
As students continue to anticipate the outcome of the referendums, WUD Chair Shayna Hetzel highlighted the election's lasting impact.
"I think we are really in this unique opportunity … to be the class that provides for the future. This is our chance to leave our legacy," Hetzel said. "I think this is a monumental process that we get to take part in, and I am really excited to take those first steps."
After summer focus groups revealed that students were confused about the goals of the Student Union Initiative during the previous elections, WUD made changes in their campaign to clarify the conditions of the initiative, Hetzel added.
Hetzel also noted that the Living Wage referendum and the Student Union Initiative are not running campaigns against one another. Come election time, students are able to vote yes or no for either or both referendums.
