Special Elections Voting Deadline Extended to Nov. 4

Minh Hua
Campus Beat Reporter

The Associated Students Elections Board has extended the deadline of the fall 2018 special elections for the position of External Vice President for Statewide Affairs (EVPSA) until 8 p.m. on Nov. 4.

Although Madeline Loudon, a third year history of public policy major, is the sole candidate on the ballot, a 16 percent voter threshold must be met to validate the elections result. As of Oct. 31, only 9.25 percent of students have voted.

During A.S. Senate’s fifth meeting, John Paul Renteria, A.S. Elections Board Chair, addressed the issue of the voter threshold, citing that the 16 percent threshold was decided based on past voter turnout.

According to Renteria, Elections Board has decided to extend the deadline from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4 due to emails from “concerned students regarding the voter threshold.”

In an email to all A.S. entities, Campaign Organizing Director Alexandra Gessesse stated, “A vacancy such as this one affects our campus directly and our university’s presence at the administrative, statewide, and national level.”

Elections Board has stated several times that if the 16 percent threshold is not met by the extended deadline, the EVPSA position will remain vacant until the A.S. spring 2019 elections.

“We cannot, nor continue to, as an office, function without an EVPSA,” said Gessesse.

Students can vote at https://vote.as.ucsb.edu/ for an EVPSA until 8 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2018.