ASUO prepares to issue mail-out ballots
Voting couldn’t be easier: just mark, seal and post
By BRENDA TABOR
Of the Emerald
There's only one thing easier
than casting votes at a voting
booth — and that’s taking the bal
lot out of the mail box, gridding the
appropriate boxes and dropping it
in the corner mail box, says Kirby
Garrett, ASUO vice-president.
According to Garrett, that’s ex
actly what should happen under
the new election mail-out system
to be employed during this
spring’s ASUO elections.
An innovative approach to stu
dent elections, the process is
I
scheduled to get under way today.
Ballots will be mailed this after
noon and students should begin
receiving them by Saturday.
Completed ballots must be re
turned to ASUO Suite 4 (EMU) by
Saturday, April 30.
Students mailing their ballots
should allow at least three days for
postal service, explains Garrett.
The vice-president says the dead
line may be extended in case of
postal delays. But, he adds, “If
students haven't voted by the
27th, they should drop their ballots
by Suite 4."
Garrett says he would like to
encourage the voters to drop the
ballots off rather than mailing
them anyway. Students can save
the ASUO 18 cents per ballot, or
about $800 (based on a
5,000-6,000 voter turnout) by the
drop-off process.
Projected cost for the mail-out
ballots is $6,500 to $7,500, includ
ing printing, postage, computer
time and labor.
Every completed ballot must be
accompanied by the number one
stub attached to the student's fee
card. Ballots without a stub or
those mailed with the number two
stub (reserved for the general
election) will be invalid. A voter's
guide and explanation of the
mail-out process will be mailed
with the primary election ballots.
Class officers and Student Uni
versity Affairs Board (SUAB)
races will not be included on the
mail-out ballots. These contests
were excluded because only
specific constituents may vote in
these races.
Voting for the SUAB and class
officers will take place Tuesday
and Wednesday, April 27 and 28,
at polling booths in front of 150
Science and Gilbert Hall.
Another booth will be located at
the Law School to enable law stu
dents to vote in all the races. Law
students are on a semester sys
tem and did not receive new fee
cards with the attached stubs
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Page 16
necessary for the mail-out ballots.
The mail-out election relates di
rectly to the philosophy that the
ASUO has evolved into a student
association to protect students' in
terests, Garrett explains. Accord
ing to that philosophy, the best
way to communicate those in
terests is to go directly to the stu
dents.
The establishment of a student
contract is also a desirable goal,
Garrett says. It would serve the
best interests of students by cov
ering rights and responsibilities
dealing with educational protec
tion and improvement, says Gar
rett.
Another contention of Garrett's
is that "the greater the voter turn
out, the more democratic and
broad-based the representation
will be." Increased voting is a de
sirable goal because it lends cred
ibility to leadership "Educational
consumer protection has become
the primary issue of the ASUO,
and students should know where
candidatos stand on that issue."
The ballot is also a move to es
tablish collective bargaining. Stu
dents could accept or reject an
offer through the direct mail pro
cedure.
Garrett says he has "dismissed
charges of fraud and corruption
because of the procedure to en
close stubs with the ballots " Only
persons who have paid their fees
and registered are on the mailing
list. "Most of what I've heard is
shallow and hollow rhetoric. I'm
waiting for specific charges, he
says.
Voting for SUAB representa
tives follows another rationale
which defines the SUAB as an
academic board With that in
mind, the ASUO is trying to form
academic student unions and,
hopefully, have those unions as
sist with future elections. The stu
dent unions would become "lo
cals,'' representing students
The Riviera Room
:I9 W-10lh Eugene
WEd-SAI 9-2
Wednesday. AdtiI 21. 1976