Editor, Daily Nexus:

I am writing in response to the persistent and blatant attacks on the upcoming election code. Due to problems occurring in the election run-offs, the Election Committee re-evaluated our current run-off system and opted for a new process – the immediate run-off. The reason we moved to an immediate run-off system is to give a larger number of students the ability to elect their officials. The current system, due to its nature, keeps student participation in the run-offs at disconcertingly low levels. A winner in the old run-off system typically gets no more votes than the capacity of Campbell Hall (approximately 800), less than 5 percent of the student population. The new immediate run-off system would allow a candidate to be elected by nearly 5,000 students, a number of voters six times greater than the old system, making this system more representative of the student body. The additional benefits of this new system would allow for immediate results, decreased costs of another election for both the school and the candidates, and a broader base of student input. This immediate run-off system is being used at other universities, including Stanford, and a variety of local and statewide governments. Although this new tally system received criticism from a small but vocal minority, the overwhelming majority of Legislative Council members support the change.

In defense of the Election Committee and its meetings, all students are welcome to attend. The chair of the Elections Committee consistently sent (and still sends) e-mails to all Legislative Representatives, committees, boards and executive officers for their input into this new system. To clarify a misconception: The election code was available for anyone to read two weeks before the Elections Committee presented the bill to the Legislative Council – not the day before, as stated by the Associated Students president in a previous editorial (Daily Nexus, “Students Should Have Say in Elections Code,” Feb. 28). The Elections Committee took an active role in the debates in Legislative Council during the passage of this bill. Our presence has encouraged open communication and lively discussion between the Legislative Council and the Elections Committee. This provided an excellent forum for students and our representatives to learn about changes in the election code.

In conclusion, I stand behind every decision made by the Elections Committee. I have full faith in the integrity of every member on the committee. The election code that has been presented would not have been possible without this Elections Committee and I thank all of them for their sleepless hours and relentless work to perfect this code. I look forward to our new election code and to an efficient election process.

If anyone has any questions regarding the election code or the election process, feel free to e-mail us at

SARAH M. HACKER, MEMBER OF ELECTIONS COMMITTEE