The apparent decision by the GM Week Election Committee to not count write-in votes for certain candidates has left a sizeable portion of the student body unheard. In a democratic process all votes have the right to be counted and their numbers reported. Following the final GM voting, several candidates (including “EZ-Ryder”) were told that their votes were not counted because “they were not real names,” but rather nicknames or perhaps fictional altogether.

Well folks, I’m here to tell you that “EZ-Ryder” is alive and well and is about as fired up over student government as he’s ever been. OK, that’s not saying much. But I noticed that Zack Ament’s votes were apparently counted as a PU candidate. And I’m willing to guess that his birth certificate probably doesn’t say “Zack” on it either. If his name given at birth is indeed “Zachary” then, by the Rules and Elections Committee, his votes should have never been counted. Could he have possibly won with a nickname? Is it me or weren’t “Jo Mama” votes counted in the past? What’s the deal, Rules and Elections Committee? Does one need to spend their college years in platform-less political parties in order to be counted? Somebody’s got some explaining to do.

EZ-Ryder is in no way suggesting that he won the election. But his failure to be counted represents a major flaw in the election system. All we ask is that the Rules and Elections Committee speak up and report the results.

Brett Ryder