Monday’s primary election for Grand Marshal saw a 28.5 percent turnout, with nearly 40 percent of the vote (658 votes) going to Carlos Perea ’07 and 30 percent (505 votes) to Zack Freeman ’07. As the two with the highest number of votes, they will be on the ballot that will be used for Thursday’s final election, while the other contenders for the position, Bob Fishel ’07 and Jordan Goff ’07, have been eliminated.
Fishel and Goff collected 16 and 11 percent of the vote, respectively. The results were read Monday night at midnight in the Rathskellar before a crowd of approximately 30 students.
The final vote is scheduled for tomorrow, with polls open in the DCC, Commons, and Union West Lobby from 7 am - 9 pm.
Senate Rules and Elections Chair Kim Conway ’06 said that the elections ran “pretty smoothly,” although there was a “relatively low turnout for primaries.” She characterized this year’s turnout for primaries as “at the lower end of normal.” She blamed the low turnout on the weather, saying the rain may have kept people inside and discouraged them from walking to the poll sites or leaving their dorms or apartments.
She also theorized that the lack of primaries over the past few years may have played a role in the low number of voters on Monday.
“People are not used to seeing primaries,” she said, adding that many of the voters were asking the poll sitters why the elections were being held so early in the week this year, not realizing that there would be two elections.
Freeman said that the results had made him optimistic. “We’re very glad to get past primaries. It’s going to be a lot of work, but we’re very optimistic,” he said. “We’re really trying to portray our message and reach the voters who had voted for Bob and Jordan.”
He added that they would be focusing on reaching out to greeks on campus. “I’m a greek myself, and I want them to know I share their causes.”
Perea was overjoyed by the announcement. “I am thoroughly excited about and encouraged by the results,” he said. “I think this is the right step in a new direction for student government.”
Neither of the other candidates returned requests for comment.
The primary elections were held following debates in the McNeil Room Sunday from 4-6 pm. Each of the candidates was given a chance to comment on a range of questions concerning their goals and their opinions of the state of student government. Turnout at the event was extremely low, with only a few students from outside student government showing up to the event.
Final debates between Perea and Freeman, as well as the candidates for President of the Union, Christina Kohlhofer ’07 and James Fisher ’07, will be held today from 3-5 pm in the McNeil Room.
Write-ins made up 3.9 percent of the vote in the primary. Notably, according to an RNE representative, Arthur Galpin—the inflatable whale that was run as the candidate of the Inanimate Objects Party for years in the late 90s—received only one vote.
In order to collect the traditional beer mug that is given out to students who vote in GM Week elections, students must have voted in the primary on Monday, meaning that many of the 3,000 mugs that were ordered are going to be available to freshmen who vote in next fall’s elections.
