Vote allows Student Government Association to change make-up of Senate seats

Courtney Brown, Investigative News Editor • January 24, 2024

Chief Elections Commissioner Gigi Guzman announces the unofficial results of the special election during the Student Government Assocation session on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The Constitutional amendment was unofficially passed with 246 votes in affirmation.

The Student Government Association (SGA) will no longer have at-large senator seats, based on the uncertified results for the special election.

The special election from Jan. 22-24 allowed all degree-seeking students the chance to vote whether or not to eliminate at-large seats and raise the set number of college-based seats in the Student Senate.

The constitutional amendment passed with 73.87% of votes, or 246 students, voting to reallocate the Senate seats. 21.02% of students, or 70 votes, voted against the amendment, while 5.1%, or 17 voters, abstained.

Only 2.5%, or 333 of 13,000 eligible voters, participated in this special election.

The election, which was conducted online via ShockerSync, was set to start at 8 a.m. on Monday and ended at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The email announcing the special election was sent to students at 12:47 p.m. on Monday.

According to the SGA Uncertified Election Results, a formal announcement of the special election’s certification and ratification will be released on Friday, Jan. 26 at 1:30 p.m.

The redistribution of Senate seats is intended to increase competition and productivity within SGA, according to Speaker of the Senate Kylee Hower. The constitutional amendment was first voted on by the Senate, who approved it on Dec. 6 after moving their meeting from the Rhatigan Student Center to a parking garage due to a gas leak.

According to SGA’s bylaws, the “Constitution shall be deemed amended if any proposed amendment receives a simple majority of the votes cast at any election.”

More information about the Senate Seat Reapportionment Act can be found here.

About the Contributors

Courtney Brown, Former news editor

Courtney Brown was one of the news editors for The Sunflower during the 2023-2024 year. She previously worked as a reporter and assistant news editor. Brown uses she/her pronouns.

Allison Campbell, Editor-in-Chief

Allison Campbell is the editor-in-chief of The Sunflower. Campbell is a senior pursuing a journalism and media production degree with a minor in English. She served as one of the news editors during the 2023-2024 year. Campbell hopes to pursue a career in writing or editing after graduation. They use any pronouns.