Re: UWSA elections

I appreciate La Donna Ogungbemi-Jackson’s letter, because it shows that this election has brought out a lot of excitement and passion in people.

As Chief Elections Commissioner, it is my job to remain impartial during the election process. Part of this impartiality, as well as in fairness to all the candidates, meant that different ballots were rotated throughout the voting period. This was done to ensure that in contested positions, candidates do not receive any unfair advantage of having their name appear first. This is also set out in the UWSA Election Policy, which is available to be viewed online at www.theuwsa.ca.

“The names of candidates should be rotated so that for any given position, each candidate’s name shall appear first an equal number of times.”

Large TV screens with the candidates’ names and pictures, as well as copies of the Candidates’ bios, were also at the polling station to ensure that every voter was an informed voter.

I feel that the candidates and the election team have run a very successful campaign this year, which is evident that voter turnout nearly doubled from last year.

– Michael Rac, Chief Elections Commissioner