The elections commission will use an instant runoff system to tabulate votes for student body elections.

Lindsay Pullum, chair of the elections commission, said this system is necessary considering the number of people running for positions.

“This year we have seven candidates running for student body president,” Pullum said. “Realistically, none of them will get the majority of student votes, simply because it’s seven people. If it was parliament it would be different, but since it’s a one body race you can’t have the 51 percent you would need.”

Senator Jason Hayes, first-year students representative, said instant runoff is the fairest way to consider student opinions with such a large student body and candidate ballot.

“The instant runoff system is really more of a way to keep the results fair in the outcome since we don’t have primaries and we have so many people running,” Hayes said. 

Pullum said the runoff system helps cover the issues that arise when a majority vote is out of reach.

“A candidate might get 30 percent of the vote, but as a student, how would you feel if you knew that only 30 percent of the student body elected any of your officials,” Pullum said. “It helps when it comes down to the final person because you know that once the votes are redistributed, the majority of students chose this candidate, and although the candidate may not be their number one, they were at least high enough that they got the majority of votes.”

Hayes said the system takes into consideration a larger span of student opinions than simply their first choice.

“It gives people the option of choosing their favorite candidates first and ranking them, instead of choosing one candidate over the other,” Hayes said.  “Many candidates have similar qualities and initiatives. It helps other candidates gain support from people even though they may not be their number one choice.”

The system, Hayes said, begins elimination by the candidate with the least number of votes.

“What you do when you’re voting you’ll actually rank all the candidates in your preference, the first being your favorite choice and the last being your least favorite choice,” Hayes said. “If your number one candidate receives the least number of votes overall, then the system automatically counts your second ranked candidate.”

Hayes said the system makes a huge difference, especially when it comes down to the final rounds.

“So for example, if your first choice was Jimmy D. and your second choice is Kelly Hook, and Jimmy D receives the least number of number one votes, then your second choice, Kelly Hook, would receive your vote in the next round,” Hayes said. “In the past years, including last year between Jim [Ceresnak] and Cornelius [Bascombe], it took several rounds of tabulation and the rankings were really what was able to pick the best candidates out of all the people who were voting.”