(courtesy CUSG)
Since the online program was initiated, it has continued to be on the CUConnect website, where it will remain until next spring, said Dani Warly, a 20-year-old junior international affairs major and CUSG’s election commissioner.
“We are encouraging people to start getting in the habit of going to MyCUInfo because the entire iVote system will transfer over there come springtime,” Warly said.
Currently, the process of attempting to vote online with the iVote system begins on the CUSG website, after which students are transferred to MyCUInfo, where an IdentiKey login is required and finally on to CUConnect where the login is required again.
Warly also said that beginning the voting process through MyCUInfo could potentially benefit freshmen who are voting who are unfamiliar with CUConnect.
“Also, we know freshmen are not as familiar with CUConnect,” she said. “So we wanted to link to a web system that all students would be familiar with.”
Benjamin Leeds, a 20-year-old junior chemical engineering major, said he has not experienced any difficulty with the online voting system being set-up through CUConnect.
“I did it from CUConnect originally, because I saw a Facebook event that said ‘Vote on CUConnect,’ and I clicked on it from there and logged in,” Leeds said. “It’s pretty simple. I don’t really have any complaints.”
Leeds said that while he used the system to begin the voting process, he has not formally submitted his electronic ballot because he felt there was a lack of description for the candidates.
Leeds also said that the only component of the system that he believed should be more straightforward would be the descriptions of the amendments.
“How they describe what you’re voting on is very technical,” he said. “The bios on the people you’re voting for were helpful, but the amendment questions weren’t. I wasn’t sure what all the information was.”
Brittney Kaiser, a 20-year-old junior operations management major, said she hasn’t voted this semester and had only heard of the current elections when she saw the notice to vote on MyCUInfo.
“The only time I’ve seen advertising about [the elections] was at the UMC, and it was [by] the people who are running,” Kaiser said. “On MyCUInfo, I saw it had the ‘Vote Now’ thing on the right side.”
Kaiser said she believes the extra steps needed to vote electronically may discourage students who are interested in voting.
“If they’re going to make it that difficult, that just discourages even those who want to take the time out and vote,” she said. “I don’t want to sit there through all those steps. It’s inefficient.”
Kaiser also said it is unclear as to why CUSG didn’t move the iVote system over to MyCUInfo before the fall semester when the rest of the online university system switched.
“I don’t see why they didn’t move it when we moved systems for registration,” she said. “I’m sure there’s a reason behind it, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
The polls, which are currently open, will remain open until Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. and despite the extra online voting procedures, CUSG has already seen more than double the amount of votes from the end of last election season,” Warly said.
“We are actually having great voting numbers so far,” Warly said. “2,330 for [Arts and Sciences Student Government] as of noon [Wednesday], which is more than double what we had by the end of the fall election week last year.”
For a static demo of how to use the iVote system, visit this website.
For more information on CUSG and the current elections, visit this website.
Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Sarah Simmons at Sarah.e.simmons@colorado.edu.
