Some students living in the Residence Halls might soon have more influence in selecting their leaders.
The Residence Halls Association Executive Board voted during a closed meeting last Wednesday to allow residents to vote online in RHA elections. Currently, only students who attend RHA’s General Assembly meetings can vote. The General Assembly will vote on the proposal this Wednesday.
The executive board also discussed a proposal submitted by an ad-hoc committee that would make the vote weighted in favor of residents who attend a General Assembly meeting to vote for the president and vice president.
Some members of the board objected to a weighted voting system.
“When you talk (to the board) about the vote, they do want everyone to vote, but only the right people to count — the ones who actually go to General Assembly and hear the presentations,” said a board member who spoke under the condition of anonymity. The source said board members were told they would be fired for speaking to The Daily Utah Chronicle.
The board chose to hold off deciding whether the vote would be weighted or not.
“We’ll be taking surveys to try to receive some resident feedback as to elections voting weights — whether they want the voting weights or would rather have a different system,” said Zach Rusk, president of RHA.
Under the current rules, the RHA Electoral College, which consists of one representative for every 200 residents, has 50 percent of the vote. The rest of the vote is given to residents who attend the General Assembly meeting and vote. Under the new proposal, 25 percent of the vote would go to the 10 to 12 people in the Electoral College, 25 percent to those who attend the General Assembly meeting to vote and the remaining 50 percent to the approximately 2300 residents.
RHA area council member Rachel Clarkson said she believed the executive board, area council and general assembly attendees should have a greater vote because they pay attention to issues that most residents don’t know about.
“Unless they came to the meetings, the general public wouldn’t know everything,” she said.
An alternative proposal was discussed among the executive board that would make every resident’s vote count the same, the unnamed source said. The proposal found support among members of the executive board, but was eventually turned down. When asked about their opinion of voting weights, some residents approved of the weighted voting proposal.
“If they’re watching the speeches and listening to how the candidates talk and present themselves, then they should have more of a say than those who vote online,” said Jackie Griffith, a freshman education major.
Other students felt that voting should be equal like in other elections.
“A vote is a vote no matter what — I think if you’re running for a position, then it’s your job to make sure the community knows what your issues are,” said Dane Slentz, a senior in biochemistry. “It’s not the community’s job to attend a special meeting,”
The executive board will continue to discuss the weighed voting issue in the coming weeks.