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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1998)
ASUN Senate Candidate Results Agriculture & Natural Rasourcss Jed Christensen, COMMIT; 160 votes (28 percent) Chad Viilwok, VISION: 149 votes (26 percent} Architecture Heather Danieison, COMMIT; 16 votes (51 percent) Arts & Sciences Kara Slaughter, COMMIT: 383 votes (9.2 percent) Natalya Shannon, COMMIT: 367 votes {8.9 percent) Urrvano Gamez Jr., COMMIT: 334 votes (8 percent) Lana Zumbrunn, COMMIT: 324 votes (7.8 percent) Todd Moran, COMMIT: 319 votes (7.7 percent) Molly Welchman, VISION: 298 votes (7.2 percent -- TiE) Nate Clabaugh, COMMIT: 298 votes (7.2 percent - TIE) Business Administration Joel Wiegert, COMMIT: 242 votes (15.1 percent) Andy Schuerman, COMMIT: 235 votes (14.7 percent) Sommer Sjulin, VISION: 216 votes (13.5 percent) Tom Heacock, VISION: 212 votes (13.2 percent) Engineering Heather Wilkinson, COMMIT: 145 votes (37 percent) Paul Schreier, COMMIT: 123 votes (31.5 percent) Fine A Performing Arts Erin Reitz, COMMIT: 22 votes (43 percent) General Studies Matt McClymont, VISION: 105 votes (21.5 percent) Jon England, VISION: 88 votes (18 percent) Ryan Anderson, VISION: 86 votes (17.6 percent) Human Resources & Family Sciences Brad L. Reynolds, COMMIT: 42 votes (45 percents) Journalism & Mass Communications I Matt Boyd, COMMIT: 118 votes (56 percent) | Law Q. Okubanjo, COMMIT: 7 votes (100 percent) | Nursing Heather S. Swanson, independent: 8 votes (67 1 percent) Teachers College ; Chelsy Hams, COMMIT: 109 votes (27 percent) ! Stephame Artz, VISION 89 votes (22 percent) i | Continuing Studies, Dentistry, Graduate | Studies, and Public Affairs & Community Jon Frank/DN New system makes ballot count faster By Amanda Schindler Staff Reporter Despite the nearly impossible feat of com pletely filling in those little ovals, this year’s election process was made taster and easier. Six new automatic ballot machines were in place Wednesday at all voting locations to speed the sorting and counting process. “The time factor will be cut down tremen dously,” said Marlene Beyke, ASUN director of development, before the late-night results were tabulated. The Election Commission experimented with three of the machines last year and had no problems, so it decided to go ahead with the idea agam this year, said Commission Director Tag Herbek. Thanks to the machines, commissioners will not have to transport the ballot boxes to the Lancaster County Election Commission Office, where ballots have been tallied in past years. Ballots were counted automatically as soon as they entered the machines, Herbek said, which saved the election commission the long trek to the county office. Though the new system is faster, Herbek did not expect to release the results sooner because this was the first year the machines were used. “We’re kind of holding our breath,” Herbek said Tuesday. Election Systems and Software of Omaha supplied the polling machines for a slightly higher price than the old system cost, Beyke said. Changes in polling sites and the times they were open saved ASUN money which balanced any cost increase, she said. Beyke said the new system was as accurate as the last. Numbers were cross-referenced three times: with the polling sign-in books, with the tape from the ID scanners and with the Computer Resource Center’s records of who voted where. The polling machines will continue to be used each year the Election Commission votes to use them. Brown gives VISION solace ■ Party members say some of their platform still can be realized despite split victory. By Brad Davis Senior Reporter Though most of their executive ticket didn’t win, VISION party candidates said part of their message got through with the election of second vice presidential candidate Eddie Brown. Association of Students of the University of Nebraska Senator and VISION campaign adviser Mark Shields said some of the party’s platform will become a reality with Brown in office. Presidential candidate John Wiechmann and first vice presidential candidate Jill Maaske lost to the COMMIT party by 340 votes, by unofficial results. Hopeful VISION party members and sup porters gathered at the N-Zone bar and grill at 728 Q St. in the Haymarket to await the election results. Wiechmann and the other executive candidates arrived about 11 p m., a little more than an hour . after results were announced. Because the victory was split, Wiechmann said he felt a combination of shock, disappointment and happiness. “VISION's dreams can still become a reality,” Wiechmann said. “In some ways, the university wins out.” With a spirit of cooperation among COMMIT’s winning executive candidates and Brown, the parties will work to make each other's campaign goals a reality, Wiechmann said. Brown said although he was disappointed the two “very qualified” candidates he was running with lost, he looked forward to working with President-elect Sara Russell and First Vice President-elect Kelly HofTschneider. “There was some pain there,” Brown said, “but when you think about it and set the emotions aside, I look forward to working with them." In the future, Wiechmann said he’ll continue his involvement with student government in some capacity. Maaske said she’ll also strive to “make a difference” at the university. Though the executive candidates who won’t work with Brown next year said they have “no _ regrets,” they said unfair media coverage given to current ASUN executives may have swayed the vote. Wiechmann said he thought it was wrong for current ASUN executives Curt Ruwe and Malcolm Kass to involve themselves in the elec tions, Ruwe with a letter to the editor and Kass with a COMMIT endorsement in his weekly column in the Daily Nebraskan. ASUN Senator and VISION supporter Kendall Swenson said now was the time to put pol itics aside. “I just hope when it comes down to it that peo ple try to make a difference without party politics and just try to do the best for the university,” Swenson said. Even though two VISION executive candi dates lost, VISION candidate for business college advisory board and party treasurer Adam Thompson said both parties accomplished a lot with this year’s election. “This year’s race was actually a race,” Thompson said. “Both parties had a lot of quali fied individuals. “It was a real election this year.” Voter turnout in ASUN race best since 593 I ELECTION from page 1 dentiai nominations constituted more than 13 percent of the votes while 3.86 percent of the voters wrote in a second vice presidential candidate. The names of those written in were not immediately available late Wednesday night. COMMIT also dominated the sena torial races by securing 17 seats; VISION's senators won eight seats. Out of 26 senate seats, one was a tie; two were decided by a single vote. This year’s voter turnout - 2,826 stu dents - was 3.7 percent higher than last year’s 9.84 percent, when 2.175 students cast ballots. Marlene Beyke. ASUN director of development, said there were 21,000 eli gible voters this year. Members of the ASUN Election Committee said more informed students and the competitiveness between the COMMIT and VISION parties were two possible reasons for a higher turnout. Nebraska Union polling site leader Chris Wilhelm said this year’s polls were busier than last year’s. “I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the weather,” Wilhelm said. “The cold weather pushed a lot of students inside.” Amy Rager, ASUN first vice presi dent, said she was pleased with the way students voiced their opinions. “The party system does work,” Rager said. “People do get out and vote for who they believe in. “Students do choose the best stu dents for the job.” Kallie Blauhorn, a freshman politi cal science major, said she hoped all stu dents who voted did so wisely. “You really do need some kind of source of information if you are going to vote,” Blauhorn said. “When you are informed you can make a wise decision.” Jeff Nicolaisen, a sophomore finance, economics and international business major, agreed. “The typical UNL student probably didn’t vote wisely,” Nicolaisen said. “However, everyone did have the oppor tunity to learn about the parties and their platforms to make a wise decision.” Freshman business administration major Abby Hippen said she did not vote because she did not feel elections were a big part of college life. “I read about the elections and was familiar with the parties,” Hippen said. “However, I just didn’t think my vote would .have mattered.” Scott McClurg/DN VISION FIRST VICE PRESIDENTIAL candidate Jill Maaske, left, and second vice president-elect Eddie Brown speak with a Daily Nebraskan reporter Wednesday night at the VISION post-elec tion party held at the N-Zone. COMMIT incurs more violations for signs, soliciting votes in union By Jessica Fargen Assignment Reporter Election day campaign strategies cost the members of COMMIT some cash Wednesday as they found themselves fined for the second day in a row. The Electoral Commission fined COMMIT $25 because members encour aged students at the Nebraska and East unions to vote for their party, which is illegal at polling sites. It also was fined $10 for having over sized posters in Sandoz and Neihardt res idence halls. The signs, which were larger than the designated 8.5-by-1 1-inch posters, were posted in the wrong spots and were not stamped by the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska. Todd Munson, who solicited write-in votes in a Daily Nebraskan column last month, also may be fined again for hav ing oversized posters. He was fined $21 on Tuesday. Nine more of Munson’s posters were found by members of the commission Wednesday in Avery, Sandoz and Burnett halls. But commission members decided to wait to review those complaints until Monday when they also will meet to offi cially verify the election results. Amy Rager, first vice president, said the commission waited to consider com plaints against Munson because members were still considering whether or not Munson would actually pay the fines already incurred. Also, she said, the craziness of elec tion night required the commission to move on to other business. Rager said this year the commission handed out more fines than usual because the race is closer than it has been in the past.