Getting rid of runoffs would betray preferences

TO THE EDITOR:

In response to Wednesday’s article in The Daily Tar Heel, “Runoff elections could be discarded,” (March 3), I thoroughly disagree with the measure now being considered in Student Congress. The decision to eliminate runoff elections would not only reduce the competitive spirit of elections, but it would also fail to uphold the democratic principle of majority rule.

Take, for example, the 2009 election. Many students found it strange that a runoff was necessary when Thomas Edwards obtained a plurality of 40 percent of the vote, 20 percentage points more than the second-place candidate, current Student Body President Jasmin Jones. But the fact remains that a majority of students did not vote for Mr. Edwards in the first round.

Theoretically, the new system being created would be able to “make” a majority by asking voters to list the candidates in order of their preference and then reallocating the votes of students whose first choice is eliminated.

But many students’ preferences may change for the runoff. And some student voters have a single candidate of whom they are extremely supportive and are completely indifferent between the remaining candidates.

Thus, making them order nonexistent preferences would create an illegitimate outcome. Finally, given the technological problems of this year’s election, do we really want to trust a computer to perform the complex vote re-allocation process that this system entails? Yes, campus elections may seem long and stressful, but they are an essential part of giving students a voice at this University. Student Congress should not approve this bill.


Ryan Collins
Junior
Political Science, Economics