Emotions ran high outside Old Main on the Tempe campus Thursday afternoon as more than 50 people awaited the results of the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate and Professional Student Association elections.
After a record number of voters participated in Tuesday and Wednesday’s USG election, political science junior Brendan Corrigan and business sophomore Jacob Goulding will compete in a runoff election on April 13.
A runoff occurs whenever one candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of the votes.
Corrigan received 28 percent of the 6,653 votes cast, and Goulding received 26 percent.
With four tickets running, Goulding said his team expected a runoff.
“With four candidates, it’s almost inevitable,” he said. “We’re happy to be in it, and we’re going to continue to work hard to get the word out and bring people out to vote again.”
Eliminated presidential candidate and industrial engineering senior Sharvil Kapadia said he hopes students will do just that.
“We saw the highest turnout ever this year, which shows students are headed in very good direction,” he said. “I really encourage the student body to take the time to read the remaining candidates’ platforms and choose who they think can really deliver and represent them.”
Corrigan and Goulding both said they plan to stick with their existing platforms and continue taking their messages to students.
“Our platform is resonating well with students and we’re going to keep it up,” Corrigan said shortly after the announcement. “We’ll probably be back on the campaign trail again in just a few minutes here.”
Eliminated presidential candidate and political science and economics junior Athena Salman said each ticket did a great job campaigning.
“Everyone worked really hard and whoever wins will continue to work hard,” she said. “I’m just glad I got to be part of this and want to thank everyone that supported us.”
Students on all four campuses also voted down a referendum to give a $1.50 per-student per-semester fee to Arizona Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG, a student-run nonprofit organization that advocates for various public issues.
The measure was voted down by a margin of 790 votes.
Only one candidate, Kelley Stewart, ran for GPSA president, making her the new representative of ASU’s graduate students.
“I want to continue the work that’s already been laid out,” she said. “GPSA has really grown into an incredibly well-run student government that has a lot of benefits for graduate students … and I can’t wait to expand that to the other campuses.”
On the Downtown campus, sociology and psychology junior Christian Vasquez was named the default winner after his opponent, broadcast journalism freshman Andres Cano, was disqualified. Cano beat Vasquez by more than 100 votes, but too many campaign violations eliminated him from the race, said Abby Wischnia, an Associated Students of ASU Downtown elections committee member.
Vasquez said he is happy with the campaign he ran and is looking forward to his term as ASASUD president.
“I hope our work over the next year will gain the support of all the students downtown and make them more aware of student government,” he said.
Business administration and supply chain management senior Dominick Hernandez won the presidential election for the Associated Students of ASU Polytechnic, with 75 percent of the vote.
“I really would like to recognize [my opponent, financial services junior] Victoria Nuciforo for her efforts. I’ve always held her in high regard,” Hernandez said. “I’ve gained the trust of a lot of students here, and I think that’s why I won. Now, I can’t wait to do my best for them and all of ASU.”
At the West campus, political science senior Daniel Hatch was elected as President of Associated Students of ASU West over political science sophomore Twyla Haggerty.
“I would like to wish Haggerty the best in her future endeavors, and I look forward to building upon the strong leadership of current president [Andrew] Clark and the accomplishments of USG West,” he said.
Reach the reporter at keshoult@asu.edu
