The real revolution: The Voting Rights Student Initiative is
just one expression of my commitment to expanding access to USAC.
My office has chosen to sponsor this initiative, which secures the
right for all students to vote online ““ a right that has not
yet been made permanent by USAC. It also eliminates a
discriminatory policy that interferes with the ability of
off-campus students to vote.
The concerns about the initiative raised in the Nov. 3 editorial
(“Online voting not perfect, neither is proposal”) are
misplaced and misinformed. Our effort is to codify last
year’s online election success ““ in which voter turnout
increased by about 1,100 students from the previous year’s
paper ballot.
The non-discrimination clause, wherein we explicitly state every
student has the right to vote, is “new” to our
constitution for a reason. Up until last year’s online
election, the Undergraduate Council has not enforced every
undergraduate student’s right to vote simply because that
right does not exist. Previously, ballots were only available on
campus and in very few locations. This effectively excludes the
hundreds of UCLA students who are studying abroad, are commuter
students, or simply could not make it to campus during the 48-hour
voting period. With no constitutional ground to claim, those
students had no basis for asserting their right to vote.
On the other hand, the online election last year allowed every
student with a student ID number to vote regardless of their being
able to physically get to campus or not. We are now able to offer
equal access because the technology is available to fully enforce
the right we believe should be granted to every student: the right
to vote.
Online elections are not guaranteed next year. The changes that
allowed for the new system of voting were temporary and confined
only to that particular election. The issue of discrimination is
one we feel must be addressed. Our effort is to improve online
elections and make them permanent.
We are taking our stand against discrimination. There is no fine
print. Each student should be free to vote in a manner in keeping
with her/his conscience. Thus, we wish to eliminate the 5-minute
internet protocol (IP) delay between each online vote cast. The
delay was meant to prevent so-called bloc voting. However, the
voting network delays only serve to discriminate against off-campus
students. If you live in an apartment or house with one IP address
for all the computers, you could potentially get only an error
screen when attempting to cast your vote.
Bloc voting, as the Bruin describes it, is nearly impossible to
proscribe in any election and, under any method of voting, will
become a matter of an individual’s conscience. The voting
network delays are inadequate in eliminating bloc voting. Further,
because on-campus computers are exempt, this restriction only
serves to discriminate against off-campus students. These delays
were not “unforeseen technical glitch(es)” as the
editorial assumes, so much as they are the natural implication of
instituting intentional voting delays.
We take pride in taking this initiative directly to the
students. This year’s council has demonstrated little regard
for extensive deliberation or consideration of different
viewpoints. I welcome the input that individual councilmembers
might have on the subject and would encourage council to work with
me as our bylaws direct.
The actions my office will take are predicated upon our belief
that the fight to expand voting rights and open the system to
off-campus students is a cause worth fighting for. My office will
continue to push forward with this initiative, and we are confident
it will pass.
Lawson is a USAC general representative.