By Allie Lowe
Published May 9th 2007 in The Dartmouth
Green won the first round of instant runoff voting by a margin of 155 votes, garnering 29 percent of the first-round votes. After subsequent rounds, Green finally beat out second-place candidate Nova Robinson �08 by 187 votes to secure the presidency.
Minutes after being notified of his victory, Green expressed enthusiasm and eagerness to begin his work as president.
�It�s really exciting, and I�m glad to be able to have the opportunity to do all the stuff I�ve talked about,� Green said. �To do it with [Tapu] is even better.�
Green acknowledged the importance of running with Tapu, and said he suspects that pairing was the most important part of his campaign strategy.
�I think it enabled us to connect to more people,� Green said. �I think we have a better set of ideas.�
Current Student Body President Tim Andreadis �07 congratulated Green.
�I think Travis is extremely competent, and I�m also very excited about Ian,� Andreadis said. �I think they will be a good team.�
This year�s presidential election saw a turnout of 2,156 students � a number down about 300 students from last year�s contest.
Elections Planning and Advisory Committee chair Kevin Hudak �07, a member of The Dartmouth staff, called the turnout �healthy,� and said that the relatively quiet nature of this year�s campaign was probably the source of the lessened turnout, pointing to last year�s increased activity due to Andreadis� write-in candidacy.
�There wasn�t as much coverage and excitement,� Hudak said.
Tuesday also saw the harshest sanction of the campaign period, as candidate Raj Koganti �08 was slapped with a tier-three sanction � a move that would have suspended Koganti�s campaigning privileges � for improper use of e-mail.
The sanction, however, had no effect on the race, as it was issued at 5:02 p.m. on Tuesday � two minutes after the end of voting and the campaign period.
Tuesday�s violations came in the wake of the tier-one sanction received by Koganti�s campaign on Monday night for illegal e-mails sent throughout the weekend. Under EPAC rules, candidates are prohibited from sending mass e-mails to students whom they do not know, and are banned from suppressing recipients lists on their campaign e-mails.
Despite being warned against further violations on Monday, Koganti sent out several e-mails to large groups of people he did not know on Tuesday afternoon. EPAC considered disqualifying Koganti after these continued violations, but ultimately decided against this action.
Hudak said that the offense would have warranted a tier-two or tier-three sanction on any other day of campaigning. After contemplating whether an offense on the final day of campaigning should carry more weight, the membership chose not to pursue disqualification. Hudak pointed to traditional low voter turnout on the second day of voting as one rationale.
Though the sanction was officially issued after the end of campaigning, Hudak argued for the symbolic value of reporting the violation.
�The biggest thing was issuing that and making sure that the campus and student population and [Koganti] knew that we really didn�t approve of what he did,� Hudak said.
Green�s first move, he said, will be to begin assembling a strong group of students to work with him on the Assembly.
�I want to select the right people. I want people who want to get involved,� Green said. �I want to have them get on board immediately.�
Tapu said he was surprised with his victory because of his status as an Assembly outsider � a trait that he said made the campaign an �uphill battle� for him. He said he looked forward to addressing �tangible goals� enumerated by students.
Green, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, will be the first Greek Student Body President since the tenure of Julia Hildreth �05.
Green said that though he plans to address Greek issues, including the keg policy, his affiliation would not be a defining factor of his presidency.
Though he had yet to speak with the other candidates, Green said he hoped that they would join his efforts as members of Student Assembly next year.
Candidate and former Assembly Parliamentarian Jaromy Siporen �08 and Nova Robinson �08 complimented Green�s leadership skills and qualifications. Siporen confirmed his intention to be involved in the Assembly next year.
The Dartmouth was unable to reach candidates Carlos Mejia �08 or Koganti.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.