Pforzheimer Elections Decided By Run-Off

After a minor discrepancy was found in last week's election for Pforzheimer House Committee president, a run-off was held last night and will continue through tonight.

The number of students who were checked off as having voted in the election--which took place Thursday through Saturday--and the number of actual ballots cast were inconsistent, said Joshua D. Rogaczewski '97, current house committee president.

"Although it was only a small discrepancy, we could not declare a winner and have our consciences feel good," Rogaczewski said.

Rogaczewski attributed the inconsistency to random error, resulting from having only one person distribute and collect ballots while simultaneously answering questions during the voting.

A similar discrepancy last fall also made a run-off necessary, said Ali J. Satvat '98-'99, who had run unsuccessfully for treasurer and was one of the final two candidates.

"I don't think that it will affect the outcome in the long run," he said. "But it is a shame that it happened again and sort of a hassle. It's too bad that steps were not taken to correct it."

Although he does not see any violations of the voting rules in the current election, Satvat said that serious questions were raised last time about the fairness of the voting procedures.

He pointed to ballot administrators who were encouraging people to vote for certain candidates, and House Committee hopefuls campaigning near the voting table--illegal practices that he said he and other people witnessed.

Satvat predicted that a result of the discrepancy will be a drop in voter turnout, which was close to 45 percent in the initial election.

Kristin A. Sherwood '97 said she will vote again. However, she said she had trouble finding out where the run-off took place.

"When I got the e-mail about the run-off, I just thought 'These are two of the better candidates anyways' and didn't think much of it," Sherwood said. "But I was looking for the table tonight in the dining hall, where they said [the voting would take place], and I could not find it."

The two candidates for president, Monica A. Lamb '98 and Emanuel J. Brown '97, edged out four other candidates in the original race.

The positions of vice president treasurer were uncontested, and the race for secretary was won by a large enough margin that a run-off was not needed, Rogaczewski said.

The two candidates took advantage of the extra time to campaign. Brown distributed fliers in Pforzheimer mailboxes yesterday.

"From what I hear, the margin was really close anyway, so the run-off might be a good thing because now people can vote between just the two most popular candidates," Brown said.

The results of the elections will be announced Sunday night at the master's open house

The two candidates took advantage of the extra time to campaign. Brown distributed fliers in Pforzheimer mailboxes yesterday.

"From what I hear, the margin was really close anyway, so the run-off might be a good thing because now people can vote between just the two most popular candidates," Brown said.

The results of the elections will be announced Sunday night at the master's open house