For some people, a write-in box during elections presents an opportunity to vote for a friend, or type the name of a celebrity as a joke.

But in this year’s Student Association elections at Syracuse University, four pairs of students have taken advantage of the opportunity to earn hand-typed votes by campaigning as write-in candidates.

In addition to Aysha Seedat and Jane Hong being featured on the ballot, there are four sets of presidential and vice presidential candidates campaigning as write-in candidates. These candidates missed the deadline to turn in a petition for election, meaning students will have to manually type their names for these candidates and show clear intent who they are voting for. This has brought additional challenges for the write-ins during elections.

“It is not just clicking a button. It is not that we are on the first choice on the ballot. It is knowing how to spell our names and care enough to write our names in,” said Jon Dawson, a Student Association vice presidential candidate.

Dawson, a junior biology major, is running alongside AJ Abell, a junior broadcast and digital journalism major. Dawson said coordinating meetings with campus organizations was also a challenge.

“Getting to meet with these groups is difficult,” he said. “You have to give them reasons they want to meet with you and actually to get them to engage.”

Tatiana Cadet, a write-in presidential candidate and a junior communication and rhetorical studies major, said being a write-in candidate could be an advantage.

“We know that if you are voting for us, that means you actually look into what we are standing for and you wanted us to be your president,” Cadet said.

Safet Mesanovic, a write-in presidential candidate and a junior economics major, said being a write-in candidate was the toughest part of his campaign.

“You actually have to know the person who you are voting for,” Mesanovic said of getting support from students.

Mesanovic said the fact that students voted for them means they know him and his campaign, rather than just clicking on the ticket that is on the ballot. He added that while he understands the importance of having experience with SA, it should not be an entire part of the campaign.

Another task write-in candidates have been faced with is building their credentials as competent candidates due to their lack of direct involvement with SA.

Jesse Nichols, a write-in presidential candidate and junior international relations, public relations and citizenship and civic engagement major, said it is wrong to undervalue the diverse experience write-in candidates have.

“Of course there are advantages to understanding the SA system but there also advantages to understanding others facets of campus life and then coming into the SA system with all this knowledge of campus,” Nichols said.

Despite challenges, write-in candidates actively solicit votes through a variety of ways. Moke Hein, Nichols’ running mate and a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said their campaign team has focused its interaction in the Quad, connecting with students on a face-to-face level.

Cadet said the presence of social media is enormous and her campaign takes advantage of it to get recognition among the student body.

Lyle Weston, director of public relations for SA, said having four write-in candidates shows students are eager to be a part of SA.

“The amount of write-in candidates shows that people want to get involved with Student Association and we hope that, win or lose, every candidate continues to be involved, or makes new efforts to get involved,” Weston said in an email.

Published on April 15, 2015 at 10:00 pm

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