Does your vote really count?

By Albert Hu,
BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–

While student government representatives visited homerooms on Aug. 26 to pass out ballots for the homecoming theme, the vote was not actually a genuine “vote” but a recommendation. The Associated Student Body President, not the student body, gets to make the ultimate decision as to which homecoming theme wins, according to current ASB President and senior Sam Goidell.

“I have the ability to [choose a theme different than the winner], but the only reason a person in my position would do so is if the winning theme was inappropriate… or demeaning,” Goidell said.

Senior Ethan Tang feels strongly that the ASB president should not have this power.

“This essentially means that the homecoming ‘vote’ is just a large opinion poll. The ASB President does not need to listen to his or her peers and can basically have whatever he or she desires,” Tang said.

The system is the same for events like Winter Ball and Prom. While Student Government sometimes allows students to vote for their preferred theme, the end decision is still up to class presidents.

Senior Jana Sun believes that voting should be the final say.

“I don’t think it’s fair that one person gets to make the final decision,” Sun said.

On the other hand, ASB elections operate under a completely different system. Election ballots are electronically counted, with no interference from Student Government. As a result, the victor is always determined by nothing other than the votes of students.