Winners of the student government elections were announced Friday afternoon with a surprise runoff between the Cassidy Possehl and Emily McCaleb tickets in Tempe. Howard Waldie IV, and Frank Smith III will keep their offices at the West and Downtown campuses, respectively.
Elections Commissioner Michelle Daniels said the runoff between McCaleb and Possehl will be held April 9 and will last 24 hours.
"In the elections code, it defines majority as 50 percent plus one vote and none of the tickets got 50 percent of the vote, so because of that we have to have a run off between the top two tickets so that someone can get the 50 percent plus one vote," she said.
The campaigning will continue for another week as the two tickets prepare for another round of voting.
"I'm excited to campaign harder," Possehl said. "I believe in my team. I believe in the students and I think it's very telling that the students want us to be here and they care about what we have to offer." German Cadenas will be the new Graduate and Professional Students Association and Ryan Olkes will be the new USG Polytechnic president. Both ran uncontested.
Elections saw a rise in voter turnout this year as approximately 1,000 more voters took part in the Tempe USG elections, and approximately 300 more voters at the Downtown campus. See the full list of results at the elections website.
Reach the reporter at jshanco2@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @joey_hancock
