The votes are in, and ASUNM has 10 new senators who will be sworn in next semester.
The VOICE slate took three open seats in Wednesday's election, while the remaining seven were retained by incumbent senators from the PEAK slate.
Voters were asked to vote on two amendments on the ballot. The first proposed raising the GPA requirements for being elected ASUNM president and vice president from 2.0 to 2.5. This amendment passed, but the second, a proposal to raise the ASUNM student fee from $20 to $23, did not pass.
Jason Belitz, ASUNM's election chairman, said fewer than 1,000 students voted in the election. He said ASUNM plans to increase the level of student interest and encourage more voters in the spring.
"The whole turnout was about 981, which is about average," he said. "From now until next spring, we will talk about how it will be a lot more noticeable for the students, mainly so everyone will be able to know what is going on a little bit better."
Belitz said the election process, from individual campaigns to the efficiency of polling locations, went smoothly.
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"There may be some minor changes we will make for the spring election, but the campaign was good; the poll working was good," he said.
Candidates canvassed campus from early Wednesday morning until the polls closed at 7 p.m., soliciting votes from students.
Nas Manole, of the VOICE slate, was elected senator, but he has been involved in ASUNM for the past three years as elections chairman, he said.
"I think that by holding a senate position, it will keep me involved," he said. "Being a senator will ensure that I am in a position to help the students. To really change things, I think it does take a senate seat or some other type of position."
Manole said he is looking forward to working with the incumbent senators on the board as well as learning with the new senators.
The senate works for the UNM community, he said, and he is glad to be a part of their hard work.
"From my experience, our senate is a student-service group. They really work hard for the students. It is not a paid position. It is a stipend position," he said. "They attend
weekly Wednesday night meetings, and these particular people just want to help. They really want to do what is best for the students. That's exactly what we need in our senate."
Robin Baumgart said she did not, and will not, vote in ASUNM elections, because she doesn't see how ASUNM benefits the University.
"I am unimpressed with ASUNM," she said. "They do not inform the students about their issues, their timetables or even what authority they might have. To get people to vote for them, they hand out candy."
To counter this perception, the senators will work toward being more accessible to the University community, Sen. Travis Maestas said.
"We are trying to be the voice of the entire UNM population," Maestas said. "We want to do some outreach improvement and reach out to the students of UNM, get their opinions and input on these types of issues by just talking to students or by holding forums, like town-hall meetings, so they can voice their opinions."
