Students, faculty and staff cast online votes in a special campus election on "hot button" issues on ballots across the country. Read this note for results of the voting...
Speak Your Mind; Vote Your Conscience
Provocative issues from Elon students’ home states were chosen by Ian Hull and Garrett Kachellek, student members of the Civic Engagement Council. A total of 753 people voted in the election, including 50 faculty, 46 staff, 12 graduate students and 645 undergraduate students. Two-thirds of those voting were female. Twenty-five percent of the votes were from freshmen, 21 percent from sophomores, 21 percent from juniors and 18 percent seniors.
Issue #1: Sanctity of Marriage – Virginia Amendment 1
Ballot Question: A Proposed Constitutional Amendment to state “That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.”
Elon results:
NO: 66%
YES: 34%
Issue #2: Minimum wage – Ohio Issue 2
Ballot question: A Proposed Constitutional Amendment requiring every employer to pay their employees a wage rate of not less than six dollars and eighty-five cents per hour beginning January 1, 2007. Each September, beginning in 2007, this state minimum wage rate shall be increased by the rate of inflation according to the consumer price index or its successor index.
Elon results:
YES: 86%
NO: 14%
Issue #3: Tobacco Ban – Ohio Issue 4
Ballot question: An amendment to prohibit smoking in enclosed areas except tobacco stores, private residences or nonpublic facilities, separate smoking areas in restaurants, most bars, bingo and bowling facilities, separated areas of hotels and nursing homes, and race tracks. The amendment would invalidate retroactively any ordinance or local law in effect, and would prohibit the future adoption of any ordinance or local law to the extent such ordinance or law prohibited smoking or tobacco products in anyplace exempted by the amendment.
Elon results:
YES: 89%
NO: 11%
Issue #4: English as Official Language – Arizona Proposition 103
Ballot question: An amendment to the Constitution of the State of Arizona, declaring English to be the official language of the State of Arizona, requiring all official actions to be conducted in English, requiring government to preserve, protect and enhance English as the official language, prohibiting discrimination against persons using English, and permitting private lawsuits to enforce the official English amendment to the Arizona Constitution.
Elon results:
YES: 56%
NO: 44%
Issue #5: Abortion Ban – South Dakota House Bill 1215
Ballot question: An Act to reinstate the prohibition against certain acts causing the termination of an unborn human life, to prescribe a penalty therefore, and to provide for the implementation of such provisions under certain circumstances.
Elon results:
NO: 70%
YES: 30%
Issue #6: Legalization of Marijuana: Nevada Ballot Question 7
Ballot question: An amendment to the Nevada Statutes to allow and regulate the sale, use and possession of one ounce or less of marijuana by persons at least 21 years of age, impose licensing requirements on marijuana retailers and wholesalers, allow for the sale of marijuana by licensed marijuana retailers and wholesalers, impose taxes and restrictions on the wholesale and retail sale of marijuana, and to increase the criminal penalties for causing death or substantial bodily harm when driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Elon results:
YES: 58%
NO: 42%
The Civic Engagement Council includes the following:
Smith Jackson, Nancy Midgette, Lisa Keyne, Pam Kiser, Tom Arcaro, Garrett Kachellek, Ian Hull, Jeff Stein, George Taylor, Rex Waters
Council is 2-3 years old and brings together Kernodle Center for Service Learning, Project Pericles, National Campaign for Student Political and Civic Engagement, Center for Leadership, the Student Government Association, and North Carolina Campus Compact
Although there are not as many “hot button” issues on the ballot in Alamance County, we did not want to ignore the important issues being debated across the country. Our goal here was to engage the campus in debate on important national issues. We also know that students (and all of us really) often move to new communities and have to learn how to engage, learn about local issues and ballot initiatives, and work to form our own opinions before election day.
The subcommittee of the Council that worked on Election 2006 was Ian Hull, Garrett Kachellek, Tom Arcaro and Jeff Stein.