Governments at every level are searching for ways to make voting accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The disbursement of Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) students during pandemic efforts necessitated an online option to elect the 2020-2021 executive board for the Student Government Association (SGA).
The election, which took place through google forms on April 20, only engaged 5.6% of the student body (based on fall enrollment numbers) of which Indian Leader estimates 29% of those voters were constituents themselves.
Other factors may have contributed to the low poll numbers. The only email sent to the students about the election date was sent on the day of the election — 7 hours before voting ended. Social media played a role in communicating to a portion of students, leaving some without access to voting information like candidates or campaigns.
