Voter turnout for this year’s Student Association general election hit record highs, according to election results released by the Joint Elections Committee. But according to a survey conducted by The Hatchet, GW students on average were apathetic about the SA.

About 64 percent of the 527 students surveyed said they did not care about the work of the SA. The survey also indicated that the increased voter turnout may have been attributed to the voting process’ shift online.

Of the students surveyed who said they voted in the elections, 65 percent said online voting made a major impact on their decision to vote.

Junior Dave Schatz said the switch to online voting made it easier for students to cast their ballot.

“I was more inclined to vote because I didn’t have to go out of my way and I was able to access it at night,” Schatz said. “Usually people aren’t inclined to go out at nine o’clock to go vote.”

Sophomore Nicky Sampogna, a fraternity brother of EVP-elect Kyle Boyer, said the switch to online voting made it easier to convince others to go out and vote.

“(Online voting) definitely helped (Boyer) spread the word,” Sampogna said. “It was a lot easier to help get people to vote for him if they could just do it from their dorm rooms.”

Freshman Vasilika Poniros said she would not have voted in the elections had they not been online.

“I wasn’t that involved in the SA elections,” Poniros said. “If the elections weren’t online, I would not have taken the time to go wait in line and vote.”

A little more than half of the students surveyed by The Hatchet said they voted in the elections, despite their apathy towards the SA.

Last year, more than 3,000 students cast a ballot for SA president. However, this year, that number rose to more than 4,000, about a 30 percent increase in voter turnout.

In order for students to cast their vote in years past, they had to go to a polling booth on campus and cast their ballot. This year, students were able to cast a ballot from any computer with an Internet connection, which made voting more convenient for GW students, especially those students studying abroad or involved with work or internships off campus.

In the senate race, more than 6,100 students voted for the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate senate seats, nearly the entire CCAS student body.

Junior Ben Balter, chairman of the JEC, said that online voting had a great impact on voter turnout this year.

Balter said, “Compared to past years where students would have to go to a physical polling location, present identification and otherwise navigate through a cumbersome process, I think it is clear that online elections are a great leap forward towards ensuring that students’ voices get heard.”

Anthony Acosta, Shimmy Edwards, James Filipiski, Sholeh Geula, Husna Kazmir, Elise Kigner, Lucy McCalmont, Alexa Millinger, Mike Phillips, Yekaterina Plitsyna and Andrew Ramonas contributed to this report.

About this survey

The Hatchet conducted this informal survey by asking more than 500 students if they “cared about the work” of the SA and if the ability to vote online influenced their decision to vote.

Students were primarily in Ivory Tower’s Food Court, Columbian Plaza, J Street, and the lobby of Gelman Library between March 4 and 10.