Team LWT wins AMS executive election by a close margin

Ballot counting goes into second round due to close count in first

Image by: Arwin Chan
Team LWT celebrates with supporters after it was announced that they won the AMS executive election.

Team LWT has officially been elected as the new AMS executive for the 2016-17 school year by a close margin.

AMS officials made the announcement at roughly 11:20 p.m. on Wednesday night. Team LWT consists of Tyler Lively for president, David Walker for vice president (operations) and Carolyn Thompson for vice president (university affairs).

“I’m speechless. I don’t know — I honestly don’t know how I feel,” Thompson said after the announcement.

In the first round of the AMS Executive elections, Team LWT received 45.6 per cent (2,996) of the vote, Team CSG received 45.2 per cent (2,968) of the vote, and none of the above received 9.2 per cent (601) of the vote, according to an AMS press release.

Because neither team got a majority, voting went to a second round where the preferences of the none-of-the-above voters were re-distributed to each team. Voters could give each option — Team CSG, Team LWT or “None of the Above” — a ranking between one and three to indicate their preference. Voters who indicated that “None of the Above” was their first choice had their second choice votes distributed to each of the teams.

After those votes were re-distributed, Team LWT won with 50.3 per cent (3,180) of the vote and Team CSG received 49.7 per cent (3,139). 3.3 per cent (246) of the ballots were considered spoiled for not selecting alternative preferences.

 

Team LWT, your new AMS Executive! Thanks to everyone for your hard work and support! Looking forward to the year ahead.

Posted by Team LWT on Wednesday, January 27, 2016

 

“We ran the most innovative campaign that has ever been run. We brought the conversation to students. We talked to athletes, we talked to clubs, we talked to students that just go to Ale and Stages every week,” Lively told a crowd of supporters.

“That’s what this election is about! The mainstream media said we couldn’t do it. The establishment tried to stop us from doing it. But at the end of the day, we did it. Together, we’re going to make the AMS great again!”

“Every single one of you guys believed in us at times when we didn’t believe in ourselves. You made us get through. Thank you!” Walker said in his speech.

The mood was somber at Team CSG’s party, but the team still gave a speech to their supporters.

“A disappointment for us all, but we appreciate everyone’s support not just throughout the campaign, but particularly for coming out tonight,” Sarah Anderson told supporters at the CSG party.

“We made the other team address sexual assault; we made the other team address diversity; we made the other team address environmentalism, etc. etc. and the list goes on. So, regardless of outcome, we can be very proud of the campaign that we ran.”

— with files from Victoria Gibson and Mikayla Wronko

Editor’s Note: The AMS has informed The Journal that they mistakenly included spoiled ballots as part of the percentage count for the AMS executive election. Team CSG received 49.7 per cent of the vote after votes were redistributed, not 47.7 per cent. See the AMS press release here.

 

Tags

#AMSvotes, AMS executive, election2016, student elections, team LWT

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