Total votes after second day of GSU elections passes 500

141 additional students cast their votes by 5pm today

On the second day of voting for the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) sabbatical officers, 141 votes have been counted, bringing the past two days’ combined total votes to 501, or 9.2% of the electorate. 

 

Voting continues to be conducted in an online format through Mi-Voice, which has replaced the in-person voting system typical of GSU elections. Eligible voters received an email from Mi-Voice yesterday morning when voting officially opened. 

 

Ballots feature the sole candidate for the presidency, Gisèle Scanlon, and two vice-presidential candidates, Joseph Keegan and Abhisweta Bhattacharjee. Voters may also select to re-open nominations (RON) for either of the races. 

 

Last year, in another unopposed race for the vice presidency, Scanlon won with 82% of the vote. She is preparing for her third master’s degree from Trinity, in art history. She has also served as the GSU Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS) officer. 

 

Both Bhattacharjee and Keegan have experience as student representatives at their most recent educational institutions, Bhattacharjee at the Victoria Institute in Kolkata and Keegan at the Dublin Business School and in Trinity.

 

During this campaign season’s hustings, which were also conducted virtually, all three candidates emphasised their willingness to adapt to further virtual endeavours, of which the voting system for this year’s race is one of the first. 

Audrey Brown

Audrey Brown is a Senior Fresher English Studies student, and the Deputy News Editor of Trinity News.