In Georgetown’s first-ever fully online election, the Class of 2004 selected its four representatives to the GUSA assembly with a record turnout of 42 percent, which organizers are crediting to the success of the streamlined voting process.

The freshman class elected Emily Sun (SFS ’04) with 346 votes, Sanjeev Kumar (MSB ’04) with 302 votes, Somil Trivedi (COL ’04) with 201 votes and Anthony Marinello (COL ’04) with 186 votes. A total of 625 votes were cast for 12 total candidates.

This year’s freshman election was the first to be conducted entirely online. The GUSA Election Commission worked with the Saxa Server Project to design a program that would facilitate voting and decrease voter fraud.

“It’s really a great system because it keeps the elections fair,” said Will Cosmas (COL ’01), secretary and election commissioner of the senior class committee. “It makes my job easier and allows me to give more time to the candidates.”

In order to vote, freshmen had to enter their official school e-mail addresses and security codes that were assigned in a previously received registration e-mail. All of the votes were flagged in a common database to prevent individuals from voting twice. An e-mail confirmation was also sent to the voter after casting a ballot.

According to Cosmas, holding the election online contributed to the higher percentage of voter participation.

Campaigning for the election began last Monday and ended Sunday night. The Election Commission set various rules for the candidates, including regulations about having all of their posters approved and where they could hang those signs.

“I thought the rules were too stringent,” Sun said. “It was the only part of the campaign that I did not think was done well.”

The candidates also participated in a Thursday night debate in Sellinger Lounge.

“I tried to keep the topics of the debate light and general because we hardly expect them to know about all of the issues at Georgetown,” Cosmas said. “But I was really impressed with their answers and the amount they knew about what was going on.”

Although attendance was low, the candidates generally felt that the objectives of the debate were accomplished. “It was good that everyone had a chance to meet each other, express their platforms, and offer insight to what they want to achieve,” candidate Nathan Fennessy (COL ’01) said.

According to Cosmas, the debate was broadcast on GUTV throughout the weekend.

Unlike last year’s freshman GUSA election, a primary was unnecessary because there were fewer than 15 candidates.