Between January 25 and 29, 6925 people, or 14.9 per cent, of the student population turned out to vote in the 2010 AMS elections.

Exceeding 2009’s turnout by 401 votes, this year’s election boasts what is most likely the highest participation rate in 25 years.

“In absolute terms (not in percentages) the 6923 votes cast in the presidential race is the most in the past 25 years—since 1986,” explained AMS Archivist Sheldon Goldfarb in an e-mail interview.

However, this increase is just part of a larger positive trend of student participation.

Since 2008, when turnout was only 6.4 per cent of eligible voters, participation has steadily improved. As Elections Administrator Isabel Ferreras described, this year in particular showed a “significant increase” in student votership.

So what lured more students to the polls? According to Ferreras, it was a combination of many factors that encouraged voting.

While she said additional awareness about the AMS prior to elections, as well as interesting candidates and candidate platforms contributed to the increase, Ferreras also attributed this year’s success to a “dynamic” elections campaign.

“We were able to make elections more engaging and accessible,“ she said.

Online voting also had an impact on turnout.

“With the increase of online voting, it was so much easier for students to vote this year. There wasn’t the complications of going to different polling stations and filling out paper ballots,” Ferreras explained.

As for her hopes for 2011, Ferreras, whose term as Elections Administrator is soon over, encourages next year’s Elections Committee to work together with candidates to engage the student population.

“Giving students a reason to care about what the AMS does is up to the Elections committee and the AMS. The onus is on all of us to work together,” she said.

“We really appreciate the reaction we got this year. We feel they are really important for students, and hopefully their success can continue in the future.”