Ten full days after voting began, Kyle Malinowski and Tricia Anklan were declared president and vice president in the student body officer elections.
Although the voting ended Tuesday and the results were scheduled to be announced Tuesday night, the results were delayed twice because of a mass e-mail sent to students telling them to vote for the red ticket.
Malinowski finished with 978 votes, nearly doubling Ticaric’s 499 in the runoff election. The last time there was a runoff for the office of president was in 2004.
“Runoffs are relatively common when you have more than two candidates running,” Director of Student Activities Michelle Whited said. “It is a tough decision for all voters, but especially those who voted for a candidate not in the runoff.”
Malinowski said the feeling that comes with winning was not negatively affected by the delay.
“The fact that it was a runoff and we had to wait so long for the results that extra couple of days made it all the better,” he said.
The race for vice president was closer, with Anklan receiving 812 votes and Peters receiving 657. The margin of 155 is larger than the five-vote difference between the candidates in the general election.
“It was definitely nice to know that I have so many students behind me,” Anklan said. “It was difficult to sit through class this week not knowing what the results would be.”
Whited said the investigation was the reason the results were delayed until Thursday.
“We wanted to make sure the results of the election were still valid and we are confident that no candidate had knowledge of this e-mail,” she said.
Malinowski said although the e-mails were negative, e-mailing is a great way to communicate with students.
“I think it just brought attention to the election,” he said. “I trust the integrity of the investigation.”
Whited said the problem is Student Senate has not clearly defined the rules for campaigning.
“There are some rules, but not enough,” she said. “In the past, they have simply responded to situations that have already occurred and then made rules in response.”
The voter turnout for the runoff was 1,597, nearly 200 more than in the general election.
“I think people came out to vote because they knew that when it comes down to two candidates, the results really matter,” Anklan said. “People knew that they could make a difference and showed that they cared.”
Anklan also said she was unsure of the results before they were announced.
“I had no idea what was going to happen, this whole election has been a rollercoaster,” she said. “[Junior Jade Peters] ran a great campaign.”
Both Anklan and Malinowski are members of the blue ticket.
“I am very happy that all three of the candidates from my ticket were elected,” Malinowski said. “We work very well together.”
Sophomore Candace Esken, another student who ran on the blue ticket, won the race for secretary last week.
Anklan said the common goal of bettering Bradley’s campus brought the blue ticket together.
“We talked about our plans before the campaign, and we agreed on what should be done,” Anklan said. “We put in a ton of time and it’s really nice that students rewarded us with their support.”
Junior Patrick Campbell is the only recently elected student body officer who ran on a different ticket. He ran on the red ticket, and will be student body treasurer.
Graduate student Jordan Ticaric, who ran as the incumbent and lost, said she is looking forward to moving on.
“I’m proud of all that I’ve accomplished, and I think I’ve laid good ground work, so we’ll see where they will take it,” she said.
Malinowski and Anklan will be installed into their positions at 3:30 p.m. on Monday in the Garrett Center.
