After a spirited campaign season, next year’s Student Association (SA) E-Board and Binghamton University Council representative have been decided, according to unofficial results published by the SA’s Elections and Judiciary Committee. 1,705 students voted in this year’s election, a slight dip in turnout from previous years.
In the presidential race, McKenzie Skrastins, the current SA president’s chief of staff and a sophomore majoring in mathematics, prevailed over two opponents with extensive student government experience — Chance Fiorisi, the current executive vice president (EVP) and a junior majoring in political science, and Christopher Ribaric, the speaker of SA Congress and a junior majoring in accounting.
Skrastins, who emphasized her experience in an executive office and breaking the information barrier between the SA and the student body, won 708 votes to Fiorisi’s 371 and Ribaric’s 317. She will be the third female president in a row, after Nia Johnson ‘23 and Elisheva Ezor, the current SA president and a senior double-majoring in mathematics and business administration.
“I know that I could not have been elected president without the support of my campaign staff, and I know there’s no way I can be president without the continuous support of those around me,” Skrastins wrote in an email. “With the help of the student body, I look forward to a successful year.”
In the contested race for vice president for finance (VPF), Caitlin McMahon, the current VPF’s head assistant and a junior majoring in accounting, won handily over Jonathan Gee, the executive director of the ESCAPE bus service and a junior double-majoring in integrative neuroscience and economics — with 1,001 votes to his 229.
“I am very excited and grateful about being elected and am ready to hit the ground running and will be looking into implementing my ideas,” McMahon wrote in an email. “I also am open to meeting with any SA group soon, so that we can start working together to improve the SA and [BU]. I will always be open to hearing feedback and concerns [from] the student body.”
Luca Cassidy, the incumbent vice president for student success (VPSS) and a junior double-majoring in economics and sociology, defeated Jules Verrino, the VPSS office’s programming lead and a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. Cassidy emphasized student health, robust finances and civic engagement in his platform and won 806-413.
The contest for vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) featured two candidates — Krizia Yao, a junior majoring in human development, and Najat Hussein, a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law. Yao won 717 votes, while Hussein won 447. Yao, who ran for VPMA last year, described community, equity and awareness as her main priorities in office.
“I’ve poured my heart and soul into this, and it’s amazing to see all that hard work pay off,” Yao wrote in an email. “None of this would have been possible without the amazing support of friends, classmates and everyone who believed in me enough to cast their vote. I’m bursting with excitement about the opportunity to bring our multicultural community even closer together and to be a voice for students who need it most. I do not doubt that next year’s SA [E-Board] is going to do amazing things, and I am happy to have earned a role in that.”
The races for BU Council representative and the SA’s EVP were uncontested, with Mackenzie Cooper and Batia Rabin, both sophomores majoring in philosophy, politics and law, respectively winning 1,634 and 1,154 votes.
“Winning the election for BU Council representative fills me with immense gratitude and excitement to serve my fellow students,” Cooper wrote in an email. “I would like to thank my friends and my peers for all of their support throughout this election process. I could not have gotten here without the support of others and everyone I met on the campaign trail. I’m eager to collaborate with faculty, staff and students to hit the ground running and enact positive change on campus as soon as possible.”
For the second straight year, the election process experienced difficulties with ranked-choice voting. Last year, the Graduate Student Organization, which also votes for BU Council representative, failed to use proper procedure to tabulate votes, resulting in a revote.
This year, the race for the SA’s vice president for programming (VPP) failed to use a ranked-choice format for the first two hours of the election, resulting in an “inconclusive” result.
“After resolving the issue, a back-end glitch erased the VPP election submissions made before the change,” Benjamin So, the Elections and Judiciary Committee chair and a senior double-majoring in history and philosophy, politics and law, wrote in an email. “For the past 36 hours, the SA [E-Board], B-Engaged and I have been working tirelessly to recover the data. However, it was not possible. Thus, there will be a run-off election on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for [VPP] to ensure that no students are disenfranchised and can all have their vote heard.”
Aside from the elections, voters were asked about the Student Activity Fee — currently $99 — which is the primary source of funding for the SA and its chartered organizations. By a vote of 1,160-447, voters approved the fee being mandatory for all students, and the vote to increase the fee by $6 per semester passed by a margin of 907-203.
So credited his committee for their work creating questions for the candidates in their debate. He mentioned Jeremy Masterson, the committee’s vice chair and a senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, and Kristina Donders, the social media chair and a sophomore double-majoring in mathematics and political science, for their work moderating the debate and increasing campus engagement.
“Despite an administrative error on the [VPP] ballot, I am incredibly happy with the work the Election and Judiciary Committee has done this year,” So wrote.