jfjSo the College Dems elections are on Wednesday, and by decree of a constitutional amendment, everyone who wants to vote must be registered by TODAY at 5PM (that’s a change from last year, when large numbers of people left Satow after their friends were elected). But only if you think you’ve been “involved.” Here’s a bit from an e-mail sent by Dems President Mike Nadler to declared candidates:

“You are all encouraged to scour your memory (and the facebook) for active Dems members, and to campaign for their votes by encouraging them to register and show-up on election day. The deadline for them to sign up is 5 pm on Monday, April 9th. That said, you should NOT pack the vote with your friends, unless they are friends who have been really involved with the Dems.



To be eligible to vote you must either have been involved (i.e. more than the signing of an Activist Council postcard) or to have a very good reason for why you did not get involved this year ( i.e. if you were CCSC President). We ask that you pledge to follow both the letter and the spirit of these rules.”


Also, from the application, which asks aspiring voters to describe in detail their activities with the club: “If you have not attended a Columbia Democrats event this year and are interested in voting, please write a well-constructed paragraph outlining why you did not participate this year and telling us how we can improve our organization next year.”

One more thing before we stop: the Dems also abandoned drop-down voting this year, which means that you can’t run for lower positions if you lose in higher ones. And people have to sit around tables moderated by senior members of the current e-board. And they have to stay till the end for their votes to count. And they have to get their fingers dyed purple when they’re done.

OK, just kidding about the last one. Good luck beating CCSC turnout, kids!

– LBD