By Cate Meister & Reese Meister
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Associate Student Body (ASB) announced its new Executive Council on April 5 following the election that began in late March. Current juniors, sophomores and freshmen voted in the election to determine the ASB president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and parliamentarians for the 2022-2023 school year.
This marked a return to the school-wide voting process after ASB did not hold elections in spring of 2021 to appoint the current Executive Council.
In spite of the readoption of the school election, only 612 students participated, about 25% of eligible voters. The voter turnout rate declined from the election held in 2020, where 30% of non-seniors cast their votes during the onset of distance learning.
“All I have to say is that I wish more students voted. I think we have to find a better way to make sure that if not all, a good majority of our students vote,” Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics Hayato Yuuki said.
What the voting process looks like
According to ASB’s 2021-2022 By-Laws, the elections of this school year must be completed before May 15. The Assistant Principal of Activities (in this case Yuuki) and current Co-Parliamentarians handle the task of overseeing the election process with input from the ASB Advisor, Todd Gruca, and the rest of the current Executive Council.
Any member of the student body, excluding seniors, who completes the application process has eligibility to run for Executive Council. The current Co-Parliamentarians and Executive Council collaborate to set these application and interview requirements.
Once candidates complete the application stage, the Assistant Principal of Activities and the outgoing Executive Council members will assess their applications and decide who will move forward in the election.
The ASB Advisor and current Co-Parliamentarians determine the rules and regulations that candidates must follow during the campaigning process. With the exclusion of seniors, all members of the student body may vote.
The five candidates with the highest number of votes receive positions on the 2022-2023 school year’s Executive Council, though a sixth may earn a spot if the ASB Advisor and current Executive Council see it fit.
Recent history of ASB elections
While ASB elections have long been held as the standard procedure of appointing ASB Executive Council members, selection methods have varied throughout the past decade.
In 2013, ASB first deviated from its tradition of a competitive election where the student vote determined Executive members.
Then ASB Administrator Joe Fraser and the 2012-2013 Executive Council determined that only five of the nine applicants were truly qualified for the council, leaving the need for an election off the table. They cited a sharp decrease in applicants as the main reason for nixing the election.
FVHS went without elections for the next two years, with then Executive Councils choosing future members based on an application and interview process. After three years without voting, some students voiced concerns over the fairness of the practice, while others noted it was a refreshing departure from what they felt might be “popularity contests.”
When elections returned in 2016, students were able to vote based on one-minute speeches that applicants gave. Elections continued through 2020, when students learned via virtual instruction at the onset of the pandemic. Candidates recorded their speeches and ASB utilized an online voting platform.
In 2021, ASB did not hold an election, and Executive Council candidates did not campaign. 2020-2021 advisor Kelly Skon justified the decision with low voter turnout, the distanced learning situation and a need to rebuild school culture with younger council members who could serve for years to come.
After reintroducing the ASB election in 2022, Yuuki expressed that he is looking forward to seeing what the future Executive Council has to offer.
“The new board members will be great,” Yuuki said. “I am excited for them to learn and grow and learn valuable leadership skills to lead not only FVHS, but to utilize [these skills] for the rest of their lives.”
