This current round of elections for the AUSA Sabbatical officer roles has seen the 3rd highest number of votes in the last decade, The Gaudie reports.
AUSA released the data from the election, revealing that 2109 students voted, amounting to 8433 individual votes cast upon the selection of 22 candidates.
However, with around 14000 individuals involved in the student body of the University, there is still significantly low voter turnout, including a decrease in turnout from last year’s engagement of 14.2%.
The Gaudie surveyed UoA students, including voters and non-voters, to find out how they felt about the elections and to find out what kept so many of them from using their right to vote.
When asked if they were aware of who the current elected student officers were, 66.7% said that they were aware of some of them, but not all of them, with the remaining 33.3% saying that they were not aware of them at all.
Those who said that they were not aware of the officers explained why they felt that was:
“I feel as if I am not as engaged as I should be in university politics and don’t really know where to start.”
Another student shared their thoughts on the issue of awareness:
“I feel like the information isn’t shared around the student body enough, especially if you aren’t in the main campus that often.”
When asked if they were aware of any candidates who were running for the 2025/26 officer positions, 66.8% answered “No”. One second year student told The Gaudie that they didn’t feel a need to engage as they didn’t think the elected officers would do anything for them.
When asked if they would vote or not, around 66% said “No”, with the remaining third saying “Yes”. Those who answered “Yes” explained why they felt it was important to engage with the AUSA elections.
“I didn’t vote in my first year, but I definitely plan on voting this year. Being a treasurer of a society has made me realise what sort of work the officers actually do, and how it can work for me.”
Another student explained their reasoning:
“Officers are important to the operation of the University and the student’s union, so as a student I feel it is my duty to engage in the election.”
Some students felt more motivated to vote after watching the candidates’ campaign on campus:
“I wasn’t planning on voting, but after talking to one of the VP for Communities candidates, I probably will.”
The new banking system was brought up multiple times in answers as a reason students would be voting this year.
The survey asked students which way of spreading information about the elections would be the most effective. 50% answered social media, whilst 33.3% said word of mouth. The remaining 16.7% of answers said the AUSA website.
Finally, the students who were planning on voting this year were asked to share which sabbatical role they felt was the most important to them. The largest share of 33.3% answered Student President, with the other 4 Vice Presidents receiving the same share of 16.7%.
