Our View: The importance of competitive elections

With USUSA elections coming up, we felt it necessary as an editorial board to highlight the importance of competitive elections within our university community and society at large.  

Right before his death in 1950, Harvard professor Joseph Schumpeter said representative democracy is “institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.”  

The political climate at USU is lacking a “competitive struggle.” As an editorial board, we encourage you to declare your candidacy in the 2024 USUSA elections and to take this democratic practice seriously. 

As of the publishing of this column, 15 of the 28 elected positions are running unopposed, and five positions have no candidate.  

Uncontested elections have consequences that reach far beyond checking the sole name on a ballot when casting your vote on election day. It actually decreases voter turnout as constituents believe their vote doesn’t matter — the candidate will take office whether or not they participate.  

Unopposed candidates on a ballot call into question the legitimacy of representative democracy. The decisions made and actions taken by your leaders represent Utah State University. They represent you.  

Visit usu.edu/involvement/elections/ for information on how to declare candidacy and to keep informed on election policies and regulations. The deadline to declare candidacy is Jan. 29 at 7 a.m.  

In collaboration with Bluelight Media and Aggie Radio, The Utah Statesman will be holding formal debates for candidates in the TSC Hub on Feb. 28 and March 4.  

USU Student Media aims to be the voice of the campus and tell stories about this community. Our ears and our inbox are open at editor@usustatesman.com or opinion@usustatesman.com.  

Letter to the Editor guidelines can be found here.  

-The Utah Statesman Editorial Board

Correction: The previous column stated that the first formal debate will be held on Feb. 26. It will be held on Feb. 28.