The altering of ballots during the election of USB’s Executive Board in October was the main reason behind the re-vote the following week, according to numerous students and school officials. The voting irregularities resulted in two students being dropped from the student government group.

On Oct. 29, USB representatives visited classrooms to hand out ballots, which is the usual routine on election days.

One or two days after the original election, it was discovered that two USB members manipulated the votes in the favor of one candidate, according to those familiar with the situation. The following Monday, representatives returned to the classrooms to conduct a re-vote, and were accompanied by staff members who oversaw the process to ensure full integrity. The two members who altered the initial results have since been removed from USB.

According to the DBHS constitution, in typical situations, removal from USB requires a two-thirds vote from the E-board or approval from the President; only an administrator has the authority to override this process. In this situation, USB members were neither notified nor given an official explanation as to why the two members were removed, according to various USB members.

“I was as in the dark as was everyone else. I found out what happened from someone else who was talking about it. I only heard rumors,” Kevin Lee, outgoing USB president said.

With the re-vote correcting the problem, USB and the administration are focusing on creating a more secure and effective election system so that future problems can be avoided.

“I am not pleased with the almost primitive way we count votes. I think it’s a system that invites flaws and irregularities and so we are talking to other school about how they do that,” interim Principal Denis R. Paul said.

Paul is looking to implement more technology into the election process to eliminate the possibility of irregularities.

Meanwhile, he is also considering setting up voting booths during lunchtime and having students present their ID before placing their vote. Lee said that USB is in the process of brainstorming alternatives to be put into action before the next election.

“I want to see one Brahma, one vote,” Paul said. “I want to see the will of the student body enforced.”

Originally, as reported in the Bull’s Eye’s November issue, the reasons for the re-vote included a near-tie for a position, problems with the ballot that made voting unclear, and the presence of officials visiting from the district that disturbed the process for several classes.

Leading up to elections, each USB member organized their ballots and scantrons in a folder to take to their classes on Election Day, as they have done for years. There was no one regulating the number of scantrons taken, a problem which made the system vulnerable to misconduct.

Activities Director Janna Van Horn said that after receiving feedback from staff members and students, the re-vote was conducted to assure accuracy.

“I wanted to be sure there was no room for question regarding the results so we did a second vote. The candidates that ran for Executive Board all put in a lot of time and energy and they deserved to have fair and accurate voting process,” Van Horn said.

The newly elected USB Board consists of David Song (President), Nicole Kim (Vice President), Nishat Nayem (Secretary), Jenny Yun (IOC Chairperson), Fiona Yan (Speaker of the House), and Stephanie Pan (Finance Director). The positions were incorrectly reported in the November issue of the Bull’s Eye.