The 2001 election attracted 5,837 total voters, 2,074 votes more than last year's election. Election turnout for 1999 was even lower at 3,663 votes, while 1998 elections totaled 4,210 votes.
Jeremy Tuchmayer, chairman of the Board of Elections, said the debut of online voting definitely helped increase voter turnout.
"The ease with which the voting process occurred -- there were no lines and (students) could do it before class, after class, even in class if they have a laptop," he said.
Students who headed to computers to participate in the election process agreed with Tuchmayer's assessment.
"It was so easy," said junior Neil Foto. "How could you not vote? It took absolutely, what, 45 seconds of my time."
Other students said that while the convenience of online voting was a vast improvement from long lines and paper ballots, it wasn't their main motivation for voting.
"I guess the biggest reason was that I was on Annie Peirce's campaign team," said junior Eddie Falco. "But I probably would have voted anyway."
The number of candidates running for student body president was another key reason cited from students for why they voted.
Tuchmayer said the number of candidates "who got their names out" helped increase voter turnout and might be one reason for the four runoff races.
