One voting extension wasn’t enough to settle the results of this week’s ASB presidential and vice presidential election. After the first election was too close to call, students had another opportunity to vote which once again ended in indecision.

The eight candidates running for executive ASB positions gave their speeches at an assembly yesterday. All students in 9th through 11th grade were able to vote using their school email accounts. The polls closed at 6 p.m. and results were to be announced today. Kaia St. John, sophomore, and Beth Chvilicek, junior, were announced as the elected secretary and treasurer, respectively, but the other race results were not announced.

“Mr. Anderson and Mr. Grothe assured me that there was no way the election would be a tie. There happened to be a tie on Thursday,” said Marc Hernandez, ASB president. Elections for president and vice president took place on a joint ticket; juniors Jessica Gutierrez and Ellie Toth ran against Layne Knipfer and Cole Hansen.

In order to solve this problem, polls were reopened at 8 a.m., and students who didn’t vote yesterday were asked to vote. The polls remained open until noon.

This afternoon, Hernandez made yet another announcement stating the election was again “too close to call.” In an exclusive interview with The Apple Leaf, he confirmed that the issue with voting today could have been due to either a technological problem or another close race.

“We as administration and ASB have been talking, and we are coming up with a solution that will be disclosed to the students and the candidates on Monday,” said Hernandez. The precise solution has not yet been solidified, though Hernandez said different ideas are being considered.

“I think what could have been done to avoid this situation in the first place relies more on student participation than anything else,” said Hernandez. “If more students had participated, it would have been much easier to widen any kind of margin. I definitely believe it was more of a student responsibility than a candidate or administration responsibility.”

While he could not disclose the number of students who did vote over the past two days, of the estimated 700 people in attendance at the assembly on Thursday, the number of voters fell far short of 700.

“Students need to realize that their opinions matter in our community. Their choices can change outcomes, and their decisions can affect the whole student body. Use your voice and speak your mind or nothing will be accomplished,” said Hernandez.