By TONIA ANDRUS
Brian Bowers and Karen Duffin won the BYUSA presidential elections after a record number of votes were cast last week.
A record of 7,549 students voted this year for the final elections, compared with 5,265 votes cast in last year’s finals. BYUSA President Dallin Anderson said this is a BYU record and a record among other universities in Utah.
Bowers and Duffin received 4,520 votes and Peter Miller and Vance Taylor 3,029 votes. Bowers will take office as president and Duffin as vice president beginning spring semester and will hold office for a year.
Election Committee Chair, Mike Nielsen, 24, a senior from Visalia, Calif., majoring in Spanish teaching, said students liked voting over Route Y because it was easier and they could read the candidates’ platforms on their own time.
Nielsen said voting over Route Y will probably be used again next year because of the favorable response, and the elections committee would like to make even more voter information available over Route Y.
After announcing the new presidency, Anderson spoke of the duties of the president and vice president to students at the Acapella Jam in the ELWC Ballroom. Anderson said the BYUSA president represents the students to administration and meets with President Bateman once a month in President’s Council. The BYUSA president also represents BYU students to other universities, to government and LDS church leaders and even other countries, Anderson said.