Last week, the senior class voted, or did not vote, for the 2012 Homecoming Court. The voting, previously done in English classes on tangible ballots or through Sharepoint, was conducted this year through eduballot.votenet.com, an online website tailored to school surveys. Instead of being handed ballots to fill out in class, students were given the option to go online with a username and password to place their votes.  Students had mixed views.

“I feel like it would have been better to vote in class, like in English. Some people forgot to go online,” said Abby Concklin, senior.

The previous voting system presented problems for both teachers and the voting process. Voting in class took time away from learning, and, forced to vote in class, students who were unconcerned about the outcome simply filled in the first 12 names listed. Some seniors, however, would have preferred to spend a small part of class time to vote..

Overall, 51 percent of the senior class voted. However, the website made voting an optional task as opposed to a mandatory one completed during the school day.

“A lot of people didn’t vote. But seeing as they had the option to, people who didn’t vote shouldn’t be complaining about the outcome,” said Analisa Bernardi, senior.

Mrs. Sally Philip, Varsity Club sponsor, advocated the use of the website as a medium for senior voting. The process was quick and easy, the results were readily accessible and the use of the website eliminated any grounds for people to say the outcome was rigged, she said. “It’s a third party sorting the ballots,” Phillip said.

In the future, Phillip plans on continuing to use the website for not only homecoming court elections but also class board or mock elections.