The Government of the Student Body will vote tonight on a senate bill to reform and simplify the GSB election process.

“We’ve made the election process much easier to understand,” said Speaker of the Senate Andrew Kothenbeutel, TRA.

The major benefit of the new bylaw is that the Election Code would remain a permanent fixture of the government and will not require a new draft every year, said Tony Luken, LAS.

“This is something I think the senate needs to debate on,” he said. “It’s not just about what we do today; it’s how we prepare for tomorrow.”

Kothenbeutel said another Election Code reform would make GSB executive seats more accessible to all ISU students. Currently, student teams seeking the executive GSB seats are required to petition 2,000 signatures before he or she can run for president or vice president.

“The governor candidates for the State of Iowa only need 1,000 signatures,” Kothenbeutel said.

The new bylaw would require a GSB executive candidate team to petition 1,500 signatures instead of 2,000, he said.

Other changes in the bylaw election reform package would eliminate future controversies with the seating of the election commissioner, Kothenbeutel said.

“It clears up a lot of the issues we had with the last case,” he said, referring to last Wednesday’s failure by the senate to find a permanent election commissioner after voting 19-6-5 against applicant Steve Skutnik.

“It just kind of seemed like Skutnik was getting railroaded by the personal politics of a few,” Luken said.

The issue of seating Skutnik as election commissioner could be re-evaluated tonight if a senator who voted against him chooses to reconsider his or her vote, Luken said.

“The senate will see that [Skutnik] is by far the most qualified person for the position,” Luken said. Several senators were absent or chose to abstain from voting at the Nov. 28 meeting, he said, and the entire senate needs to be present to appropriately evaluate Skutnik.

The GSB Senate will meet today at 7 p.m. in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union. The following will be discussed:

General Orders

A funding bill to transfer $2,346.70 from instructional fees to boat rental in the ISU Waterski Club’s 2001-2002 budget. By Stallmann, Kothenbeutel and others.

A funding bill to allocate $958 from the Senate Discretionary account to fund a public relations effort for the Government of the Student Body. By Walling, Luken and others.

A funding bill to allocate $13,405 from the Special Projects Account to the ISU Paintball Club for the purchase of a paintball field and equipment. By McKee, Tinder and others.

A senate bill to approve a new constitution for the Off Campus Government. By Rodeck, Weaver and others.

A senate bill to approve the Bylaw Election Reform Package and changes in the Election Code. By Luken, Kothenbeutel and others.

A senate resolution to endorse a report issued by the Student Evaluation of Teaching Task Force. By Luken, Mitchell and others.

New Business

A funding bill to allocate $511 from the Senate Discretionary Account to purchase supplies and materials for the Jamhuri Day celebration hosted by the Kenyan Student Association, commemorating the independence of Kenya from the British Empire. By Kothenbeutel, Greiman and others.