Last Tuesday, the Student Bar Association held senatorial elections across classes. Overall, 24 candidates competed for a total of nine positions. Out of a potential voter pool of 1,524, roughly 31% of students cast votes. Total turnout in J.D. classes came to 44% of 1,061 voters, and turnout in individual races ranged from a high of 73% in 1L Section 15 to a low of 28% in the 2L Day Senator race. While the Law School counts 463 LLM students as potential voters and only 7% voted, SBA Director of Elections William McGonigle said the 34 votes cast were a "healthy turnout" and comparable to years past. Students voted using a third-party website linked from the law portal. McGonigle said that voters encountered no problems with the system.

In the 1L elections, Section 11 selected Flora Rostami over one other candidate. Section 12 voted for Matthew Baker from a field of three. In Section 13, Rob Sneckenberg defeated two other candidates. Giri Iyengar won the Section 14 race in a field of three. Jackie Stanley defeated a field of four candidates to win the Section 15 contest, and Leonard Rubin won the race for the Senator for part-time Section 21, defeating one other candidate.

The 2L Day senator race featured a field of four candidates and ultimately required a run-off election between Albert Williams and Set Samii. Williams won the run-off, held last Thursday, in which 29% of the class voted. As McGonigle noted, when 2L class elections were originally held last spring, there were not enough candidates to fill all available spots. "So the race that didn't have enough people running last spring to fill all the seats with registered candidates is now the tightest and most contested," he said. "If any of 2L Day candidates had submitted an intent form last spring, they could have walked-on to a Senate seat."

The 4L evening class elected Anne Cannon MacMillan, who ran unopposed, and Meghan Wood defeated one candidate to win the LLM race.

The winners expressed excitement at the opportunity to serve as SBA Senators. Stanley felt the high turnout in her section was commendable. "With the highest percentage voter turnout of all voting groups, Section 15 proved that it is an active and thriving presence at GW Law," she said. "I'm looking forward to meeting the other Senate members and getting to work!"

Sneckenberg thanked his voters for their support. Addressing himself to them, he said, "I look forward to working with you and helping to build some Section 13 pride. Feel free to contact me any time. Otherwise, I'll see you at Bar Review!" Wood expressed a similar sentiment, saying, "I'm very excited to be the LLM senator in the SBA, and I look forward to working with the LLM class to make this year a great one!"

Some candidates celebrated the occasion with humor. Rostami thanked Section 11 "for being rational" and said, "Don't hesitate to tell me your opinions, though if it's about a certain writing course I think I can think of a few words on everyone's mind."