Bakersfield College’s Student Government Association will switch to an online voting format to encourage more students to participate in the electoral process.

SGA President Ash West hopes the new format will bring higher turnout and more validity to the election process.

“We’re hoping to double [voter participation]. We’re at 2% right now, so going to 4% isn’t bad,” West said. “We’ve always had a booth; how many of the 15,000 students know to go to the foyer to vote?”

The Web site will enable BC students, who attend satellite campuses like the Weill Institute downtown and Delano Center, which hosts approximately 9% of BC students population, to participate in student elections, said West. Students will need their student ID number to log in and vote.

Child development major Anais Morales, 20, sees the move to online voting as an improvement.

“It’s more accessible for me to use the computer. As it is, I don’t have enough time for my own self,” she said.

Several additional benefits expected to come from the new system including voter receipts and a secure voting process.

“I have encountered instances of voter fraud, and that puts the integrity of our elections at stake,” said West, noting that experience as why he listed electronic voting as a campaign promise in the last election.

Although the process has yet to be completed, the Web site is expected to be operational before student government elections are held the week of April 3 through the 7.

The new site will be hosted by eBallot, a company that hosts numerous similar sites for other schools. SGA is expected to pay $3,795 for one year of service based on BC’s enrollment.