A new online voting system will save the university more than $20,000 when students vote in the Associated Students election Dec. 8 and 9.

The expected cost of the new online balloting is $3,000, while last spring’s ASI election cost $2,500 more than the original $23,000 projection.

The controversy over the measure for the Recreation, Wellness and Events Center produced record voter turn out, resulting in an eight-hour wait to gain the results of a recount. The wait caused the cost to escalate, as the third party responsible for counting the ballots were paid by the hour.

“The new system is very secure and safe and we will have the outcome of the votes within seconds,” ASI President Josh Wood said.

The two ballot measures will be the restructuring of the Appellate Council and the development of a retention center.

Voter security has been the major issue in deciding if Sac State will adopt the new system.

Dave Hill, the director of university computing and communication services, was responsible for evaluating the security of the third party online voting system called The Election Trust.

“We had to decide if it was a feasible option, if we can validate that the voter is a legitimate student and that it doesn’t jeopardize privacy,” Hill said.

The process will run through a page similar to CasperWeb. After a username and password is typed in, The Election Trust software will validate that the voter is a current student. It will then assign a unique number to that student to not allow anyone to vote twice.

“It appears that we can do it, but we still have to conduct a trial test,” Hill said. “We have proven that it is valid and will be secure.”

Chico State and San Diego State University both have made the switch to online ballots because of the lower overall cost and the efficiency of the program.

“We need to evaluate if all students’ needs and rights are being met, and we need approval from Student Affairs to go through with it,” ASI Executive Director Pat Worley said.

The approval of the new program came on Nov. 11, after Vice President of Student Affairs Shirley Uplinger consulted with admissions and records and computing and communication services.

“Students’ privacy will be protected, the actual outcome will be legitimate and the system can not be hacked into,” said Uplinger. “The two things that need to happen next are a test of the program, and ASI needs to promote online balloting to students who don’t know about it.”