With the special election finally here, students have an opportunity to voice their opinion.

Out of the two measures on the ballot, Measure 2, dealing with creating a new retention center, is getting the bigger push.

The core issues with Measure 2 are the questions how the money the money will be spent, and what kind of void will it leave financial aid if transferred.

Harriet Taniguchi, assistant to the vice president, said, “A key factor in retention is that students have enough money to come to school. We would hope if the money was transferred out of financial aid, that it can be replaced to reach the students.”

Linda Clemons, director of financial aid, initially said the money is currently funding 158 student jobs and that those jobs will be eliminated if the referendum passes.

But executive board members of ASI say differently.

“About 102 of the 158 jobs are ASI funded, which leaves 56 jobs that financial aid pays for,” said Luke Wood, Vice President of Academic Affairs.”These 56 jobs are ‘student assistant’ positions and we want use all the money to shift the job titles to something we believe is more important.”

A recently released report detailing the retention center plan states that roughly $150,000 will be used to fund the new jobs. But the math does not add up.

Each job on campus is designated $1,960. Multiply this number by 56 jobs, and you get $109,760. This raises the question of how ASI will use extra the $40,240 in unaccounted funds. Luke Wood did not comment on this issue.

In addition, it was earlier recorded that this money was initially earmarked to fund a faculty advisor position that would run the program and help develop retention programs.

Taniguchi, who met with Luke Wood four times to discuss the retention center said, “In order to make good decision, it’s important for the students to know how student funds are being allocated.”

“Measure 1 is hard to sum up in one line,” said ASI President Joshua Wood.

“It’s a more complicated issue, and as a result we decided to put our funding towards Measure 2, something we’ve been working on for a while.”

He added the purpose of Measure 1 is to eliminate what he considers unneeded bureaucracy by limiting the jurisdiction of the Appellate Court. Because of its complicated nature Joshua Wood also said that he does not expect the bylaw change to be passed by student voters.

Special elections, just like regular elections, require 5 percent of the student population to vote in order to qualify it as an official election, as stated in the ASI bylaws.

“We don’t have any projected figures for how many students will likely turn out to vote,” said Luke Wood. “But we do hope that because it’s held online students will feel more encouraged to get involved.”

Last week the Office of Government Affairs, in conjunction with ASI, began putting up billboards, hanging fliers and passing out voter pamphlets in an effort to inform students where and how to vote.

In addition to the pamphlets, they even handed out small cards in order to serve as a convenient reminder about the election.

Olgalilia Ramirez, co-director of the Office of Government Affairs, said: “Our job is to promote the election itself, not promote or take a stance on any of the measures.”