|
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the infamous "Machine" at the U of Alabama. Most of our state politicians came from membership in machine fraternities. Because of the influence of this group, the SGA there was disbanded from 1993-1997. The Machine controls just about every office in student government, and its influence is felt in a large number of elections all over the state. Machine-affiliated sororities and fraternities generally require their members to vote, and although it isn't spoken about now as much as it was a while back, there can be repercussions for members who don't vote or who vote for the wrong candidate. The administration has taken steps in the past few years to insure the secrecy of voting, but there is little that can be done about the influence of the Machine over election results.
|