Elections take place all the time. From school board representatives to the president, it is up to the voters to elect leaders.

In most cases, there are multiple people running for a single position, and there is strong competition among them. However, in unique cases, a single person runs for a specific position.

In the recent election of the Homeowners Association of Woodbridge, positions were occupied by the few people on the ballot. This event demonstrates the lack of democracy, as it forces the public to support a default candidate. These events not only occur in official elections, but also happen in school elections. With one person running for treasurer or even vice president, getting the position seems like a piece of cake.

“I want to see what they have to offer compared to the other candidates,” sophomore Quan Ho said. “If there is no other candidate, then you don’t really know if that person is good or not.”

With no competition and a guaranteed of getting the position, the motivation of the candidate decreases. In these cases, they lack in expressing their purpose or pursuing their best options for the public.

“In school it isn’t as big, but if this event were to happen in real life, these people who are given power and position because of their single campaign can cause a lot of problems,” Ho said.

Most candidates run because they want not because of the unfair motives.

“If only [one person is] running, then they took the initiative to put themselves out there, campaign and take the job,” senior Divya Prajapati said. “Even though that leaves no options for voters, we can’t be dissatisfied with the options given to us just because no one else wanted to run.”

At the same time, the fact that only one person ran for the position does not automatically make the person a bad representative. The circumstance for the win should not define the character of those running.

“I think this is fair; if no one else wants to step up and do it then they shouldn’t complain about it,” sophomore Krupa Prajapati said.

One runner in an election can be unfair due to the high chance of abused power as well as the lack of competition, making it seem like a forced voting process.