Vice President-Elect Alex Ehmke, from left, Secretary-Elect Martha Poole and President-Elect Austin Prentice pose for the Daily Campus Thursday evening. (MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus)

Austin Prentice and Alex Ehmke were elected Student Body President and Vice President Thursday evening after initial balloting forced a run-off election.

Run-off elections are held when no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

Prentice, the current Student Body Vice-President, won the SBP office over current Student Body Secretary Katie Perkins.

“The first thing that went through my mind was just thanking those that supported me and thanking Katie for running a great race,” Prentice said. “I’m just really excited to see what this produces for SMU next year.”

Prentice garnered 257 more votes than Perkins, with 1,179 votes to 922. He says right now his plan is to do the things he put on his platform.

“That’s also just reacting and just listening to the student body of SMU, but I’m going to do what I said I was going to do,” Prentice said.

Ehmke, a current Dedman II senator, won the SBVP office over former Membership Chair Roza Essaw.

Ehmke received 273 more votes than Essaw, with 1,213 votes to Essaw’s 940.

Ehmke said he was “eager to do the things that are important to the student body” and that he was “really excited about getting to work.”

Prentice and Ehmke join Student Body Secretary-Elect Martha Pool as the 2011-12 Student Body Officers.

Essaw won a seat in the general elections, which means that she will be a 2011-12 Meadows Senator. Perkins did not seek a general election seat.

Prentice thinks Ehmke “is going to do a phenomenal job as Vice-President.”

“I think he’s passionate,” he said. “I think he’s really driven to make sure Student Senate runs efficiently and communicates what’s going on with the student body.”

Ehmke also had kind words for Prentice.

“I’ve looked up to him as Vice-President this entire year really,” Ehmke said, “and I’ve always thought that he and Jake were a fantastic team. I think that he and myself and Martha will make a fantastic team as well.”

Total Votes Received

Student Body President

Austin Prentice: 1,179

Katie Perkins: 922

Student Body Vice-President

Alex Ehmke: 1,213

Roza Essaw: 940