The Elections and Rules Committee (E & R) published a comprehensive list of complaints filed against candidates running for office and the disciplinary actions taken in response on the SG Web site last night. UChicaGOLD, Ignite, and the Moose Party have all received official warnings from E & R, the list revealed. Additionally, E & R issued a major vote penalty against UChicaGOLD and a minor vote penalty against Ignite.
Undergraduate Liaison candidates Christina Dong and Holly Rapp, both first-years, along with second-year Brendan Leonard, have all received warnings from E & R in response to complaints filed against them. E & R also issued Class of 2016 College Council candidate Mike Viola a warning.
According to the document, E & R penalized UChicaGOLD after receiving information on April 17 “showing that [third-year UChicaGOLD presidential candidate] Stephanie Mui was responsible for leaking the [second-year Ignite slate presidential candidate] Yusef Al-Jarani story to the Maroon.” The Maroon was not contacted to speak to this allegation.
The ruling also refers to a complaint issued earlier that day against second-year Raymond Dong, UChicaGOLD’s candidate for vice president of student affairs, alleging that he “was also campaigning early and discussing creating positions in the cabinet with Stephanie Mui.” E & R considered both complaints together.
E & R issued a major, as opposed to minor, vote penalty because of the “scale on which the integrity of the elections were affected,” according to the list of complaints released by E & R.
Fourth-year Lester Ang, the chair of E & R, said that the exact number of votes to be deducted is never revealed to the individual or slate who is the target of the complaint. That number, Ang said, is determined when disciplinary actions are decided by E&R.
The list also states that E & R issued a minor vote penalty against Ignite on April 17, “In light of continual allegations of unethical behavior,” though it noted that there have been no reports of repeated behavior since the slate received the warnings.
Both slates appealed the vote penalty decisions, but E & R has not issued a verdict on those appeals as of last night.
The first complaint filed this election season was against UChicaGOLD by an opposing slate on April 3, according to the document. The April 16 Maroon article referred to a complaint filed by an opposing slate against Ignite on April 4.
The document also lists a complaint against the Moose slate for alleged unruly behavior during the SG debate Thursday night. A member of E & R addressed the complaint and told the slate to “quiet down.”
In total, 13 separate incidents regarding this election cycle were listed in the document. Ang said that E & R plans on updating E & R Complaint Database as complaints continue being submitted.
