The new ASUC Elections Finance Commission will be a welcome addition to this year’s election. In previous years, it was nearly impossible for third parties and independents to get elected to partisan executive offices or to increase their representation in the ASUC Senate.
But that could change with the imposition of tough spending caps on student political parties and the presence of the commission. Charged with monitoring party expenditures during the election cycle, the commission will inject a healthy dose of fairness into the process. the commission will be able to keep the parties on task about their finances, enforcing the new rules that will combat parties’ previous tendencies to overspend. The commission will also hopefully deter unnecessary disputes over financial rule-breaking.
Because this is the first commission of its kind, it’s incredibly important for the ASUC Senate to pick the right people to sit on it. The senate will select commissioners unaffiliated with the ASUC because the commission is supposed to be independent. But it is equally important for the commission to be comprised of members with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
The commission must also set a strong precedent for future commissions. While its very existence has the potential to create a more equitable process of elections finance, parties will only feel that effect insofar as the commission strongly asserts itself. If the commission is too relaxed or too timid, its authority will not be taken seriously in this election or in future ones.
In addition to being a forceful body, the commission must also be very clear about its guiding philosophy. Parties are not used to being monitored in this manner, so they’re bound to feel a certain level of ambiguity. Once in action, the commission should be very upfront about what is and is not acceptable and how it will pursue punishment of violations of elections finance regulations.