UC Berkeley students will decide next week whether or not to recall ASUC Senator John Moghtader after the ASUC decided that the recall election could follow procedures less strict than those of a general election.

The new guidelines are expected to cut the cost of the recall to less than $25,000, according to Elections Council Chair Emily Liedblad.

The previous estimate for a recall election was $48,000, which is the cost budgeted for the general ASUC election held in the spring.

The new figure is based on bylaw changes approved at last Wednesday's ASUC meeting.

The changes allow more flexibility in planning recall elections, including leaving the number of polling places and hours to the discretion of the Elections Council chair.

Liedblad said plans for next week's recall are on schedule.

"The preparations for the election are in full swing," she said in an e-mail. "We have scheduled all the poll workers, are printing the voter's guides, and are developing the online voting system."

But many students remain uninformed or apathetic toward the impending recall, which, so far, has been largely an ASUC affair.

"It's very much limited right now to the J-Council and the Senate, and I think that's really self-absorbed," said CalSERVE Senator Kifah Shah. "We're assuming that all of these things are only affecting us."

Many students have not even heard of the upcoming vote, while others question the relevance of a process that began after an altercation outside a Pro-Israel hip hop concert last November.

Some claim Moghtader was involved in the altercation. However, he was not cited, and the District Attorney's Office of Alameda County decided not to press any charges relating to the incident.

"I'm very apathetic," said junior Rajind Devendra. "I think that it's probably just revenge. From whichever side the senator is on, the other side wants to bring him down."

Within the ASUC, partisan politics has often focused attention on matters other than the actual election.

"There has been a lot of drama and controversy this year," said newly appointed ASUC Elections Council Publicity Coordinator Vinit Sukhija. "We need to make sure that it doesn't become political."

But ongoing disputes over recall procedures have moved attention away from the core issue of whether or not to recall Moghtader.

"The CalSERVE senators who all supported the recall ... they are a great example of what senators shouldn't be doing," Moghtader said.

He added that political opponents in the senate were disregarding the costs of the recall to the student body.

"Is this what the student body (or) the ASUC intended to do?" Moghtader said.

Moghtader submitted a new charge sheet to the ASUC Judicial Council on Friday that said the council could not legally make any decisions before all of its vacant seats had been filled.

He said the Judicial Council has been in violation of these requirements in its last five rulings. Many of these rulings have addressed recall election procedures.

These procedures included electronic signatures, publicity requirements and the specificity of charges necessary for recall petitions.

According to the ASUC Constitution, the Judicial Council must comprise nine students and a majority must be present for a hearing to take place.

As few as four justices have been involved in making some of this semester's rulings.

ASUC Attorney General Michael Sinanian said due process for Moghtader was violated because the council was not fully filled.

"There were only half the justices," he said. "(The Judicial Council) should have known better."

But ASUC officials recognize that the drawn-out recall process has strained the enthusiasm of its supporters.

"Those that were once very proactive about this recall election have died down in enthusiasm," said Student Action Senator Edward Nahabet.

Tags: RECALL ELECTION, JOHN MOGHTADER