ASUC Elections News

ASUC Elections Voting System to Remain Intact

ASUC elections are back on schedule for April 5 to 7 after the ASUC Judicial Council ruled that an online voting system meant to ease voting for students abroad is not constitutionally necessary.

The suit, filed two weeks ago by SQUELCH! Senator Ben Narodick against ASUC Elections Chair Angel Brewer, alleged that the current practice of voting at on-campus polling locations disenfranchises students abroad.

Four of the six justices held that although the current system does prevent most students in the Education Abroad and UCDC programs from voting, the difficulty is self-imposed by the students.

"At any time such student can return to campus and vote with the same right as any other registered student," wrote Councilmember Aidan Ali-Sullivan in the majority opinion. "The distance they travel, whether one block or one thousand miles, is irrelevant; it is ultimately just a difference by degree."

Although the council decided that the ASUC is not constitutionally responsible for implementing a new system this year, justices suggested that the ASUC Senate consider rectifying "this current, outdated system ... to ensure the greatest ease of voting by all registered students in the future."

Tiffany Hsu

ASUC Party Files Suit

to Overturn Disaffiliation

In an attempt to restore the BEARS-United party name to ballots in next week's elections, party leaders filed a suit alleging they were not clearly notified of deadlines by ASUC Attorney General Nathan Royer and the ASUC Elections Council.

The party has requested a preliminary injunction that could delay the elections until after the suit is decided. The council has put the suit on the fast track and will hear it early this week, said council Chair Robert Gregg.

At the ASUC candidates' meeting two weeks ago, all BEARS-United candidates were disaffiliated from the party and reclassified as independents when party officials turned in paperwork with candidates' names late.

Party officials said that a five-minute extension given by Elections Chair Angel Brewer was illegal and misled them into thinking they could turn in the forms late. Zach Liberman, former party presidential candidate, said if they had not been granted the extension, they would have made the deadline.

"(BEARS-United) is not denying the fact that they turned in their forms late, they're alleging that the council didn't correctly do its job by telling them they could have an extension when in fact they couldn't," Gregg said.

Liberman, who filled out the paperwork, claims that a number of factors caused the delay, including that as a transfer student, he is unfamiliar with ASUC protocol.

Liberman said he filed the suit against Royer because he has the power to overturn Brewer's decision, and that Royer has a "vendetta" against his party.

"The spirit of the law should be followed; the purpose of the bylaws is that things are turned in in a timely manner, not to punish people," Liberman said. "Any assertion that we're incompetent for not filling out paperwork is a personal insult to transfer students, and it's going to alienate transfer students from voting."

Tiffany Hsu

Suit Charges Candidate

With Sending Illegal Spam

Former ASUC Judicial Council Chair Mike Davis filed a Judicial Council suit against independent presidential candidate Zach Liberman, claiming that Liberman illegally sending e-mail spam.

Davis said the invitation he received to join the "Zach Morris Liberman 4 ASUC President (BEARS-United)" group on the Facebook violates the bylaws since he has no previous relationship with Liberman, which rules campaign e-mail rules require.

"This is a precedent-setting case; it's quite a big deal because almost every senator and party uses Facebook to campaign," said council Chair Robert Gregg.

The prevalence and legal ambiguity of Facebook campaigning is the primary motivator for the suit, Davis said.

"It's kind of a loophole that allows people to use Facebook for things that they normally couldn't do with their own e-mail accounts," he said. "I don't want parties and candidates going hog- wild spamming."

However, Liberman said the suit is a moot point since the group invitation came from executive vice presidential candidate Billy Wang and not Liberman.

"First, it's just an invitation, he can simply reject it," Liberman said. "Besides, it was sent by Billy as an administrator of my group. Billy is actually officially friends with (Davis) on Facebook."

If the council rules in favor of Davis, it would carry the penalty of one

censure, four short of the five needed to disqualify a candidate.

Tiffany Hsu

Candidate Charged With Elections Rules Violations

In his second suit against independent presidential candidate Zach Liberman, former Judicial Council Chair Mike Davis claimed Liberman violated elections rules by posting campaign materials on campus pathways.

Davis claims that Liberman posted campaign literature on several campus pathways, including under Sather Gate, a violation of rules barring literature on surfaces of walkways or roads.

But Liberman stood by the posters-which consist of Daily Californian headlines reporting ASUC problems-and said his purpose was to inform students about the inefficiency of the student government, not to win votes.

"I was criticizing the government in general, there was no mention of any party or candidate, it was an attack on the way the government has handled things in the past," he said. "For (Davis) to try to shut someone out for the way they're criticizing the current system is kind of fishy."

Davis said it is the posters' location, not their content, that prompted the suit.

"It doesn't matter what he says on them ... he's posting literature on campus and it's a pretty flagrant violation of the rules," he said. "We have these rules to maintain good relations with the university.

If the council rules in favor of Davis, it will be up to the justices to determine the punishment. Five censures disqualifies a candidate.

Tiffany Hsu

Tags: