The Student Government Election Board met late Tuesday night to dismiss SG presidential candidate Calder Lynch’s complaint that presidential candidate Paul Dietzel illegally campaigned via Facebook.com. SG Commissioner of Elections Eric St. Pierre ruled that a Facebook profile Dietzel created in December did not violate the Election Code’s passive campaigning provision that prohibits such campaigning before the official qualifying of candidates. According to the code, passive campaigning includes posting campaign materials or any “campaign paraphernalia in the immediate possession of or attached to an individual.” Lynch filed a complaint requesting that Dietzel be subject to disciplinary action, expenditure limits or campaign time reduction. In the board’s ruling, Pierre said the Facebook profile appeared to represent the student organization “Campaign for Change” rather than an advertisement for Dietzel’s presidential bid. Pierre said the Code allows student organizations to endorse candidates. “While the Facebook profile may have characteristics very similar to those of the Change ticket from fall 2006 and the anticipated Change ticket of spring 2007, it is simply a profile representing the student organization Campaign for Change and is therefore not considered campaign material,” Pierre wrote in the board’s judgment. Dietzel said he registered the profile for “Campaign for Change” rather than as advertisement for his presidential bid. Dietzel told The Daily Reveille he used the e-mail address [email protected], as registered through the University as a student organization e-mail address, to create the profile. Joshua Melder, campaign manager for Lynch’s “Contract with LSU” ticket, represented Lynch at the hearing. Lynch told The Daily Reveille he could not attend the hearing because his ticket meeting was already scheduled for the same time. “It seems that if you play by the rules you’re going to get hurt,” Melder said. “The adversary, in our opinion, has not been playing by the rules.” Melder presented a copy of the Facebook profile Dietzel created. The profile showed a photo of Dietzel and his former vice presidential candidate Karli Mizell and featured the words “Campaign for Change.” Dietzel said he and Mizell never posed for a photo together. Rather, Dietzel said he digitally imposed their photos to create the image.
—–Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]