LSU’s SG Election Board ruled unanimously in favor of the It’s Time campaign after debating two complaints regarding candidates campaigning on Instagram and GroupMe in a meeting Wednesday.

Kalie Gonzales, vice-presidential advisor for the UNITY campaign and McKenzie Connely, deputy campaign manager for the UNITY campaign, filed both complaints. The first complaint was filed against a student running for College Council on the It’s Time ticket. The complaint documents included a screenshot of a message the student sent in a class GroupMe captioned, “…I would really appreciate your vote on March 24 for the President of HSS College Council.”

Gonzales and Connely alleged that the behavior violated Section 10.A. of the election code, which prohibits active campaigning until March 18. The two women asked that the board consider suspension of It’s Time campaign activities for two days.

In an election meeting to discuss the complaints, the board had to distinguish the difference between active and passive campaigning. Active campaigning is defined as “distributing campaign materials (other than private distribution to campaign staff) to potential voters.” Passive campaigning is “disseminating any campaign material via social media.”

The board decided that GroupMe is considered a social media platform, and with a unanimous decision voted that no violation occurred. 

The second complaint was filed against the It’s Time campaign and its staff. They cited five examples of candidates from the campaign announcing their candidacy and asking for votes via Instagram. The complaint called for a suspension of campaign activities for two days or disqualification, leaving it up to the board’s discretion. 

Due to the fact that Instagram is a social media platform, the board ruled that members of the It’s Time campaign didn’t violate the election code.