Student Government’s Judicial Branch issued an injunction suspending all spring election activities on Tuesday.
On Friday, March 6, a candidate from the “Reach” campaign submitted a complaint to the Election Board alleging the “Envision” campaign violated the election code, according to SG Commissioner of Elections Avery Spicker. The SG Election Board reviewed the complaint and ruled against the Envision campaign for illegally campaigning in the Quad last week.
As a result, the Envision ticket was prohibited from campaigning in the Quad before noon on election day. Campaigning in the Quad is otherwise allowed on election day.
Envision appealed the decision to the University Court, which was heard on Monday. In a unanimous ruling, the Judicial Branch overturned the Election Board decision and threw out the vote in all races, not just ones involving Envision, according to SG Senator Jordan Landry.
Because the appeal was heard on election day, the Envision campaign also filed an injunction to postpone the election to make up for the lost campaigning time, Spicker said. The injunction was filed and granted after the Judicial Branch’s decision.
The Judicial Branch’s decision to grant the injunction threw out the vote in all races, not just the ones involving Envision candidate, according to SG Senator Jordan Landry. New elections for all open SG positions took place on March 11, according to an SG press release.
The Executive Branch declared the March 9 election results invalid due to the injunction and provided a new election timeline:
March 11: Special General Election from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on TigerLink
March 12: Campaigns’ financial forms due at 10:30 a.m.
March 13: Special General Election results announced at 4:00 p.m. in the Student Union Live Oak Lounge
In the event of a runoff election, the following timeline will be used:
March 16-17: Active campaigning for applicable runoff elections
March 18: Runoff Election from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on TigerLink
March 19: Runoff financial forms due at 10:30 a.m.
Runoff Election results announced at 4:00 p.m. in the Student Union Live Oak Lounge
Tickets and independent candidates will be allowed an additional spending limit of 25% their original General Election spending limit. All Election Code policies will still be in place for the remainder of the timeline.
“All governing documents and procedures were followed correctly in this unique situation,” Spicker said. “We have a plan in place already, and all candidates have been notified already. We’re moving forward from here.”
On March 10, Grad Gold submitted a request to the Judicial Branch to reinstate the votes cast for all races that featured unopposed candidates or didn’t include any Envision candidates.
According to a Grad Gold press release, eleven of sixteen College Council elections, twelve of fifteen college Senate delegations and selected races in the remaining colleges would fall under these two categories.
“We do not begrudge Envision seeking redress for what they saw as a needless handicap by the Election Board,” Landry, Grad Gold ticket representative, said in a statement. “That said, what about the races where there are no Envision candidates facing opposition? The voters in these races turned out for their candidates last night – why must their votes be thrown away because of a dispute that does not involve them? A re-run for Envision’s races is understandable. A re-run for the other races is not.”
On March 11, Landry said the Judicial Branch acknowledged the request, but has not acted on it. The March 11 Special General Election included all elections included in the original General Election.
Vice presidential candidate Hannah Barrios said the Reach campaign will continue to interact with students as much as possible in the face of the new election developments.
“Stone [Cox] and I are excited for the opportunity to have even more time to reach new student groups with the entire REACH ticket,” Barrios said. “We are ready to put in this work to ensure LSU has a bright, positive future under experienced Student Government leadership.“
Independent presidential candidate Desh Gaskins said he and his vice presidential candidate, Hayden Robert, were surprised to hear of the injunction.
“Hayden and I, in the face of transparency, want you to know that this all stems from an inequality, equality being one of the most important aspects of our campaign,” Gaskins said. “To all parties involved, we want, demand and deserve a fair election free from pettiness, hate and negativity. That is the message we stand behind, and this is the precedent that we as campus servants need to set.”
Gaskins also urged all students to watch the March 3 SG debate if they haven’t already and “vote for the team you believe will fight the hardest for you as a student here at LSU.”
Envision vice presidential candidate Sophia Pollman responded on behalf of the campaign. She said the Judicial Board’s unanimous decision to overturn the Election Board’s decision “speaks volumes to what our campaign stands for.”
“We believe great leaders come from all areas of campus including international organizations, Greek life, student media organizations, the athletic department and all demographics that lie outside of Student Government,” Pollman said. “We are excited at the opportunity to connect with more students who share in our commitment to Empower, Innovate and Unite Louisiana State University and the entire Baton Rouge community. Join us as we break the stereotypical norms of Student Government for all students.”
Voting was held on TigerLink on March 11. Results will be announced Friday at 4 p.m. in the Live Oak Lounge.