The LSU Student Government Foret-Tatman: Forward campaign was disqualified Tuesday in an SG Election Court preliminary decision for misreporting campaign spending, marking the second time the campaign has been disqualified.
Foret-Tatman: Forward was previously disqualified before the elections because of bribery allegations, but that decision was overturned by the dean of students. Several state legislators lobbied in favor of having the campaign reinstated.
This time, Foret-Tatman: Forward was issued 17 penalties for exceeding the university’s campaign spending limit and reporting several donated items, including jambalaya, gasoline for two generators and custom buttons, as costing it $0. The court unanimously said those items should’ve been listed at market value.
“By overspending, they are violating one of the most central principles to our code,” said John Michael Sweat, the counsel for the Forward campaign, who brought the case against Foret-Tatman: Forward.
In its case brief, Foret-Tatman: Forward argued it shouldn’t be subject to penalty because it made its donation listings at the direction of the SG Election Commission.
“The rules aren’t very clear,” said Caroline Hardy, Foret-Tatman: Forward’s counsel in the case. “If you go to this person, who is the chair of the Election Commission… you would think they would give you the answer that you need whenever you have any questions regarding financial reporting.”
The Henderson-Layrisson campaign was also assessed a penalty Tuesday by the Election Court. Foret-Tatman: Forward accused it of physically tampering with a voter’s ballot by interacting with the voter’s phone while discussing the election.
In an affidavit, a student said Lavar Henderson, the ticket’s presidential candidate, convinced him to edit his vote after it was submitted. However, the student also said he entered and changed the vote on his own free will.
The court said the campaign “aid[ed] the alleged voter in a less than ethical manner which cast a cloud of impropriety.”
Three penalties were issued to Henderson-Layrisson, which didn’t bring them to the required eight to disqualify.
Any petitions to review either decision are due by the end of the day Tuesday, and the Election Court said its final decision will be released by the end of the day Sunday.
The SG elections were held March 20 and 21, and the announcement of the results has been delayed because of these ongoing cases.
The three state legislators who helped Foret-Tatman: Forward be reinstated last month were Sens. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, and Gregory Miller, R-Norco and Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge.
