On election night, candidates from Unite LSU watched as their names came up with a red line through them, signaling disqualification. Sunday night, they watched as University Court reversed the Election Board’s decision to disqualify the Unite LSU ticket from the 2013 Student Government election.
“We’re excited to work with all the student body to make sure this never happens again,” SG President-elect John Woodard said.
“They didn’t deserve to go through that scrutiny.”
Though candidates from Unite LSU feel a sense of eleation after the verdict, a tension filled the room during the hearing. Chief Justice Morgan Faulk quieted the gallery several times.
Commissioner of Elections Aimee Simon said throughout Sunday’s case the decision to disqualify Unite LSU was not malicious.
“Tarnishing an organization that I’ve been apart of for three-and-a-half years is not on my to-do list,” Simon said.
Simon did not give further comment after the ruling.
Faulk said one way to fix SG’s reputation is to look at the Election Code itself.
“We really want to revise the code and make it more concrete than up to interpretation,” Faulk said.
Vice President-elect Taylor Parks shares that sentiment. Parks said Woodard and she aren’t the only ones who would benefit from clarification.
“So {the Election Code} will be better for future generations to come, and in a way that makes it more fair,” Parks added.
Impact LSU’s presidential candidate T Graham Howell said that the decision from the University Court disregarded what he said were Election Code violations by Unite LSU.
“Our staff is pursuing further options to uphold the court’s original ruling,” Howell said “The decision made by the University Court was based upon a technicality.”
Howell did not give any specifics about what those options may be.