USAC adopts Election Board proposal

The undergraduate student government voted to adopt the Election Board’s endorsement reform proposal with minor amendments with a vote of 11-0-0 at its meeting Tuesday night.

After an hourslong discussion, the Undergraduate Students Association Council approved the Election Board’s proposal to amend the election code to limit the USAC elections endorsement process to official group signatories.

The council also voted down USAC President David Bocarsly’s proposal by a 0-10-2 vote. The proposal would have amended the election code to remove Election Board oversight from the endorsement process for the council’s elections in the spring. Many councilmembers said they did not support Bocarsly’s proposal because they saw the need for Election Board oversight during the endorsement process.

Before ultimately approving the Election Board’s proposal, the council voted to amend the proposal, removing a provision that would have allowed official group signatories to authorize substitutes to participate in the endorsement process.

The newly adopted election code change stipulates that the Election Board has discretion over student group participation in the endorsement process. The lack of specificity in the revision was intended to leave room for the board to address concerns about the accessibility and length of the hearings, councilmembers said.

Dana Pede, USAC Election Board chair, said her board will regroup and decide how they will run this year’s endorsement process. Because of the flexibility in the wording of the adopted proposal, she said the board will not have to get anything further approved by USAC.

Still, the board plans to outline to council how it will run the endorsement process in the coming weeks, she added.

Compiled by Jillian Beck, Bruin senior staff.