Student files petition over USAC election calendar vote
By Jasmine Aquino
April 21, 2014 12:43 a.m.
A former member of the undergraduate student government election board filed a complaint against councilmembers Friday for breaking student government bylaws when approving this year’s elections calendar.
The petition states that there is currently no legitimate Undergraduate Students Association Council Election Calendar outlining the schedule for the spring 2014 elections because councilmembers did not follow proper procedures when voting on its approval.
Ian Cocroft, a former USAC Election Board member who filed the petition with the USAC Judicial Board, plans to seek a writ of mandate – an order from the board – rendering the council’s previous approval of the election calendar null and void. Cocroft also called for a Judicial Board order to make the Election Board present a new calendar for USAC to approve.
The Judicial Board, which is composed of four students and reviews cases to ensure that the USAC bylaws and constitution are upheld, agreed on Friday to formally consider the filed petition.
According to the USAC bylaws, all items of business, except announcements, must be documented and submitted to councilmembers two days prior to a meeting. A copy of the Election Calendar was not submitted two days prior to the Feb. 11 meeting where councilmembers approved a shorter election period this year.
In recent meetings, some councilmembers have said they did not have sufficient time to review the elections calendar before approving it, because it was distributed to them for a short time period at the meeting.
Because the calendar was not included in the meeting agenda packet, the USAC bylaws dictate that councilmembers should have treated it as a discussion item and should not have voted for its immediate approval.
Additionally, the petition notes that the election calendar discussion was listed under the “Special Presentations” section in the Feb. 11 USAC meeting agenda and never became an action item, so councilmembers were not permitted to vote on it.
Cocroft, a second-year political science student, also filed a petition against the Election Board on April 11, asserting that board members violated the election code by cutting down the voting time period for the elections to less than 72 hours this year.
As of press time, USAC President John Joanino, who runs USAC council meetings, could not be reached for comment.
Compiled by Jasmine Aquino, Bruin contributor.
