The USA Elections Board is set to face allegations at a USA Judicial Board hearing Friday that it improperly applied the Elections Code when eliminating a petition-based student fee initiative.

The petition was filed by Jiorden King, the chairperson of the Community Programs Office Student Leadership Council – a student-representative group that provides feedback on CPO programs. The CPO office provides students with basic needs services and academic support, according to its website.

King and the CPO SLC alleged in their petition that the Elections Board informed the council Feb. 24 that its Basic and Essential Needs (BEN) Initiative was no longer eligible for consideration because it was submitted after the week seven deadline. The Elections Board added in its email that the deadline had been clearly published in the Student Fee Referendum Timeline and Guidelines on the Board’s website, the petition said.

But the CPO SLC alleged that its submission was not a violation of the Election Code because the 2026 Election Calendar did not include the deadline for submissions of student fee referendums, which must be passed by the Undergraduate Students Association Council, or initiatives.

King alleged that this was a violation of the Election Code because BEN was disqualified even though no deadline for referenda or initiatives was added to the Election Calendar – the guiding document for election cycles.

Syed Tamim Ahmad, the chair of the Elections Board, declined to comment on the case. King did not respond in time for a request to comment on CPO SLC’s allegations.

The USA Judicial Board acts as a board of appeals for students when they believe USAC or its affiliates – such as the Elections Board – make a decision that violates its constitution or bylaws. The USA Judicial Board received four petitions last year, including a case alleging that Alicia Verdugo, USAC’s former cultural affairs commissioner, used antisemitic hiring practices for their office. Verdugo resigned before their hearing.

[Related: USAC Cultural Affairs commissioner resigns amid antisemitism allegations]

King’s case will be the Judicial Board’s first hearing of the 2025-26 school year. It will be held at 10 a.m. in Ackerman Union.

“As a result of the Election Board’s determination, the BEN initiative is no longer eligible for placement on the Spring 2026 ballot,” King said in the petition. “This prevents the undergraduate student body from voting on a campus-wide student fee ballot measure and removes the initiative from consideration entirely. Ballot measures authored by USAC council members were essential given wide flexibility, while a non-USAC derived student ballot measure was rejected by the election board.”