Motion to indict Board of Elections chairs fails

Katie Paul News Editor

In a set of meetings on Sunday, April 16, two students challenged the validity of the Vassar Student Assocation (VSA) spring 2006 elections conducted on Tuesday, April 18. Victoria Wilson ’06 motioned to indict Board of Elections Chairs Anna Gier ’06 and Justin Mahony ’06 at the VSA Council meeting for dereliction of duty, while VSA Presidential candidate Lindsay Martinez ’07 followed up the accusation by appealing the election of her campaign opponent, VSA President-elect Abel McDonnell ’07 at the Judicial Board meeting.

Wilson moved to indict Mahony and Gier during the VSA Council meeting for “dereliction of duty, incompetence and violation of the Constitution and its by-laws.” She said they inadequately handled the software breakdown that resulted in the use paper ballots instead of online ballots in last week’s elections.

Wilson also cited their failure to adhere to the VSA Constitution’s election by-laws, arguing that they could have suspended or amended relevant articles to preserve the constitutionality of the elections. She insisted that they did not publicize the voting periods or provide absentee ballots for off-campus students in a timely manner. “The process of elections needs to be more transparent,” she said. “Someone has to be held responsible.”

The VSA ultimately voted against indictment, but the accusations spurred discussion about the Council’s own responsibility for violating election guidelines. Lathrop House President Amalia Sax-Bolder ’08 said, “I don’t think it required an indictment, but I think issues of transparency need to be addressed.” Sax-Bolder voted for the indictment, along with representatives from Josselyn, Jewett, Noyes, Class of 2006, and Class of 2007.

Before the vote, Josselyn House President Jane Pakenham ’07 suggested that the Council indict itself for its role in the elections. Strong House President Heidi Genrich ’08 agreed and said that “the dereliction of duty was not committed by the Board of Elections Chairs but by everyone sitting at this table.”

McDonnell also stressed the Council’s “shared responsibility for what happened,” and said the blame should not fall on two people.

“[The VSA] felt there were extenuating circumstances,” said VSA Vice President Kelsey Woods ’06 about the campus-wide notification of the change 36 hours in advance, rather than the constitutionally-required 72 hours. “We felt we didn’t have a choice,” said Woods.

Sax-Bolder asked Woods how she had allowed the by-law violations slip by, Woods responded, “You can indict me if you want.”

Had the indictment of the elections chairs been approved, Gier and Mahony would have had to defend their positions in front of the Judicial Board. In response to the VSA’s decision, Martinez said,
“It’s clear that people couldn’t separate their emotions enough to let the Judicial Board hear the case.”

Martinez appealed the presidential election of McDonnell to the Judicial Board, similarly citing the Board of Elections Chairs’ failure to enforce the Constitution and its by-laws.

During the hearing, Martinez presented examples of constitutional violations. One of her witnesses, Lola Bravo ’09, testified that she voted without showing her V-card, which was technically required. She also testified that Wilson’s ballot for Lathrop House positions had been ripped up in front of her because of a dispute over her class year. Bravo lost the race for Lathrop House Vice President by one vote, and argued that the incident may have cost her the election. Although Wilson’s vote would not have counted because of her class year, Mahony agreed that ripping a ballot up was a breach of elections regulations.

Judicial Board Chair Jacob Shiffrin ’07 announced the Board’s decision to uphold Martinez’s right to appeal, which Mahony had initially denied because of a controversial missed deadline. The Board then denied her request for a “re-vote,” stating that though the problems with the election were “significant” they did not warrant such a drastic measure.

Shiffrin said that he was “disturbed” by some of the testimony about how the election was run, but confident that the VSA was also disturbed enough to ensure that changes would be made for future elections.

VSA President Rick Rodems ’06 said that he thought the Judicial Board “made a fair decision.” He said, “I think [Martinez] had some valid points, but in the wider context, I believe we carried out the most responsible election plan possible.”
Regarding discussion of future indictments, Rodems said, “I don’t agree with indicting any member of Council or the Board of Elections because of the circumstances of the spring 2006 elections.”

Representing 47 percent of the campus, 1,135 students turned out to vote in the elections. The VSA hand-counted each of the 38,644 votes three times, making the total number of votes they had to count 115,932.