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ASCSU election appeal dismissed
Supreme Court interprets constitution, rules part-time student ineligible
J. David McSwane
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: News
The student Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to dismiss the first ever appeal to a student government election, sidestepping an arduous hearing process and the prospect of launching another election weeks before finals.
The Associated Students of CSU justices debated for an hour about the appeal, which challenged the legitimacy of the recent election, claiming negligence, preferential treatment and other alleged improprieties involving campaign finance rules.
But the court never examined evidence offered in the appeal, instead focusing on whether Edward Modec, the student who filed the appeal, was technically considered a student by ASCSU - a requirement to submit appeals of the elections process.
The Constitution stipulates that only students enrolled in six credits and who are paying full-time student fees can submit appeals. Although Modec is paying full-time fees, he's only enrolled in three credit hours, after withdrawing from another class.
In a 3-2 vote, justices ruled to scrap the appeal before ever taking it to an official elections protest hearing.
"I wasn't expecting that," said Modec, a former Supreme Court chief justice and four-year ASCSU member. "The student government always claims they're transparent. … It seems to me over the past 24 hours they've just been trying to find a way out. That makes me angry."
In his appeal filed Tuesday, Modec charges that Elections Manager Emily Laue and the Elections Committee "defied the ASCSU Constitution" in docking the fair market value of a free concert Taylor Smoot, president-elect, and Quinn Girrens, vice president-elect, hosted on the plaza last month to garner voter support.
That expenditure, Modec said, should have placed Smoot and Girrens above their $2,000 campaign spending limit, effectively disqualifying them from the race.
Modec said he intends to either fight the Supreme Court's ruling or to file another appeal with a qualified co-author.
The Associated Students of CSU justices debated for an hour about the appeal, which challenged the legitimacy of the recent election, claiming negligence, preferential treatment and other alleged improprieties involving campaign finance rules.
But the court never examined evidence offered in the appeal, instead focusing on whether Edward Modec, the student who filed the appeal, was technically considered a student by ASCSU - a requirement to submit appeals of the elections process.
The Constitution stipulates that only students enrolled in six credits and who are paying full-time student fees can submit appeals. Although Modec is paying full-time fees, he's only enrolled in three credit hours, after withdrawing from another class.
In a 3-2 vote, justices ruled to scrap the appeal before ever taking it to an official elections protest hearing.
"I wasn't expecting that," said Modec, a former Supreme Court chief justice and four-year ASCSU member. "The student government always claims they're transparent. … It seems to me over the past 24 hours they've just been trying to find a way out. That makes me angry."
In his appeal filed Tuesday, Modec charges that Elections Manager Emily Laue and the Elections Committee "defied the ASCSU Constitution" in docking the fair market value of a free concert Taylor Smoot, president-elect, and Quinn Girrens, vice president-elect, hosted on the plaza last month to garner voter support.
That expenditure, Modec said, should have placed Smoot and Girrens above their $2,000 campaign spending limit, effectively disqualifying them from the race.
Modec said he intends to either fight the Supreme Court's ruling or to file another appeal with a qualified co-author.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Craig Hawley
posted 4/17/08 @ 2:27 AM MST
My did the whining complainer accusing others of not knowing the rules , not know them himself.
Poetic justice.
Now stop yer whining and get to work. (Continued…)
Wtf?!
posted 4/17/08 @ 12:04 PM MST
This is such crap..and they are getting off easy once again. If ASCSU is supposed to be the student voice...then why aren't they allowing ALL students to voice their opinion?
Modec! I hope you find someone else to file that appeal. (Continued…)
You Know Something?
posted 4/17/08 @ 10:22 PM MST
I can't figure out if the justices are stupid or fair. If they're actually biased towards the allegedly improper campaign of Smoot and Quinn, I'm sure they could've found a way to postpone a decision until after the deadline. (Continued…)
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