This past week I have been witness to the worst ASUAF election travesty in recent history.  I do not make this opinion lightly, and something needs to be done.

As a member of the elections board for this past election, I posted fliers, wrote candidate questions, and helped in guiding the elections.  I've been involved with ASUAF for several years, and this was the best advertised election I have ever seen.

On Monday, April 19, I received a call from Brandon Maitlen, candidate for ASUAF president.  Mr. Maitlen informed me of his intention to have a barbecue on the first day of the ASUAF election (Wednesday) and wanted to know if it was against election rules.  I informed him that it was not specifically against the rules, but that he must be extremely careful to respect the rules of the elections board and maintain a clear boundary of 200 feet from all entrances to polling places.

The day of the election Mr. Maitlen held his barbeque, but also added in a new twist: he rented a professional sound system and made periodic announcements telling students to go vote.  The problem with this is that, while physically outside the boundary, his loudspeaker system could be heard at the Wood Center polling place and possibly even down at the Lola Tilly Commons polling place.  That day ASUAF received over 500 votes—a good percentage of them placed in the Wood Center.

The next morning (on the second day of the election), unaware of the vote count, Thom Walker, also a candidate for ASUAF president, filed a grievance alleging that Mr. Maitlen had exerted undue influence over the election both by offering free food as a bribe and by broadcasting his voice inside election zones.  To Mr. Walker's credit, this complaint was filed before the election was over.

The next morning the elections board scheduled a meeting to hear both sides from the two candidates. Mr. Walker presented his case, and Mr. Maitlen rebutted.  A vote was taken on whether or not the food was an attempt at bribery.  That vote failed with all voting members voting no.  A second vote was taken on whether or not the loudspeaker could have affected the vote that day.  As the election results stood, Mr. Maitlen had won a slim victory with a few dozen votes, and there were hundreds of people in and out of the Wood Center that afternoon.  It was decided that the loudspeaker indeed could have influenced the election, and it was decided then and there to hold a re-election for this week.

Mr. Maitlen decided to challenge this action to the Elections Review Council, which is made up of all ASUAF Senators who are not on the elections board.  Mr. Maitlen's challenge specifically attacked the character of Mr. Brett Biebuyck, claiming that Mr. Biebuyck made specific comments that showed favor to Mr. Walker.  Mr. Maitlen also called into question my character, but he failed to bring these charges to the review council. 

The Elections Review Council met this past Sunday and took testimony, which largely consisted of Mr. Maitlen smearing the character of Mr. Biebuyck, backed up by the former Elections Board Chair.  Mr. Biebuyck was not present at this meeting.  There was no factual evidence to support a claim that Mr. Biebuyck was biased in any way, and his negative vote on Mr. Walker's charge of bribery supports this.  The Elections Review Council then voted to disband the former elections board.  The meeting was led by Senators Morgan Rozell and Garrison Collette. 

After this meeting, at the ASUAF Senate meeting, the Senate placed Senators Melissa Takaaze and Amy Rodman onto a new elections board, which will now hear Mr. Walker's initial complaint.  Senators Rozell and Collette then attempted to appoint the three other vacant elections board seats, in an effort to usurp the power of the ASUAF Executive Branch.  They failed, but I believe most of the damage to the election has already been done. 

While I didn't favor one presidential candidate over the other before and during the election process, after this series of travesties my mind has been turned.  If you want to avoid this potential elections disaster, I urge you to write to Melissa Takaaze and Amy Rodman, and let them know that you will not allow the office of ASUAF President to be gained in such a blatant and unscrupulous manner.

Thank you for your time.

H. B. Telling has posted the complaints received by the elections board, along with further editorial commentary, at his website: http://asuaf.org/~fsht/

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