A student filed a petition to SGA executive secretary Josie Schmitt contesting the results of the spring 2023 election due to alleged misconduct and election fraud from multiple elected candidates.  

Petitioner Aaron Glidden said he was contesting the results for “numerous elected executive offices,” notably President-elect Collier Dobbs, through subsections one, three and five of Article IX, Section C of the Elections Manual. Glidden did not name other candidates besides Dobbs in his petition.  

The three subsections state that election results may be contested if there is misconduct, fraud or irregularity by any election official, illegal votes or rejection of legal votes, and another “cause sufficient to change or place doubt” in an SGA election.  

Glidden said he had filed multiple violation complaints to the Elections Board that remain outstanding, and that he had not received any correspondence on his complaints. He provided The CW with evidence that he filed 20 complaints against the Dobbs campaign, with multiple of them receiving no decision from the Board within the allocated time. 

Article XVIII, Section D of the Elections Manual reads, “The Elections Board shall review all complaints within twelve (12) hours of receiving all materials including the response from the respondent.”  

According to the Elections Manual, Schmitt must notify the Elections Board and the Judicial Board of the petition within two class days. The initial hearing will be conducted by the Elections Board, and appeals can be submitted in writing to the Judicial Board.  

The election results of any contested position cannot be finalized until the Elections Board reconciles all appeals and complaints. In the absence of any such complaints, results are typically finalized three class days after the election.