Two constitutional amendments will appear on the Student Government Association spring election ballot on March 8 and require two-thirds of student voters’ approval. 

Election violations

The first amendment was initially written in April 2021 by former First Year Councilor David Ware and would require the Elections Board to publish alleged violations — and rulings on violations — to the SGA website. 

Under the proposed amendment, the Elections Board reserves the ability to redact all contact information of the complainant upon publication, including name, phone number and email address, to “prevent harassment of the complainant.”

“Upon publication of the alleged violation, at the request of the complainant, all personal identifiable information shall be redacted including the name of the complainant and any information that could directly implicate the complainant,” the legislation reads.

This amendment is not the first time SGA aimed to share election violations online. When Ware’s amendment passed in First Year Council last year, former SGA press secretary Jackson Fuentes said the Elections Board posted violations online in the past. 

They stopped the practice due to privacy concerns, but Fuentes said the SGA wanted to begin posting violations online again to remain transparent with the campus.

During the spring 2021 election cycle, The Crimson White requested a complete list of violations six times beginning Feb. 28, 2021. The Elections Board did not respond to these requests. Multiple senators faced election violations last cycle, and some believed it was a targeted act. 

Homecoming elections 

The second amendment, initially drafted in January by Sen. John Richardson, would formally end SGA’s responsibilities in homecoming elections and remove all constitutional language referencing the SGA’s former role in homecoming. 

Richardson proposed a resolution for the SGA to break ties with homecoming in January that was approved by the Senate. The amendment on the spring election ballot would officially end SGA involvement with homecoming and strike all mentions of the event from the Constitution. 

Richardson also chairs the homecoming task force, which was created this semester to develop a new manual for the homecoming queen selection process following this year’s election cycle.

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