The Duke Student Government Judiciary overturned the Board of Elections’ decision to end campaigning for Tuesday’s election.
The Judiciary met Sunday evening to discuss a complaint filed by freshman Bryan Dinner, a candidate for vice president of social culture, and sophomore Cynthia Wang, a candidate for senator for academic affairs, disputing DSG’s restrictions on campaigning after the election was postponed five days. The initial BOE decision determined that no online social media posts or flyers could be used for the remainder of the campaign, but the Judiciary overturned the decision in its entirety.
The Judiciary determined that it was not within DSG's power to restrict free speech via social media. Additionally, candidates can continue to spend money on their campaign so long as they do not exceed the capped amount they are allotted by the DSG by-laws.
The Judiciary also ruled that any flyers printed before the election that were postponed can be hung.
The ruling nullified the BOE’s ability to determine start and end dates for campaigning.
The election, originally scheduled for April 11, was postponed to April 16 due to a problem with the electronic ballot.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said the Judiciary overturned the Board of Election's decision in part. The Judiciary overturned the BOE's decision in whole. The Chronicle regrets the error.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.