A judicial complaint was filed regarding the Duke Student Government Senate and class executive elections Thursday night.
According to a release from the DSG Judiciary, plaintiff Patrick Oathout, a freshman and candidate for athletics, services and the environment senator, filed a complaint against the DSG Board of Elections, arguing that Attorney General Ryan Clark, a junior, violated the election bylaws by changing the election rules and regulations without approval from the Senate. Oathout currently serves as an academic affairs senator and rules committee member.
Clark had sent an email to election candidates April 20, which said the due date for reporting campaign budgets was April 21 at 10:30 p.m. According to the election rules, however, specifically in Section II, Part A, subsection c, the deadline for submission of this material is the day before the election. This was found to be in direct contradiction to the election bylaw, which states that candidates have up to 48 hours after polls close to turn in their budget forms and receipts.
The Judiciary found that the election’s rules and regulations originally approved by the Senate were unconstitutional in that it violated the election bylaw at the moment of its passing. The Judiciary also decided that this rule may not apply in the future and that all candidates in the Senate and class executive elections have until April 23, 2011, at 10:00 p.m. to submit their budgets and receipts.
The Judiciary also recommended “that the Attorney General and Board of Elections take more time to carefully prepare cogent, cohesive and consistent rules and regulations to govern elections in the future.”
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