The Election Commission ruled that the Unite Party did not directly or indirectly coerce voters to vote in the Student Government elections held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Friday afternoon, the commission heard the complaint the Students Party filed against the Unite Party in which organizations that endorsed the party were coercing people to vote.
The party presented evidence from an email from Beatrice Diehl, a sorority sister of Sigma Kappa. In her email, she wrote that the sorority had a sticker board and girls had to put their “I voted” stickers on it. She wrote that girls get incentives when they do. She also wrote that Unite Party members come to the house to check on the board.
However, she could not be reached for further questioning.
The party also presented evidence from Delta Upsilon meeting minutes that said everyone had to bring back an “I voted” sticker. It did say that voting was the easiest way to get a sticker but not the only way.
Jonathan Ossip spoke on behalf of the Students Party.
“The evidence is as clear as we can make them,” he said
Brock Hankins, who spoke on behalf of the Unite Party, said this case involved separate organizations, and they were missing the step when the Unite Party solicited them.
“This is an election commission, not a Greek judicial board,” he said.
The commission ruled in favor of the Unite Party.
“We were not presented with any evidence the Unite Party solicited any actions to Sigma Kappa,” said Election Commission Chair Michael Hacker after the hearing.
Ossip said the Students Party is still considering whether or not to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
The commission also heard a case in which two students wearing white Unite tank tops were handing out Unite Party fliers while waiting in line to vote at Marston Science Library.
The election codes state that no campaigning can take place within 50 feet of the line of voters waiting to vote.
The Students Party presented the two eyewitnesses and the actual fliers they were given.
“We do not condone any actions like this,” Hankins said.
The commission ruled that the Unite Party be fined $10 per flier. They will also get a public reprimand, which happens in Senate.
The commission was supposed to rule on a complaint they heard at the previous hearing, but the Unite Party dropped it. A Students Party candidate, who is also a senator, sent an email through a graduate student list-serv encouraging students to vote.
Instead of continuing the complaint, the Unite Party asked for a formal recommendation be made to the Student Senate to amend the election codes so no campaigning can be done through departmental academic list-servs.
Four complaints regarding the incorrect labeling of political advertisements held the same punishment as a previous ruling of the commission: $1 per email sent.
