Crimson claims IUSA election

The Crimson ticket was declared the winner of this year's IU Student Association elections following the dismissal of charges brought against them by the Action ticket. \nThe election results, confirmed by the IUSA Supreme Court following its dismissal of the Action complaint, showed Crimson taking 50.7 percent of the 6224 votes cast, followed by Action with 29.9 percent and Unity with 18.6 percent.\n"We're happy that the voice of the students has finally been heard," IUSA president-elect Casey Cox said.\nFollowing a public hearing Monday, the IUSA Supreme Court upheld the elections commission decision to deny Action complaints filed against the Crimson and Unity tickets after an Action appeal. Action's complaint contained technical errors in conflict with the IUSA elections code. Among them, the complaint was not double-spaced, lacked one-inch margins and failed to specifically link alleged Crimson and Unity violations to the IUSA elections code.\n"What Action was asking was something we didn't have the power to do," IUSA Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Clifford said. "We agree with them that the elections code needs some major revision, but we could not overturn the elections commission in this case. There was no judicial way to usurp their decision."\nBecause the elections commission did not "clearly err" in its decision to turn down the Action complaint, the Supreme Court could not overturn its judgment, Clifford said.\nIUSA treasurer-elect Anne Eichengreen said she and her ticket are happy the turmoil is over.\n"It was a lot of hard work for us," she said. "We're grateful for the people who have helped us over the past months, and we are looking forward to rebuilding the credibility of IUSA. We're here to create a positive attitude."\nIn the wake of the last two elections, which were both appealed and decided by the Supreme Court, one of Crimson's main summer goals is to revamp the IUSA elections code, it said.\n"Changing the code will help the image of IUSA by streamlining the process," IUSA congressional secretary-elect Alan Grant said. "Tickets should not have to police each other, and access to voting should be easier for students. The hours for campaigning and voting also need to be improved"