IUSA petition for run-off denied

After an unusually clean election, things are starting to get messy. \nThe IUSA Elections Commission denied Kirkwood's petition for a run-off Tuesday night. The ticket plans to appeal to the Student Body Supreme Court today.\nIf the Court refuses to hear Kirkwood's petition, the ticket will be forced to give up its fight for a run-off election with winner Vote for Pedro.\nIn a written statement given to the Indiana Daily Student, Elections Coordinator Derek Molter said the Elections Commission denied Kirkwood's petition because "it was unequivocally the Kirkwood ticket's position that there should be no run-off" before losing in last week's election.\n"Only after placing second in the election did Kirkwood's position change," Molter said.\nMolter also said no ticket objected before the election to the removal of Section 403 of IUSA's elections code, which states the winner must receive 40 percent of the votes, or at least 20 percent more than the runner-up.\nKirkwood lost to Vote for Pedro by only 50 votes.\nKirkwood denies it knew that Section 403 was removed before Molter wrote an e-mail Feb. 17 detailing the change. Both the College ticket and Connect Presidential Candidate John Palmer also deny any knowledge of the change before Molter's e-mail.\nIn Kirkwood's statement to the IDS, Kirkwood Presidential Candidate Bryan Strawbridge wrote that his ticket was not surprised to hear the Election Commission's decision.\n"We never thought the Election Commission would hear the case," he said. "We knew they would always defer judgment to the Supreme Court."\nStrawbridge attributes the refusal to Molter's offense at a challenge to the elections code, which Molter helped write.\n"Derek Molter's comments, on behalf of the Commission, were clearly written hastily and reflected a significant amount of personal rancor that we believe to be resultant of a challenge to an elections code he helped author and mistakes that occurred under his direction," the statement reads.\nDespite Molter's and the Commission's decision, Strawbridge still expressed respect for their work during election time.\n"Derek and the rest of the Commission have done a great job," Strawbridge said. "We don't hold any personal animosity toward them. Although we disagree with (the decision) we appreciate the work they did."\nMolter denies the decision was based on any personal animosity toward the ticket. He said it was Congress that decided to pass the elections code without Section 403, not him, and that it was only his responsibility to enforce it.\n"That sort of attack on me undermines their own position," he said. "I wish they hadn't gone personal like this. I don't think it's appropriate. I certainly have nothing against them."\nNow that the Elections Commission's decision has been rendered, Kirkwood's petition to the Supreme Court should be addressed within 48 hours of receiving it, said Brian Clifford, chief justice of the Student Body Supreme Court.\nWhether the court will hear the petition depends upon the approval of two-fifths of the justices, or five members out of 11.\nStrawbridge said he is hopeful the court will choose in Kirkwood's favor and enforce Section 403.\n"Failure to do so calls into question far more than what has been characterized as a 'messy election,'" he wrote in the statement.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Colleen \nCorley at ccorley@indiana.edu.