Kirkwood ticket looks for 2nd chance

The Kirkwood ticket filed a petition Monday against the IUSA Elections Commission and Derek Molter, the elections coordinator. The petition, signed on behalf of the College and Connect tickets, calls for a run-off election between Kirkwood and election winner Vote for Pedro.\nThe petition says the election results were unconstitutional according to Section 403 of IUSA's current elections code, which states that executive candidates must receive at least 40 percent of the votes or at least 20 percent more than the runner-up. \nAccording to an IUSA document provided by IUSA Vice President of Operations Scott Norman, Section 403 was removed from the code Dec. 9, 2003. But in the version passed Jan. 13, 2005, by the IUSA Congress, the 40-percent rule was included, said Bryan Strawbridge, Kirkwood's presidential candidate. If he is proved correct by either the IUSA Elections Commission or the Student Body Supreme Court, a run-off will occur between Kirkwood and Vote for Pedro.\n"The 2002-2003 IU elections code was made invalid by the 2004-2005 elections code," Strawbridge said. "You have to go by the most up-to-date code which was passed in the most recent Congress. And that's the one that needs to be utilized in this election."\nNorman and Molter, however, said the copy of the 2005 elections code used by Congress during this year's election was the same as the 2003 code. Norman said the administration in charge during the removal of Section 403 -- the first Kirkwood ticket, whose term was from 2002-2003 -- mistakenly failed to remove it from the elections code. \nThat is why Molter informed Congress, the current IUSA executives and all of this year's candidates of the change, Norman said. \nMolter notified the candidates of the mistake in an e-mail Feb. 17, telling them, "There will be no run-off election. Whichever ticket receives the most votes will win."\nThe day after Molter's Feb. 17 e-mail, current IUSA Web master and Kirkwood ticket's Web master Wes Harder updated the IUSA Web site's version of the elections code by placing a line through Section 403. By striking out the section, Harder said he intended to inform students and candidates of Molter's correction about the elections code. \nBut when Harder spoke Feb. 24 to members of Congress who approved the elections code this year, he removed the strike-through.\n"I was told that (the removal) was not their intent," Harder said. "So I changed it back -- I un-struck it out. After that point was when (Kirkwood) decided they were going to file the complaint."\nHarder said Norman was the one who called him Monday to tell him to strike it out again. \nNorman said Harder was wrong the first time he changed the online code without anyone's explicit consent.\n"No one told him to cross it out in the first place," Norman said. "He has a responsibility to IUSA and a responsibility to Kirkwood, and he should not confuse the two. I don't want the integrity of IUSA to be compromised by an alternative motive."\nNorman said he told Harder to keep the section crossed out so the code would be consistent with election rules.\nThe election's rules are being contested by Kirkwood, College and Connect, but the petition has a long way to go.\nNow that the Elections Commission has received Kirkwood's petition, it has to decide whether it will hear the case. The commission is not obligated to hear it because it was submitted after the Feb. 24 deadline.\nIf it does choose to hear it, there are two options. It can either decide for Kirkwood and allow a run-off, or it can decide against the ticket, at which point the Supreme Court could step in.\nThe Supreme Court has jurisdiction over cases that involve bodies under it. If the Elections Commission refuses to hear Kirkwood's case or refuses to allow a run-off, Kirkwood can -- and will, Strawbridge said -- appeal to the Supreme Court.\nOnce a case reaches the Supreme Court, it also has to decide whether it will hear it. If not, Kirkwood's case ends. If so, the Court must decide for or against the run-off decision. Again, if the Court decides against Kirkwood, their effort is finished. If the Court supports the run-off, Vote for Pedro can challenge the decision.\nPresident-elect Alex Shortle said although he does not think the case will reach that point, he will fight it. \n"I probably would (challenge it) just for the defense of IUSA and its reputation," Shortle said. "The problem is the run-off would absolutely kill the credibility of IUSA and the whole election process. Just (Kirkwood) coming out with this is whittling away IUSA's reputation."\nStrawbridge said not following the elections code hurts IUSA as well.\n"Kirkwood is fighting for the student voices to be heard as it is written in the elections code," he said. "If (Shortle) wishes to deny the students' voices, ... that's his issue." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Colleen Corley at ccorley@indiana.edu.