IUSA executive election canceled

The IU Student Association election commission on Sunday canceled the executive elections and named the Hoosier ticket the “executive group elect,” said Brad Allen, the IUSA election commissioner.\nThe Hoosier party is waiting to be certified as the 2007 IUSA election ticket winner by the IUSA Supreme Court. If certified, Hoosier would take office in April, he said.\nAfter High 5, the other executive-candidate party, dropped out of the IUSA election race last week, the election commission met with advisers to determine what would be done after the loss of competition.\nAllen said neither he nor his advisers had heard of this one-party election situation before.\n“I know it hasn’t happened in recent history,” he said.\nThere will be no opportunity for write-in executive candidates during the elections, but IUSA will still hold congressional elections Tuesday, Feb. 27, as planned, he said.\nStudents are allowed to turn in applications to run for congressional seats that currently have no candidates, according to the election commission’s documented decision. Applications can be found on the IUSA Web site – www.indiana.edu/~iusa – and must be submitted to the IUSA office in Indiana Memorial Union 387 by 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23.\nThe available seats include Ashton, Continuing Studies, Family Student Housing, Labor Studies, Optometry, School of Library and Information Science and University Division, according to the commission.\nThe commission wanted all congressional districts to have an equal opportunity to vote for a leader in their region, Allen said. Though write-ins will be accepted during the congressional election, it is advantageous to the candidates if their names are already on the ballot, he said.\nHoosier presidential candidate W.T. Wright, a sophomore, said that the party is looking forward to progressing its platform and that it still plans to campaign on campus to promote Hoosier congressional candidates.\n“We’re disappointed that there wasn’t competition. However, now that a decision has been made, we’re excited to move forward,” Wright said. “I don’t think (the lack of competition) is bad for students. I’m confident we’re all qualified to represent the students and I’m looking forward to this opportunity.”\nNow that there is only one party, the debate planned for 6 p.m. Feb. 22 in the Dogwood Room of the IMU will be conducted as an open forum with an opportunity for the audience to ask Hoosier ticket members questions, Allen said.