IUSA aims for clean election in wake of controversy

In light of last year’s IU Student Association election, the current Big Red administration is trying to ensure a fair and scandal-free election occurs Tuesday and Wednesday.

During last year’s IUSA election, it was discovered that a congressional candidate of the Kirkwood ticket, Adam Pozza, accessed current IUSA President Luke Fields’ computer and forwarded e-mails regarding Big Red’s campaign to members of the Kirkwood ticket.

The winning Kirkwood ticket was disqualified from the election, and the Big Red ticket was sworn into office.

One of Big Red’s main goals this year was to legitimize IUSA after an election process marred by corruption.

“Coming out of last year’s election, the question on campus was not what is IUSA going to do, but should we even have IUSA next year,” Fields said. “I think we’ve had a fabulous year at a time where we had to have a fabulous year. If we had a bad year this year, I think those whispers last year – that we should dissolve IUSA – would have turned into shouts.”

The judicial branch and elections commission of IUSA handle any mishaps and
controversies in the election process if there are any, Fields said.

The appointment process for the elections commission, compared to past IUSA elections, has become more formalized, said current IUSA Vice President Dan Sloat.

The tradition of appointing the outgoing Union Board president head elections commissioner continues. The rest of the four members of the election commission were selected by virtue of their office, and all work on some type of judicial board capacity on campus.

“They have been recognized from other organizations for their impartiality and reasoning,” Sloat said. “In years past, the rest of the appointments have been very arbitrary and have been done by the sitting president.”

Fields said the presidents of the various IUSA tickets need to be held accountable for their own actions as well as those of the members of their tickets.

“I tried to communicate to the various tickets’ presidents that we need to have a good, clean election,” Fields said. “It is imperative to the legitimacy of IUSA.”

To better suit the election process, the elections code was rewritten to ensure that a clear set of rules were set in place.

One new elections code rule requires a reevaluation of the code by IUSA Congress every year.

Another change from last year’s election involves voting locations. Students can now vote online through the IUSA Web site in addition to in-person IUSA polling stations.

The workers at the polling stations will not be affiliated with any of the tickets running.
Sloat said the polling stations were set up because a ticket running its own voting station is considered a fine line of solicitation. Therefore, the government got involved so that stations could be run impartially.

No campaigning can take place within 50 feet of the polling sites and computer labs, according to the new elections code.

“The polling stations give everyone an opportunity to feel comfortable voting and feel as if they could vote for whoever they want,” Fields said. “And they do not give anyone a particular advantage in those high traffic areas. They are a good way to be a little more equitable in the elections and to make sure all students have an opportunity, as much as we could ensure it, to feel comfortable with who they are voting for and to not feel pressured as to who they are voting for.”