[1152] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: Creighton/Brar ticket decision
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Victor W Brar)
Thu Mar 14 02:20:12 2002
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Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.30L.0203140207500.12718-100000@nerd-xing.mit.edu>
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 02:11:59 -0500
From: Victor W Brar <vbrar@MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <200203140641.BAA03869@buzzword-bingo.mit.edu>
Please do not make huge public statements like this, which can influence
the way votes are going to be cast, before the final appeals have been
heard.
As I said before, much of the money is being used for charity, and using
words like "bribes" in describing our ambitions is quite unappropriate.
Victor
On Thu, 14 Mar 2002, Helen Lee wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> There has been a lot of controversy about the UAP/UAVP elections this
> year. As the UA Election Commissioner, I'd like to share some
> clarifications as well as new information.
>
> The Election Commission has reviewed Dan Liston's communications to the
> public and to Rhett and feels that they were inappropriate. I asked Dan to
> resign from the Rules Board, and have recommended that Swapna Panuganti replace
> him as Chair of the Rules Board.
>
> We have also reviewed the issue at hand - the Creighton/Brar ticket
> offering $10 to each person that places them first on the ballot. After
> much discussion (which was not, alas, reflected in Dan's emails) the
> Election Commission and Rules Board have come to a consensus that offering
> bribes to students that vote for them is unethical and against the spirit
> of the election rules and the UA Constitution. Regardless of where they
> would obtain the money, they are using money to pay for votes all the same.
>
> As has been pointed out, there is no specific rule in the Election Code or
> Campaign Rules that says that offering voters money for their vote is a
> violation. Apparently at least this basic rule that should have been there
> was neglected. However, the rules are only the minimal explicit set of
> rules to guide the Commission and Rules Board and say so explicitly. When
> we make decisions we are supposed to consider the spirit of the elections
> as well as the published rules.
>
> The Commission and Rules Board believes that our central purpose is to
> maintain the integrity of the election and the campaign. Allowing
> candidates to offer bribes to voters seriously compromises this integrity
> and is also obviously contrary to basic democratic principles.
>
> The decision of the Election Commission and Rules Board is that the
> Creighton/Brar ticket, because of their public offers to bribe students for
> their votes, are disqualified from the election. All votes for them will
> be awarded to the next preferences chosen on each ballot.
>
> We have no official opinion on the appropriateness of using the Bush fund
> for this or any other purpose.
>
> We have no official opinion on the appropriateness of promising a certain
> amount of money to every undergraduate (a 'refund') regardless of how he or
> she votes.
>
> I encourage everyone to think about this issue seriously and thank those
> that have been doing so. I realize that we have made mistakes but we are
> doing our best to remedy them.
>
> To Rhett and Victor - I know that the decision above is not stated in
> official terms with citations and such. I apologize - I do not have
> experience in writing such statements - but we felt it was important to
> distribute this information quickly and clearly. If you would like to
> appeal this decision, as I anticipate you will, please email the UA
> Judicial Review Board (ua-judboard@mit.edu) with the details of your appeal.
>
> To everybody - if you would like to discuss previous emails from the
> Election Commission or Rules Board, or this email, I urge you to speak to
> me personally. My phone number is 617.256.8121 and I will be in the UA
> office from 2:30-4pm tomorrow (Thursday). If neither of those works for
> you, please email me and we can arrange a time to talk.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Helen Lee
> UA Election Commissioner
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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