Student Association Elections

Student Association presidential candidate Kyle Boyer will present his argument to the Student Court Monday night at 9:30 p.m. in the Marvin Center room 401.

Boyer will argue that the Joint Elections Committee — the committee that voted to remove him from the runoff ballot — made an “arbitrary and capricious” determination for the fair market value of a car he parked on H Street during the general election.

The JEC will argue that they made a calculated decision and conducted a fair trial.

Last year’s chief judge and JEC investigator each filed briefs supporting Boyer; last year’s JEC chair and vice chair filed a brief supporting the JEC.

All court documents are available from the court’s Web site. Stay with The Hatchet for the final verdict.

Student Association Executive Vice President Kyle Boyer filed a complaint with the Student Court Monday, challenging his disqualification by the Joint Elections Committee from the runoff election for SA president.

Boyer claimed the JEC — the oversight body for SA elections — made an “arbitrary and capricious decision” to remove him from the runoff ballot.

During the general election, Boyer placed posters on a friend’s car and parked it on H Street in front of Kogan Plaza. Though Boyer did not have to pay for the use of his friend’s car, according to the JEC’s decision last Wednesday, Boyer was required to report the car’s fair market value in his expenditure report.

Because Boyer did not report the fair market value of the car — which the JEC determined to be the cost of renting a car for two days, or the entire duration of the general election — the JEC awarded violation points. After adding the cost for the use of the car onto his expenditure report — which cannot exceed $1,000 — Boyer’s total expenditure report totaled $1,090, pushing him over the limit and thus disqualifying him from the runoff election.

In the complaint, Boyer argued that the JEC’s determination of the fair market value of the car was “arbitrary and capricous” and resulted in “the accumulation of an excess of penalties, and the subsequent issuance of the Disqualification Order.”

In 1992, the Student Court heard a case where presidential candidate Christopher Ferguson alleged that the JEC made an “arbitrary and capricious” decision to hand out ballots only to first-year students in the law and medical schools, but not to any other students.

Though Ferguson lost his case, the court has at times used Ferguson v. JEC as precedent that it would review decisions of the JEC only if they are in fact arbitrary and capricious. In 2007, the court cited the precedent in Cohen v. JEC. The court found that the JEC made an arbitrary and capricious decision to disqualify a senator-elect, Matt Cohen. The court overturned the disqualification, which was concerning the sharing an expenditure among multiple candidates. The cited precedent:

To reiterate Ferguson v. Joint Election Committee, the Student Court is not a “higher JEC” and it should only overturn decisions using the arbitrary and capricious standard.

The Ferguson and Cohen decisions can be found on the court’s Web site. Boyer’s complaint is attached here as a PDF. The court has yet to decide whether to hear the case.

Our most recent coverage on Boyer’s removal from the runoff is here.  The runoff is scheduled for March 25 and 26.

After Student Association presidential candidate Kyle Boyer was disqualified from the runoff early Thursday, he told campaign supporters in an e-mail that he plans to file a case with the Student Court.

During Boyer’s hearing with the Joint Elections Committee — the oversight body for SA elections — he argued that he should not have had to list the use of a friend’s car on H Street as an expenditure. SA candidates are required to list their campaign expenditures and file the report with the JEC. A candidate’s expenditure report cannot exceed $1,000.

Because the JEC decided Boyer had to list the fair market value for the use of his friend’s car on H Street, Boyer’s expenditure report was pushed past the $1,000 limit, disqualifying him from the runoff election.

In an e-mail to campaign supporters, Boyer said he will contest the JEC’s decision with a Student Court complaint. The Court is not obligated to hear the case.

Boyer’s email is below:

Everyone,

Thank you all for your words of support, prayers, etc. I obviously am not happy about the decision. The accusations of being a cheat and a fraud are kind of offensive as well. BUT the words of support, the phone vibrating off its charger, the friends, the family, and the knowledge of being right still outweigh the bad. In my 9:35 this morning a row of students behind me (didn’t know I was there) and were talking about the Hatchet’s article. I listened to them figuring they represent the average student, and without knowing I was in the class I could hear them yell “they really screwed him” or “that is so not fair” and I happen to agree with both. Those of you who have seen my status over the last day know its Romans 8:28, which basically tells us that everything happens for a reason. Since last night, I’ve focused my deliberation on whether or not its worth it at this point: the SA needs fixing, will people even respect me as a leader, can I afford the time and effort?

To answer all of you, YES I am going to challenge the decision. Too many people have volunteered their time, changed their profile pics, etc. for me to not finish this race. As soon as we can, we will file with the Student Court, and hopefully begin the process of reversing the JEC and finishing this election.

So, go to Mexico, Aruba, Nola, or Pennsylvania like me, and enjoy your Spring Break. Rest, recoup and rejuvenate, be thankful for the things that really matter in life (not SA politics), and we’ll finish this up when we get back.

I love and appreciate all of you,
Kyle