As one of his first acts in office, elections board chairman
Nathan Lam is proposing that non-UCLA students no longer be able to
campaign on campus during the undergraduate student government
elections.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council’s elections
will take place in the second half of spring quarter, and the
council is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes during next
week’s meeting.
Under the current regulations, each candidate is allowed to sign
in two non-students to campaign on his or her behalf.
During last year’s election, there was discussion
surrounding the abuse of this rule as candidates within the same
slate would sign in guests for one another.
Slates are coalitions of students with similar ideologies that
form during election time to increase their chances of winning
seats on the council.
Lam said that the current system can ultimately put slates at an
advantage.
“Independents are at a disadvantage, and although the
constitution doesn’t recognize slates, I don’t think we
should necessarily ignore them either,” he said.
Lam also said non-UCLA students should not be involved in the
campaign process since they will not have a vote and won’t
ultimately be effected by the election’s outcome.
“I don’t believe people who are not UCLA students
have any business persuading UCLA students on who to vote for,
especially since ultimately they have no real vested interest since
they will not have to live with the consequences,” Lam
said.
But as councilmembers mentioned during Tuesday night’s
meeting, it will be difficult for the elections board to control
all individuals campaigning.
The campus events commissioner, Jason Gaulton, posed the
question of the regulation possibly impeding the general
public’s freedom of speech and their right to support a
candidate if they see fit.
Joseph Vardner, a staff member in the internal vice
president’s office, reminded everyone of what he believes is
the function of the elections code.
“The e-code was not made to restrict freedom, just to make
the functioning of elections more efficient,” Vardner
said.
General Representative Tommy Tseng said he believes that in
regard to the candidates themselves, the rules should be clear and
there should not be a freedom of speech issue.
Tseng believes the elections code is not impeding the
candidates’ freedom of speech rights since they are aware of
these regulations when they decide to run for a seat on
council.
The duration of the elections was also approved this week.
The elections have been hosted by MyUCLA for the past two
elections. During the 2003 elections, students were able to vote 24
hours a day. Last year’s council limited voting hours from 7
a.m. to midnight.
In a report released in the months following the elections,
MyUCLA officials suggested that voting be possible without
interruptions, as all other MyUCLA services are available around
the clock.
In order not to lose MyUCLA as its host, the council approved
making voting once again available for the full duration of
elections.
USAC was left with no other choices, as hiring an outside
provider would be too costly.
The council also plans to clarify and define the elections code
with regard to the language used allowing candidate signboards.