A special election that could restructure the undergraduate
student government may be held as early as third week of spring
quarter after 4,000 signatures in support of the amendment were
presented to the council and the election board Tuesday night.
The board is allotted 15 school days to verify the signatures.
If confirmed, the changes would pass with two-thirds approval and
immediately become enacted.
Brian Neesby, the chief of staff of the Financial Supports
Commission but not working on its behalf, gathered signatures
validating his petition to amend the current constitution and
divide powers among a five-member executive branch and a 20-member
legislative senate.
Immediately following Neesby’s submission, council debated
the logistics of a special election.
“It would be a nightmare to try and organize an election
during spring,” said Nathan Lam, elections board chair.
The Undergraduate Students Association general body election is
currently scheduled to be held during the fifth week of spring
quarter. But if a third-week election transforms the council, some
councilmembers voiced concern whether enough time would exist to
elect officers to a new senate system.
Jenny Wood, a general representative, said implementing a
special election is almost impossible since the election board
would have to simultaneously cater to the general elections
timeline.
Wood also expressed her concern for the budget allocated to
elections, as a special election could require roughly $5,000 to
conduct.
Speaking to Neesby, Wood said, “If your intention is
really to serve the student body, then I don’t see why you
wouldn’t want to follow logistical rules.”
Additionally, elections board adviser Mike Cohn was concerned
that MyUCLA might not have the resources to accommodate another
election.
Neesby insisted the amendment required a special election to
differentiate it from other campaigns in the general election.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, council banned the use of
symbols or other strategies to alter the representation of
candidates’ names on the spring ballot. The technique, often
allowed in the past, was used as a campaign strategy for groups of
students running collectively.