The undergraduate student government Judicial Board is set to review a Daily Bruin petition calling for the Election Board to have no authority over non-paid media coverage.
On Monday, the Undergraduate Students Association Council Election Board told USAC presidential candidates they could be sanctioned if they appeared on the Daily Bruin’s news and culture radio show, “Long Story Short,” to talk about their platforms and campaigns.
After the Election Board threatened to sanction candidates, they chose to not go on the show, preventing the segment from airing as planned. Daily Bruin Opinion Editor Eitan Arom submitted a petition to the judicial board about the case on Tuesday.
Election Board Chair Anthony Padilla said he thought the radio show segment constituted a debate, which the board would have authority over, according to the Election Code.
The USAC Election Code indicates a debate must be open to all candidates and a representative from the Election Board must be present for the debate to be permitted by the Election Code.
The Election Board also has authority over election media advertising, which includes “any paid promotional material that is produced, advertised and/or distributed at UCLA or in the surrounding area” and appears in a newspaper, on television or on the radio, among other media outlets, according to the code.
The candidates were set to go on Long Story Short and talk in separate segments Monday night, where they would be interviewed by a radio show host.
Since there would be no on-air interaction between candidates and separate questions would be asked of each candidate, the Bruin’s petition says the segments would not constitute a debate.
The petition also claims that the Election Board overstepped its jurisdiction, as outlined in the Election Code, by threatening candidates with sanctions and interfering with media coverage.
The Judicial Board plans to review the extent of the Election Board’s authority and to consider whether the Election Board would have the right to sanction USAC presidential candidates if they went on the radio show.
In addition to concerns about the radio segment being a debate, Padilla also said in an email to The Bruin that he thought the radio show was biased because it only represented the three presidential candidates running this year and no other candidates participating in the election.
He added in the email that he thinks an Election Board member would need to have been present at the radio show recording to ensure that the program was fair and unbiased.
“There is no oversight in this program to ensure that the candidates are most importantly safe and also free from a biased environment,” Padilla said in the email. “This also perpetuates the culture of the elections that suggests that independent candidates are not able to break through the system set up by ‘slates.’”
Padilla also suggested in the email that the Daily Bruin should reach out to the Election Board sooner next time so that a similar event would be better organized.
A closed preliminary hearing will take place Monday afternoon.
Compiled by Amanda Schallert, Bruin senior staff.