The undergraduate student government has failed, once again, to appoint an Election Board chair in a manner consistent with its bylaws.
According to Undergraduate Students Association Council bylaws, an Election Board chair ““ who oversees student government elections ““ must be appointed before the first week of fall quarter. This deadline has come and gone, and the position remains unfilled.
We realize that the academic year has just begun, but given the promises for reform made after last year’s problematic student group election endorsements, it is important to select a chair early in the school year. Last year, the post remained vacant until March ““ only several weeks prior to elections.
In USAC elections this past spring, three student groups were misrepresented in their endorsements for Bruins United. Endorsements for UCLA Circle K International, Theta Xi fraternity and Moneythink UCLA indicated their support for Bruins United without the student groups’ approval.
On learning that the infraction would bring the issue to the Dean of Students, the student groups and the Election Board resolved to term the incident a miscommunication.
Directly following the elections, Election Board chair Eena Singh promised a full review of the election code.
It is concerning that USAC’s promises of election reform have yet to be fulfilled given that the council was in session over the summer.
Since last spring, USAC President David Bocarsly has held four meetings to investigate the endorsement issue, and last year’s election board chair Eena Singh has only held one. These efforts are insufficient, and USAC must hold to its promise of prioritizing election reform.
This board hopes the undergraduate student government begins to institute reforms throughout fall quarter to make up for lost time.
USAC officials have said that no Election Board chair will be appointed until loopholes in the current election code are resolved.
We understand the reasons for wanting to address the election code before appointing a new chair, but it would be best to instead appoint a chair while the revision of election policies is ongoing.
An Election Board chair, once appointed, will have the proper time frame to familiarize themselves with the election code and process. In the end, the chair will be better equipped to oversee reform in an effective manner.
With the majority of this year’s council seats filled by Bruins United members, it is in the best interest of both the slate and the council to ensure the reform process is taken seriously and is spearheaded by a nonpartisan leader.
The council has indicated that they want to appoint a qualified chair, but to do so, they must actively seek one out. Instead of sifting through a pool of applications, a formal recruiting process should be implemented in which USAC officers could seek out unbiased and knowledgeable candidates.