On March 23, the Associated Students Inc. Judiciary voted to uphold the Board of Elections ruling against John Haberstroh and Jonathon Bolin for excessive posting.
The Board of Elections ruled that Haberstroh and Bolin were in violation of the Elections Handbook and imposed a sanction that prohibited the running mates from handing out any printed materials until 8 a.m. on April 4.
The run-off elections for the presidency and vice presidency end April 5 at midnight.
Haberstroh and Bolin appealed the decision to the ASI Judiciary, asking on Monday for lighter sanctions.
“We did accept responsibility for the complaint against us, and we expected that the sanction against us would be similar to that of the first complaint that was filed against us, that would take money out of the deposit that we paid,” Haberstroh said.
Priscilla Covarrubias, a former vice presidential candidate, filed the first petition against Haberstroh and Bolin for passing out campaign leaflets in the dorms. Haberstroh and Bolin were found guilty and charged $25 out of their deposit. The ASI Judiciary later overturned the charge.
During the public comment portion of the hearing, presidential candidate Stephen Thomas said the sanction should not be similar to that of the first complaint.
“What concerns me is they stated that they thought a violation like this would be treated in the same way and therefore they would see a gray area and take advantage of it, and the worst that would happen is that money would be taken out of their pockets, and that doesn’t carry out a fair election for any of us,” Thomas said.
Thomas and vice presidential candidate Diana Phan filed the petition against Haberstroh and Bolin for posting in non-posting locations, referring to the door hangers the campaign used.
“We found that listed under the prohibited campaign activities,” Haberstroh said referring to the elections handbook rule banning the positing of campaign material in certain locations at the March 23 hearing.
“We saw some gray area and we took the liberty. But it’s clear that is a violation so I’m here to accept responsibility.
Haberstroh and Bolin said they purchased 500 door hangers and distributed them around various areas on campus, interpreting “posting” as applying adhesive or pinning.
Haberstroh also said he and Bolin were confused when they were convicted for excessive posting rather than what Thomas and Phan had petitioned them for.
“We were convicted of something that we were not accused of beforehand,” Haberstroh said.
However, Chief Justice Dina Alhayek said although the charge was not included in the complaint, it did not mean that it could also be included in the ruling.
The Board of Elections also pointed out that Haberstroh and Bolin did not seek the necessary approval by Government Elections Officer Leo Palomera for their door hangers.