ASUO Elections Board

Ruling on the grievance of Andrew Lubash v. Juan Rivera and Ducks Like You
[Decided March 21, 2014]

I
On 03/19/ 2014, ASUO member, and Mighty Oregon Campaign Manager, Andrew Lubash (hereinafter Petitioner) submitted a grievance to the Elections Board. The grievance named several parties and made several allegations of elections rules violations. ASUO Constitution Section 13.5 grants the Elections Board authority to both hear complaints of violations, and promulgate election rules. Under the promulgated rules, Election Rule 1.5 grants the Elections Board the authority to interpret rules and investigate potential or alleged violations of said rules. Further, Election Rule 2.3 permits the Elections Board and Elections Coordinator to take all necessary actions to prevent the and/or to cause existing violations to cease. In addition, Election Rule 9.2 allows the Board to fully consider all potential violations, whether or not specific actions were alleged in an official grievance. With this authority in consideration, the ASUO Elections Board responded to the grievance filed by Petitioner with a full investigation of the facts, which are discussed in section II of this opinion. All these rules were approved by the Constitution Court in 5 C.C. (2013/2014) on February 17, 2014.

II
On 3/13/14, a day before the Spring Elections filing date, Mr. Rivera posted the following status to his Facebook account: Hello UO Friends! I need your help on two things and I hope you can help me! 1) I decided late in the race to run for Senate Seat 15, and I need signatures of people who support my candidacy (not a vote not at this time) just that I am a good person running for Senate Seat 15! Text me or message me and I can meet you around campus. The post was removed shortly after Mr. Rivera was made aware that the Election Rules did not allow for this type of advertising at the time. Mr. Rivera has spoken with the Elections Board about the allegations in the grievance and takes full responsibility.

III
The following rules have been violated by Juan Rivera: Rule 3.4.2 of the ASUO Elections Rules 2014 states that, Signature gathering is not campaigning. Candidates may not post or advertise for signatures. In addition, rule 6.1, Campaigns shall be held responsible for all election-related activities undertaken by their affiliates, including but not limited to volunteers, employees, and representatives. Campaigns have a positive duty to ensure that all such persons do not violate these Rules; this duty increases with the degree of affiliation between an individual and the campaign. In accordance with rules 6.1 and 3.4.2, the Elections Board finds Juan Rivera, and the Ducks Like You slate, in violation of the ASUO Elections Rules 2014. This violation is not severe enough to warrant the desired outcome requested in the petitioners grievance, as this is only a minor violation. Future grievances submitted to the Elections Board that contain inflammatory and extreme desired outcomes will not be entertained for minor violations.

IV
In conclusion, the ASUO Elections Board holds the following, effective immediately: 1. Juan Rivera and Ducks Like You are prohibited from advertising Juan Rivera as a candidate for the ASUO Spring 2014 Elections for 48 hours. This applies only to Online Campaigning, as described in Elections Rule 7.2.1.