Pictured Above: Jaida Abbas (left) and running mate Jennifer Kelly, who won 53.5 percent of the vote, now face a major grievance and a trial before the SG Supreme Court on April 9.
Courtesy of @risewithjandj on Instagram
By Sophie Ojdanic
A major grievance has been filed against the presidential ticket that appeared to win the Student Government election earlier this month, plunging the results into uncertainty.
Now, the ticket of Jaida Abbas and Jennifer Kelly –– which won 53.5 percent of the vote –– faces a trial before SG’s Supreme Court at 3 p.m. April 9.
The trial will be open to the public on Microsoft Teams.
Because the investigation into the grievance is ongoing, the nature cannot be disclosed, according to SG adviser Gary Manka.
“I cannot speak on behalf of SG, but I can state from the SG Advisors that until the trial(s) have been completed we are not at liberty to share any evidence/deliberations based on SG governing documents,” Manka said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “As SG Advisors, we also prefer not to make any statements even if well intended so that we do not offer any undue direct or indirect influence in those proceedings.”
SG statute 706.5.8 says there are 17 possible major violations, including using money to persuade voters, spreading false statements about a person or group, seeking donors in the workplace, destroying a campaign’s materials and setting up an unauthorized polling station. Condoning commission by others of any violation is also considered a major violation.
The Abbas and Kelly ticket got 711 votes in the election, seemingly defeating the opposing ticket of Julia Cunningham and Jillian Wilson, which got 616 votes. If the Abbas/Kelly ticket is disqualified, the SG Senate will convene to determine which remaining ticket would replace them.
Because Cunningham and Wilson were the only other ticket, they would be certified as the new president and vice president and take office in April.
They would then be subject to a student body vote of confidence in the fall.
