Campaign complaints pile up for BEC
The voting Web site for the MSA presidential elections is still down, but the Board of Elections Commissioners and the Division of Information Technology plan to run another test tonight.
But at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Web site, vote.missouri.edu, read "Due to technical Difficulties with the voting server, The MSA elections will now be held from Monday November 17th at 6pm through Wednesday November 19th at 6pm".
The test is meant to ensure that all undergraduate students can vote and graduate students cannot, said BEC Chairman Justin Mohn. He said DoIT is responsible for this test.
Mohn added the BEC will run more tests on their own once they determine the existing server is a viable option for next Monday.
Several complaints were filed against executive candidates Jordan Paul and Colleen Hoffmann yesterday by opponents Phyllis Williams and Jonathan Snipes.
Two of the complaints accused Paul/Hoffmann of “excessive flyering” in Engineering Building West, and also in Middlebush and Arts & Sciences. Williams could not be reached for comment.
“I feel this is kind of a moot point,” Paul said. He said the instance of excessive flyering mentioned in the BEC handbook describes completely covering a bulletin board.
Paul said his campaign distributed handbills in the auditorium of Engineering Building West, but that this method has been done by slates in past years and has never been a finable offense.
Mohn said the BEC had been unable to look at the complaints in depth yet.
However, the BEC did look at a third complaint filed by Williams/Snipes, citing the Paul/Hoffmann campaign for a solicitation violation.
“I think it’s ludicrous,” Paul said. He and Hoffmann hung door knockers in four apartment complexes off-campus, but Paul said they read the handbook before doing so to ensure they were following the rules.
While door knockers and campaigning are prohibited in residence halls, and Paul/Hoffmann said they specifically avoided Tiger Diggs and Mizzou Quads to avoid an infraction, the BEC handbook says nothing about off-campus campaigning.
“Our investigation is centered around mostly whether we have jurisdiction off-campus and whether or not it’s a violation,” Mohn said.
No complaints have been filed by or against Joe Fessehaye and Lindsey Abell.
Stay tuned to themaneater.com throughout the week and Friday's print edition for more information on the MSA election.