BEC rules on four more complaints
Board of Elections Commissioners Chairman Justin Mohn said four more complaints were filed Tuesday in the Missouri Students Association presidential and vice presidential election. These four bring the total number of complaints filed in the election to 13: eight against the Phyllis Williams and Jonathon Snipes slate; five against Jordan Paul and Colleen Hoffmann and none against Joe Fessehaye and Lindsey Abell.
Paul filed three complaints against Williams’ slate. The first was for campaign staff who Paul claimed was not registered. Paul filed a complaint alleging Williams failed to get a food permit for donuts they handed out to students Tuesday in Brady Commons and filed a complaint about Williams-Snipes fliers that were on a table reserved by student volleyball cheer section organization VolleyZou. A complaint was also filed by Paul for campaign staff who he claimed was not registered.
“On the Williams campaign’s forms they have less than 10 individuals listed as registered campaign staff members,” Paul said. “They’re not keeping an accurate list and that makes it a lot easier for certain violations to happen.”
Williams said, although some of the staff that have manned her tables in the past few days are not yet registered, she plans to register them by Monday, since campaign staff must be registered by the Monday after they first serve the campaign.
A complaint was also filed against Paul. Sophomore Seth Botts, a member of Williams’ campaign staff, independently filed a complaing alleging he was denied pizza by the Paul-Hoffmann campaign, who was giving out pizza to students in Brady Commons Tuesday. Paul defended his campaign and said Botts was denied pizza only because Botts told the campaign staff handing out pizza that he had already voted and there was only enough pizza for students who had not yet voted.
“There are several inconsistencies in Botts’ story,” Paul said. “He told us he had already voted while he told the BEC he hadn’t.”
Williams said although the complaint was not filed by Botts and not on the behalf of her campaign, she personally supports it. She also said her campaign has chosen not to file any complaints because they would only be a “distraction.”
“I find these complaints to just be distractions for the other slates, especially when they’re not complaints that would really affect students’ votes,” Williams said.