BEC handbook might violate First Amendment rights

Part of the elections handbook might violate First Amendment rights.

By Campbell Massie

Published Sept. 12, 2008

The First Amendment might be an issue for MSA's Board of Elections Commissioners as they revise their handbook, Student Legal Services Coordinator Steve Concannon said.

The first draft of the new handbook, which will govern the Missouri Students Association presidential election in November, strongly recommends that slates show the BEC campaign materials before distribution. The handbook recommends this procedure to prevent slates from having to take down campaign material that are found to be inappropriate.

Depending on how the BEC would use its power to limit campaign materials, such as fliers and Web sites, the handbook could be construed as unconstitutional, Concannon said.

Concannon, who advises students about legal issues, said the BEC can place content-neutral restrictions, such as the time, place and manner of publicizing a slate. For example, the board can forbid putting one slate's campaign signs over another slate's signs.

Concannon said the board can restrict slander and libel of other slates as well as profanity. Last semester's BEC handbook stated, "All campaign material must be registered with the BEC...material may be posted as soon as it is approved by the BEC."

BEC members will meet with Concannon on Monday to address potential issues with the handbook's revision.

The BEC will be taking its cues from what Concannon will say, BEC Chairman Justin Mohn said. The only issues board members have discussed as inappropriate are libel, slander and profanity, which are not protected by the Constitution. Mohn is a former member of The Maneater staff.

The question of whether the BEC has the power to regulate or pre-approve slate's campaign materials comes down to whether the election is only run under the standards of the M-Book or is also governed by the U.S. Constitution. Because it is a university election, the BEC might have more latitude, Concannon said, but First Amendment principles are still in question.

"Those principles would probably be equally applied in a court situation," Concannon said.

In addition, the handbook presented to Senate committees Tuesday night states, "BEC must be able to view all personal Web pages at all times during which they are online."

The handbook goes on to state that personal Facebook pages "including but not limited to: your personal page, your groups, your notes, your pictures" shall be regarded as a personal Web site.

But Operations Committee Chairman Corey Gibson, who went through the campaign process himself when he ran for MSA president in 2006, said he opposed that section.

"Their personal site should be their own business," he said.

Facebook groups created by the slate, but not the actions of its members, are subject to review from the BEC, Mohn said. If a campaign worker creates an inappropriate site, the slate is to remove that person's membership and therefore its endorsement.

"We don't want a candidate to be judged for what they didn't do themselves," Mohn said.

Senate committees will vote on the handbook Tuesday. If it passes, it will go before the full MSA Senate on Wednesday. Senators will also vote to approve Student Fee Review Committee chairwoman appointee Gwen Daniels and Department of Student Communication director appointee Porscha Kirkwood. Daniels is a columnist for The Maneater.