It was not a good year for elections at UB, as virtually every election held was fraught with complaints of impropriety - and a number were overturned.
The school year began with students learning that the results of the previous spring's Graduate Student Association Executive Board elections were void, due to fraudulent conduct by a candidate.
Treasurer candidate Sanjeev Saha allegedly distributed sweatshirts to graduate students before the election in exchange for votes and student identification numbers that could be used to cast votes via the Internet.
The GSA Election Committee overturned the results as criticisms of online voting grew. Janine Santiago, then-GSA president, defended the online format.
"I still believe in online elections," Santiago said. "I believe that if other universities have proven to be successful, it should be something that should be approved."
Two days later, students learned the University Council elections had also been overturned. The University Council Representative Elections Committee nullified the results of the student representative post, due to complaints about the election date.
Brendan Keane, one of the candidates for the seat, claimed online elections were inadequately advertised and that the date was misprinted in The Spectrum.
Jennifer Tuttle later won the seat when she ran unopposed in the rescheduled election in October.
The Spectrum also flagged the March elections for Student Association president, vice president, treasurer and SUNY delegates for improprieties regarding the accuracy and proximity to the voting booths of campaign materials.
The Spectrum challenged that campaign material was too close to the voting booths, that ballot information outside the booths was erroneous and omitted reference to the referendum. The Student Wide Judiciary subsequently ruled that SA must revise its election procedures to prevent such problems in the future.
Another spring election conducted amid complaints was the GSA election for president, vice president and treasurer.
Kannan Nagarajan, a losing candidate for the position of president, alleged that the Elections Committee counted the ballots at an improper time, gave other candidates more space in an advertisement and allowed candidates who did not satisfy requirements to run.
The GSA Elections Committee has yet to rule on Nagarajan's complaints.
-Written by George Zornick
-Reported by Erin Shultz, Katie Ward, Jackie Black and Brian Baskin
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
