Losing slates Concordians In Action (CIA) and Renaissance Concordia are going to contest Friday’s election results because of allegations of irregular campaigning and a dubious phone survey allegedly pushing students to vote for New Evolution.
CIA and Renaissance sent a mass e-mail to students last Monday, asking everyone who was contacted by a telemarketing firm for the survey, whether they felt pressured or not, to come forward with written, signed testimonies.
“It is important to make sure that there is no external influence on student elections at Concordia,” the losing slates wrote in their e-mail.
They hope to use the testimonies as proof for their contestation. “The main thing right now is to make sure this stuff never happens again,” said CIA VP external community Tim McSorley.
“To think that the administration is going to spend $10,000 supporting one team, or whatever, that’s just completely ridiculous,” said Peter Schiefke, New Evolution VP student life and Arts and Science Federation of Associations VP finance. “I mean, the losing slates always contest.”
Renaissance president Marc St. Martin said they received a fairly good response to the e-mail from students. “There are many people who may have been pushed [in the direction of New Evolution],” said St. Martin. He added that they’re also looking at other possible infractions by New Evolution. “It’s just to make people aware of how they actually won,” he said. Concordia Student Union (CSU) Chief Electoral Officer Tara Tavender said she asked the slates not to send out mass e-mails of the sort. “I don’t want third parties intervening in gathering information,” she said. “It’s a lot more transparent if I do the investigating.”
Tavender said there might have been two surveys before the elections.
The administration said the survey in question was being conducted by political science professor Guy Lachapelle for Synovate-Americas. There may have been questions about voting on it, but it is unclear whether they were even specific to CSU elections.
“I’m not willing to say the whole issue is closed, by any means,” said Tavender. She is still waiting for the CSU lawyer to receive a copy of Lachapelle’s survey. It was suppose to be sent last week by Lachapelle’s lawyer, but the CSU lawyer has yet to receive it.
“It’s possible that [Lachapelle’s survey] is just a smokescreen for another survey,” said Tavender. “It’s also possible that there’s a copycat going around,” who may have later used a survey to promote a CSU slate.
Schiefke denies New Evolution was associated to any surveys. “I’m hearing that it’s the admin, that’s it’s a political science teacher, I don’t know what the hell to believe. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Tavender says she will pursue this case by getting a copy of Lachapelle’s survey and cross-examining it with questions students said to have been asked. “We won’t know the details until we get a copy of Lachapelle’s survey.”
Tavender has been approached by a number of students claiming to have been surveyed and pushed to promote New Evolution.
If the losing slates contest on Friday, Tavender will have five days to investigate the situation. If an infraction is proven to have occurred, penalties can range from fines to preventing people from taking office or annulling the elections. Tavender said that for the two latter penalties to be imposed, the infraction would have to be very severe and corrupt.
