SBP campaign season starts off with complaints

A flurry of complaints citing illegal campaign practices came in the immediate aftermath of the Tuesday candidates meeting in what is shaping up to be one of the most litigious starts to student body election season in recent memory.

Of the eight complaints submitted to the Board of Elections, all but two are against student body president candidate Rick Ingram who, for the second time in the young election season, is under investigation for allegedly violating campaign rules.

“It’s a little bit ridiculous,” Ingram said. “We were all doing it. I don’t understand what the Board of Elections is trying to do with all this.”

Ingram’s campaign, which was cleared of any wrongdoing following the first investigation, now faces four counts of premature dorm petitioning, one count of improper public campaigning and one count of so-called “Dean-Doming.” The complaints allege improper petitioning for signatures Tuesday night in residence halls and during the basketball game against Clemson University, as the campaigns sought out the 1,250 unique signatures required for a position on the Feb. 8 ballot.

Student body president candidate Mary Cooper was also accused of soliciting signatures inside the Smith Center during Tuesday’s game.

The board stated at its meeting Wednesday that it would not punish campaigns that attempted to acquire signatures at the game since it had not clearly stated that it was impermissible.

The board informed candidates at the declaration meeting Tuesday night that dorm-storming — the practice of gaining signatures by going door-to-door in residence halls — could not begin before Wednesday at 7 p.m. Dean-Doming was subsequently prohibited at the Wednesday meeting.

Ingram said he did not remember the board stating that dorm-storming was prohibited until Wednesday at the meeting.

Cooper said the board made it clear twice during the meeting when dorm-storming could begin.?“We all know the rules,” she said. “I trust that all campaigns are trying to keep a level playing field.”

Student Body Secretary Ian Lee’s campaign also had a dorm-storming complaint filed against it, but Ingram’s campaign is the only one currently subject to a formal investigation because the complaints against Lee were conflicting.

Board chairman Andrew Phillips said the investigation should be finished by the middle of next week and could result in a fine or disqualification if severe violations are found.

Size doesn’t matter

Though the candidate’s name was listed as the alleged violator, the candidates themselves were not always the ones accused. The violators were, in some instances, members of campaigns whose staffs vary from nonexistent to 200 people.

But size doesn’t ultimately matter, most candidates said.

“It certainly helps, but I think it’s a level playing field,” Cooper said. “Size is one thing, but it’s how dedicated the people are who are doing it.”

Ingram said he has assembled a staff of about 200 to gather signatures, which would be almost twice as large as any other candidate’s.

Ingram said he has been recruiting staff for “a while” and conducted individual meetings with staffers to discuss pertinent issues.

“I’m very hopeful we’ll continue to expand and bring staff members on and incorporate their ideas into ours,” he said.

Cooper said she has 110 signature gatherers.

“My people have been out all night and all day,” she said. “We are not stopping.”

Lee said he too has acquired more than 100 staffers.

“I don’t think numbers are everything,” he said. “If you have 60 people, and all of those 60 people are really involved, it could be stronger than a campaign with 400 people.”

Phillips declined to speculate about whether larger campaigns are more prone to complaints.

Candidate Joey Guy said he has a staff of about 60 people, which is using connections with athletic teams and the marching band.

“My staff can do just as good as anyone else’s staff,” Guy said.

Brooklyn Stephens said about 50 students work on her staff.

“I am blessed to have amazing people on my campaign,” she said. “They are working extremely hard.”

Candidate Dylan Gilroy said he has not organized a campaign staff or collected signatures yet. Gilroy said he might not stand a chance against the largest campaign.

“I’m not expecting to do nearly as well,” he said. “I haven’t put the planning in.”