Election slate found guilty

The ASUNM Student Court found the 10 former ASUNM Senate candidates accused last month of misreporting campaign expenses guilty of all charges.

The court ruled on Thursday that each of the candidates, who made up the Make Your Mark campaign slate in last month’s Senate race, must pay a fine of $82.17. The Student Court did not uphold the election commission’s recommendation to bar Sen.-Elect Brandyn Jordan from assuming office. Jordan was the student who took responsibility for Make Your Mark’s actions

“While the election commission was authorized to disqualify Brandyn Jordan from assuming office … the Student Court finds the punishment to be excessive,” the court’s decision said. “Although he is guilty of gross misconduct, based on the proceedings, the evidence did not merit the disqualification of a senator elected by 596 of his peers.”

The five elected candidates from Make Your Mark will not be allowed to vote during the first two ASUNM full Senate meetings and first committee meeting. If they fail to pay their fines by Dec. 18, they will not be allowed to take office or participate in future elections.

Sen.-Elect Anthony Santistevan, who ran on the Make Your Mark slate, said the court’s decision to remove his and fellow Make Your Mark candidates’ rights to vote will limit the Senate’s ability to function.

“It’s unfortunate that these sanctions have been put in place, but it was decided by the student court that these sanctions would be upheld, and we have no choice but to follow their ruling,” he said. “We are just glad Brandyn Jordan is allowed into office. The students of UNM wanted him there for a reason.”

The court’s decision passed unanimously after five days of deliberation.

ASUNM President Jaymie Roybal said she trusts that the student court made the right decision.

The slate members appealed their initial punishments Dec. 1, saying that while they did spend more money on campaign materials than reported, the materials were never used.

Sen.-Elect Joe Stevens spoke to the student court on behalf of the accused candidates during the Dec. 1 appeal. He said the fliers that went unreported were extras that the candidates didn’t use during the campaign.

“Brandyn Jordan received 596 votes, the highest of any candidate,” Stevens said. “Is it right to silence 596 individuals’ voices? We did not intentionally misreport these fliers, and we did not use them to campaign, to affect the minds of students. Our actions as individuals prove our character; our actions to help the community … Every action we took was for the students.”

During the appeal, ASUNM Attorney General Greg Montoya said the candidates knowingly overspent and lied about it to the elections commission.

“The students of the University of New Mexico were misled,” he said. “The elections commission and I do not believe these individuals have the integrity to hold office, and I ask the court to uphold our decision.”