VP Administration candidate Aaron Verones and his campaign team have been ordered to suspend all online campaigning for 24 hours, which began Monday at 4 p.m., as punishment for violating the AMS Elections procedures and handbook.
A post on the AMS Elections Facebook page stated that Verones had violated AMS Code Section IX (A) article 2 part 6(b), which disallows public campaigning outside the official campaign period by using a mass email distribution before the start of the campaign period.
Verones said in an interview with The Ubyssey that the violation came out of him having a “different interpretation of AMS Code” than the elections administrator. Verones cited section XI A 2 6(d)(i)(2) of AMS code, which states that private communications over email about election plans are permitted prior to the official campaign period. He also cited section IX A 2 6(e)(i). This section states that candidates are allowed to meet with leaders of campus groups in order to seek their endorsement before the beginning of the campaign period.
Verones said that the elections administrator classified his email correspondence as a “mass campaign email,” which is why he was served a penalty.
“The elections committee was quite gracious in how they handled this situation. They did it quite professionally and I respect them for that,” said Verones. “I respect their decision and will continue to be on the straight and narrow in the future.”
According to the Facebook posting, the suspension includes but is not limited to social media pages, websites, and/or email correspondence.
This article has been updated to clarify that AMS elections code does allow candidates to contact leaders of campus groups before the beginning of the campaign period. The Ubyssey regrets this error.