With school-wide elections just around the corner, discussion in the Student Assembly has turned to campaign season. After frequent and contentious sanctions of various candidates in last year's elections, this year's Elections Planning and Advisory Committee reviewed previous rules concerning campaign decorum and presented a revised procedural booklet at the Assembly meeting Tuesday night.
EPAC Chair Paul Heintz '06, whose campaign was sanctioned to a crippling point last year, discussed the changes to this year's procedure.
"So last year's election, the best guy didn't win unfortunately," joked Heintz, who is a comic artist and former opinion editor for The Dartmouth. "But seriously, part of the reason for the changes is that a lot of people were getting punished unfairly. It's been a problem over the years."
In an attempt to make the elections fairer, the committee ended its policy of punishments for infractions committed by people not necessarily connected to a candidate's campaign. Instead, EPAC will refer such violations to the Committee on Standards but still have the final say on whether a campaign or an individual unaffiliated with a campaign is responsible for any infringements.
This year's committee also revised old rules about campaigning through BlitzMail and decided to allow candidates to repress the recipient lists of their messages for the first time, which Heintz said he supported because EPAC was overwhelmed with accusations of foul play last year.
"Last year's rules were far too difficult for candidates to adhere to completely and for EPAC to regulate fairly," he said. "We're removing some of the most onerous restrictions and relying more on the electorate to determine whether a candidate has overstepped his or her bounds."
In making the changes, the current committee drew on the advice of last year's members, who wrote that "restrictions against candidates' supporters' actions should be loosened, while candidates can still be held to a higher standard" in their recommendations for this year's election process.
Adam Shpeen '07, the Assembly representative of the EPAC, said that the changes will make the elections run more easily overall.
"The changes were intended to make the rules clearer for all candidates and candidate supporters and to make sure that EPAC's actions wouldn't unnecessarily alter or affect the outcome of the elections," he said.
"Members of EPAC believe that a more limited and less interventionist approach to the elections would allow for smooth and fair elections."
But aside from the more lenient protocol regarding sanctions, former EPAC rules remain unchanged, Heintz said.
"While we are loosening some campaign restrictions we feel very strongly that a lack of financial resources should not prevent a candidate from running," Heintz said.
Candidates wishing to run for the Assembly must file their petitions by April 11.
The Assembly passed the revised EPAC booklet without opposition before confirming Travis Green '08 as the leader of the Alumni Affairs Committee and unanimously passing a proposal to fund the annual "Collis Up All Night" fraternity-free event this spring.
