CSUN Student Senate Delays Decision on Disputed Election

After five hours of angry debate, the Cal State Northridge student senate Tuesday delayed a decision on the controversial student government elections won by an all-minority slate of candidates.

By delaying the discussion until next Tuesday, the senators kept the controversy at full boil for at least another week.

“We’re at an impasse here,” said Associated Students President Brad Marsh.

“Another week, and then we’ll see,” said Joaquin Macias, the presidential candidate on the We the People slate.

The controversy surrounds the March election when the minority slate, We the People, edged candidates of the Students First slate for control of the student government beginning June 1.

The election drew an unusually large turnout, 2,411 voters compared with the typical 500, and was decided by 200 votes.

Although many at Tuesday’s marathon meeting expressed anger about delays in certifying the victory of Macias and his slate, Marsh said rules and procedures used by various student committees looking into possible voter fraud had become “extremely complex,” and that more time was needed to study school rules, charters and bylaws.

We the People had been accused of violating a number of school election rules, including spending $300 more than the $500 campaign limit, having instructors campaign in class and rigging the phone-in vote system.

Macias denied the charges and said a “witch hunt is on.”

The election victory withstood two earlier challenges, by a student senate committee and the full senate. But another student committee last week invalidated the victory, leaving it up to the student senate to allow the second-place slate to take control, or to overturn the committee’s decision and install We the People.