After the conclusion of the Associated Student Body spring elections, the University Judicial Council released judicial rationales on three Elections Review Board hearings that were appealed.
One rationale, Jack Jones v. ASB Department of Justice, revealed that ASB Vice Presidential Elect Jack Jones, a sophomore economics major, faced disqualification from the race by the Elections Review Board — a decision that was later overturned by the judicial council.
The facts presented in Jack Jones v. ASB Department of Justice correspond to facts presented in ERB Hearing H. This hearing, held on Tuesday, March 26 at 6 p.m., resulted in a ruling to disqualify the candidate from the vice presidential election.
According to the Hearing H ruling, text message evidence was presented, “showing that the candidate’s campaign manager notified a Greek chapter that they could receive points for voting in the election.”
Hearing H said that this was in violation of ASB Code, Title V.c § 121 C which reads: “Any attempt by a candidate, campaign representative, or organization to coerce, bribe, incentivize, intimidate, or force a person to vote or campaign in any form, shall result in the candidate’s immediate disqualification.”
According to the judicial rationale, Jones was approved to appeal his disqualification to the UJC, and he provided new evidence and witness testimonies. This evidence led the UJC to overturn the disqualification allowing Jones to proceed to the runoff. More details can be found in the judicial rationale on the ASB Website.
“As a candidate, I felt the Department of Justice worked to address issues both as they arose during the election and are working now to address issues before the next election,” Jones said. “There are checks and balances put in place in ASB elections, and I feel they worked exactly as they were supposed to this election season.”
ASB presidential candidate Jackson Scruggs, a junior public policy leadership major, attended two separate appeal hearings that challenged three rulings made by the ERB.
The facts of Jackson Scruggs v. ASB Department of Justice correspond to ERB Hearing B.
The first violation detailed in Hearing B found that the candidate’s campaign manager had not resigned from the Committee on Governmental Operations before the deadline set by the attorney general at the time, Helen Phillips, a junior public policy leadership major and ASB presidential candidate.
The hearing found the candidate in violation of ASB Code Title VI § 102 (C) and ASB Code Title IIa § 108 (C) (2b), ruling it an “intermediate violation with a penalty of probation where the candidate was not permitted to post on social media from 12:00 a.m.-11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 21st, 2024.”
In the corresponding appeal, the UJC nullified this decision stating that Scruggs was not responsible for the first violation and that, “The ERB had overstepped its jurisdictional bounds set by the ASB Code and Constitution.”
The second violation in ERB Hearing B determined that the candidate had violated Title V.c § 121(B) which states: “Coordinated campaigning or other support, including donations of money or campaign materials, for candidates by groups not comprised exclusively of University of Mississippi students is prohibited. Students may not publicly campaign for a candidate while acting on behalf of a university department or academic school.”
A university staff member posted on social media in support of the candidate’s campaign. This post was then reposted by Ole Miss Football Head Coach Lane Kiffin, garnering 20,000 views. Based on text message receipts, several hours transpired between the post going up online and the candidate requesting the post be taken down.
The ERB ruled it, “a major violation with a penalty of no public campaigning on Thursday, March 21, 2024.”
Scruggs later appealed this decision to the UJC. However, the UJC upheld the ERB’s sanction and decision.
The facts of Jackson Scruggs v. ASB Department of Justice (2) correspond to ERB Hearing F. ERB Hearing F determined that the candidate participated in public campaigning within a residence hall and outside of the permissible hours. The ERB determined this a violation of Title
V.c § 121 (P) and Title V.c § 121 (N) due to a campaign banner at a Greek house outside of campaign hours and outside of the Union Plaza.
The ERB decided, “This was a major violation with a penalty of a monetary fine of $120.”
Despite Scruggs appealing this monetary fine with the UJC, the council upheld the decision made by the ERB.
In addition to these appeals, the ERB released five other hearing decisions that can be found on the ASB website.
“Last week, we witnessed the student government in its most complete form,” ASB President Sara Austin Welch said. “I am more than proud of the dedication that many individuals in this organization have shown to ensuring justice for our candidates.”
