Following weeks of controversy and investigations, former Salt Lake residents Emily Andrus and Ben Decker officially became Stanford University's student body president and vice president, respectively, on Tuesday.
The pair had won the key positions in the April 16-17 election, but some losing candidates took issue with elections regulations, calling for a runoff unless a majority is obtained.The pair had won the election by nearly 900 votes over the closest competitors, who tallied some 1,100 votes, said elections commissioner Ghazal Badiozamani. But they were pushed over the 50 percent majority by just 10 votes.
There were also questions about 115 ballots for write-in candidates, including Mickey Mouse, that were not included in vote totals, Ba-dio-zamani said. Some complained that had those ballots been counted, Andrus and Decker could not have claimed a majority.
While the student senate put those issues to rest in validating the results, it was unable to certify the election until allegations of campaign spending violations could be resolved.
Such spending is limited to $300, including in-kind donations, Badio-zamani said. Andrus and Decker had posted slick, color fliers during their campaign, she said.
But following a marathon five-hour meeting Tuesday, the student senate voted 10-5 to validate the results. The senate ruled an investigation didn't uncover evidence of wrongdoing, but it also wasn't as complete as it should have been, Badio-zamani said.
Andrus, a junior studying public policy, is the daughter of Fay and Ed Andrus, Salt Lake City. Decker, a senior studying economics, is the son of Chris and Rod Decker, also of Salt Lake City.