The Undergraduate Student Government Senate held its last meeting of the semester Thursday, during which senators debated changing the size of the Elections Board and impeached former Elections Board member Malik Archer.
Elections Board Chair Sydney Bryan took the floor to explain that the election bylaws were under the process of being revised and that what USG could not pass that night would be ready for a vote in the summer, in time for the elections in the next academic year.
Afterward, the senate debated the Elections Board Fairness Act, which is the precursor to the bylaw changes that will take effect later this year. The number of people that should sit on the Elections Board was the most debated topic, after Sen. Maximilian Shaps suggested that the number be limited to five individuals. That number was seen as too small by a few senators and after some time, it was decided that the board should contain “no fewer than five but no more than 7 members.” The reasoning behind this was to account for possible strain on the board in the event that more students run for USG positions or a larger percentage of students cast votes in a given election. The senate passed the act unanimously.
Treasurer Taylor Bouraad addressed the senate regarding the budget, saying that only a few clubs went over budget . She also noted that the budget’s allocations for liability insurance, computers and software and SUNY Student Assembly had been exceeded. If the clubs that went over budget are unable to fundraise the money, it will be taken out of their allocated budget for the next academic year.
Sen. Jan Jaminal read through the Articles of Impeachment against Archer, who had allegedly failed in his duties as the chair of the Elections Board in March and had failed to communicate the results of the board’s verification process to all students running in the election. After some minor changes were made to the articles, a roll call vote was held. The articles were approved with 17 in favor of impeachment and two senators abstaining from the vote.
Correction: May 8, 2016
A previous version of this article erroneously reported that the Elections Board Fairness Act states that the USG Elections Board should contain “no fewer than five but no more than 15 members.” The act states that the Elections Board should contain “no fewer than five but no more than seven members.”