A litany of cheating allegations against SGA presidential incumbent Steve Glickman and his Your Party has surfaced in the wake of the election, which ended last week. But no Your Party members have been found guilty of any wrongdoing by the Elections Board so far.
A student filed a report on Thursday accusing Glickman, who won a second term as Student Government Association president last week, of carrying a laptop around the campus to illegally solicit votes — a violation of election rules. Another student claimed he saw two Your Party members instructing students to vote for their party members in McKeldin Library, but never filed a complaint with the Elections Board.
The Your Party won seats in all but two categories in which they had a candidate on the ticket, but SKY Party presidential candidate Andrew Steinberg, who lost to Glickman by an 8 percent vote difference, said it’s more than a case of sour grapes — it’s an issue of integrity. In an election where one party swept so many of the seats, it is important to know all the votes cast were achieved in a legitimate and fair way.
“What really concerns me is how the Elections Board has handled the entire matter,” he said “As soon as I was aware of any allegations, I submitted a report right away, two hours into Election Day. This is about a fundamental process being fair.”
None of the complaints received by the Elections Board, which is comprised of appointed students who don’t serve in the SGA in any other capacity, have been found legitimate, said Chairwoman Danielle Chazen. After an investigation, the case was unanimously dismissed Friday.
In a report submitted to the Elections Board, senior kinesiology major Seneca Wood alleged Glickman approached another student in a gymnasium in the public health school last Wednesday, the second day of the SGA elections, and asked her to vote on a laptop he handed her.
“I had no idea it was cheating,” Wood said, until he overheard a group of students discussing the voting protocol, which prompted him to file a report with the Elections Board.
Glickman denied any such activity took place, and added the laptop in question wasn’t his.
“This is probably a bunch of people who lost spreading rumors,” he said.
But a handful of other students have come forward accusing other Your Party candidates of soliciting votes as well.
Senior government and politics major Matt Dernoga, a Diamondback columnist, said he saw two Your Party legislators directing students working at computers in McKeldin to vote.
Dernoga recorded two candidates — both of whom ultimately won the election in their constituencies — leaning over a student’s shoulder and allegedly pointing to names listed on the on-screen ballots with his cell phone camera.
“What raised a red flag for me was one of them said, ‘I’ll give you a Your Party pen if you vote,'” Dernoga said. “It didn’t seem quite kosher.”
But the video, which was obtained by The Diamondback, is blurry and doesn’t provide conclusive evidence of rule-breaking. Because the Elections Board hasn’t confirmed that any investigation is taking place against the legislators Dernoga reported seeing in the library, The Diamondback is withholding their names.
These allegations come on the heels of SKY Party presidential candidate Andrew Steinberg’s complaint that a candidate was spotted soliciting votes in Ellicott Hall on the first day of voting.
Steinberg submitted a written report to the Elections Board last Tuesday against Your Party. The issue was dropped when the student in question withdrew from the election, student officials said.
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