Election results declared invalid

A week full of indecision and confusion has left the election results for next year at a standstill.

The Judicial Board voted Thursday to accept an appeal that contested the validity of the April 20 Elections Board decision to validate all of the ASPSU election results.

The Judicial Board is the highest-ranking body in student government and their decision is binding. The Elections Board runs student government elections and validates the election results.

The results of the election depend on the written opinion of the Judicial Board, which Chief Justice Keith Creech said will be released soon. Creech said Thursday night that it is the Judicial Board’s opinion that Rudy Soto is an ineligible candidate by the 2006-2007 ASPSU constitution.

The Elections Board validated all of the election results, but the Judicial Board accepted and upheld an appeal by Patrick Beisell, the candidate running against Soto.

Soto was elected president of the Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU) but did not meet a credit requirement clause in the 2006-07 constitution, which mandated that all members of student government be enrolled in and complete at least six credits to be a candidate or to be in ASPSU. The constitution was revised to remove that clause for next year, which students voted into effect at the same time that Soto was declared the winner of the ASPSU presidential elections.

Three days after the election on Monday, Soto was enrolled in 12 credits. He said that he is within the four-week add/drop period for classes, and that it is his right as a student to rearrange his schedule during that time.

Creech said that it is part of the Judicial Board’s decision that Soto did not have the right to drop below six credits and still remain a candidate.

The appeal contested all of the election results, not only the presidential election results. This could mean that the elections would have to be held again or that the Judicial Board would only declare that Soto is ineligible as a candidate, which could put Beisell into office by default.

Look for updates on the election results and the Judicial Board ruling on www.dailyvanguard.com.