The Student Court issued a temporary injunction on the override of President Vishal Aswani’s veto Wednesday morning, after Aswani’s vice president for judicial and legislative affairs, Jordan Chapman, questioned the validity of the vote.
Students wishing to run for a position within the SA must collect signatures at this time.
Last Tuesday, SA Sen. Logan Dobson (CCAS-U) proposed eliminating signature requirements for all candidates wishing to run for a position within the SA. At that meeting, the Senate voted to pass the bill by a super-majority.
Aswani, however, vetoed this legislation, claiming that students wishing to run for the SA executive should have to collect signatures to prove they are serious about advocating and working for students.
At this Tuesday night’s Senate meeting, the body voted to overturn Aswani’s veto, once again eliminating signature requirements. However early Wednesday morning, Chapman filed a complaint with the student court claiming not enough senators voted in order to receive a two-thirds majority to override the veto.
At the meeting, 18 senators were eligible to vote. Of those 18, five abstained, bringing the total number of voting Senators to 13. Of those 13, nine voted to overturn Aswani’s veto, garnering a two-thirds majority. The decision to accept this two-thirds majority was made by Executive Vice President, Kyle Boyer, and Alex Fitzsimmons, the SA’s secretary.
Chapman claims that this ruling was unconstitutional. According to Chapman, two-thirds of the entire Senate membership must vote to override a veto. This would mean that 18 Senators would be needed to obtain a two-thirds majority.
Christopher Wimbush, the chief judge of the Student Court, issued a 72-hour temporary injunction blocking any branch of the SA from enforcing the bill as an amendment to the JEC Charter. The court will hear the case Thursday at 10 p.m. and make a decision shortly after determining whether or not the override stands.
If the override stands, students wishing to run for office will not have to collect signatures in order to be placed on the ballot. If it is ruled unconstitutional, students will have to collect signatures from 1 percent of the student body.
The Student Court has the power to extend registration period if the latter decision is made.
