Updated: Feb. 23, 2021 at 3:20 p.m.
The Student Court released an order Monday setting a hearing date for a case on some students’ voting rights for the upcoming Student Association Senate elections.
The order states a public hearing will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. via Zoom. SA President Brandon Hill filed a complaint last week against the Joint Elections Commission – the body that oversees SA elections – seeking to extend voting rights for the School of Media and Public Affairs and Corcoran School of the Arts and Design races to all Columbian College of Arts and Sciences students.
A JEC advisory opinion states CCAS students will only be allowed to vote for the SMPA or Corcoran races if they are also a member of one of those schools.
Last week, the court temporarily barred the JEC from accepting the registration of a student running for a seat in “any division” of CCAS. A second court order released Monday extends the registration moratorium from this Friday until the announcement of the court’s decision, but it allows candidates in CCAS to gather signatures for their candidacy through the end of the registration period – which takes place between Feb. 24 and March 3.
Students vying for a CCAS senate seat are required to gather 50 signatures from students, while those running for an SMPA or Corcoran seat must acquire 10 signatures.
Hill and the JEC must submit a brief to the court by Friday at 5 p.m. to answer questions about the language outlining students’ voting rights in the SA’s updated constitution and to explain their stance on whether the JEC’s advisory opinion aligns with the constitution.
Individuals and organizations also are allowed to submit an amicus brief on any of the constitutional questions to Chief Judge Maggie O’Brien by Friday at 5 p.m.
The opinion also states Hill withdrew his initial request asking SA Vice President for Judicial and Legislative Affairs Jean Hyun to represent him at Sunday’s hearing.
This post has been updated to correct the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported the hearing will be at 8 p.m. on Sunday. It will be a 2 p.m. We regret this error.
