Chipotle money at heart of KU student elections squabble
Lawrence ? Although the Kansas University student body elections wrapped up Thursday, the results are currently under lock and key until a dispute over the election is resolved.
Just days before the vote, a student coalition named Jayhawkers was disqualified after allegedly buying $300 worth of food at Chipotle for potential voters without disclosing the expense to the student government’s elections commission, said Jake Rapp, chair of the commission.
Another campaign coalition, Grow KU, filed the complaint against Jayhawkers. Jayhawkers remained on the ballot for the election.
Student coalitions allow candidates to pool resources and run on a single platform. A push to ban them in KU’s student body elections failed in the Student Senate last fall. However, the Senate enacted new campaign reforms that included the rules that Jayhawkers are accused of violating.
Members of the Jayhawkers coalition maintain that the Chipotle money does not qualify as campaigning, and the coalition has filed appeals with student government and university judicial boards, Rapp said.
The judicial boards enforced injunctions keeping the results from release. The results could be withheld until Friday.