Students for Change and the United Party of Students both broke guidelines in the April 6 and 7 Student Government election, said elections officer Ashlei Birch.

According to the elections reform guidelines, “Neither candidates nor poll watchers may campaign, solicit, or distribute literature within 100 feet of the polls . Campaigning with this literature is not allowed in the polling place.”

Speaker of the Senate Drew Griffin said both parties were campaigning within 100 feet of Coleman Hall during the election.

Griffin said Students for Change executive candidates Ron Jordan and Brad Saribekian, United Party of Students executive candidates Michelle Murphy and Jose Alarcon, and Student Senate member Chris Kromphardt for the United Party of Students campaigned within 100 feet of the polling place.

Griffin said he told the violators to leave the scene immediately.

Birch said the election reform guidelines, established in 2006, state the elections commission has no power in making a decision in appropriate punishments.

The complaints would be given to Judicial Affairs, she said.

“We met Thursday to talk about the complaints and can’t do anything,” Birch said. “There are no rules about us punishing anyone in the bylaws or constitution.”

Both parties filed complaints against the opposite party on Wednesday morning.

Jordan, Students for Change presidential candidate, said the Students for Change withdrew its complaint from the Elections Commission Thursday.

“(Murphy) was right, I will admit to it,” Jordan said. “The only thing was, she was doing the same thing by campaigning within 50 feet.”

Jordan said the reason the Students for Change campaigned within 50 feet was a miscommunication with Birch.

He said he thought Birch said passing literature was OK within 100 feet.

Murphy, student body president-elect, said she, Alarcon and Kromphardt came within 50 feet of Coleman to deter students from being persuaded to vote for Jordan.

She said she and her party members were watching Jordan.

“Nobody made those accusations until after the fact,” Murphy said. “If there was a better person for this job, I would let him have it. (Ron) wasn’t a better person for this job, and for him to say that I got it unfairly is preposterous, untrue.

“When that party decided to break the rules, I told my party we could break the rules for more votes, or we could go through the books and do it right.”

Both parties had legitimate complaints, Birch said.

However, Griffin said the election results would not be changed because both sides could blame the other of a violation in a Student Supreme Court hearing.

Both Birch and Murphy want the elections commission to have more power to punish violators and make the election process more clear.

“Election procedures will be rewritten,” Murphy said. “They are old and not applicable anymore.”

Birch said the elections commission is not pointless.

“It could be a very beneficial position if rules were rewritten so it could function properly,” she said.

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7942 or at rtbajek@eiu.edu.