Simon Fraser University
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Dean of Student Services & Registrar
tel 291-4176; fax 291-5732; email heath@sfu.ca
Memorandum
For Information
S.97-54
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To: ?
Senate
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From: Ron Heath
Dean of Student Services & Registrar
Subject: Electoral Standing Committee
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Date: May 22, 1997
Report from-the-Electoral-Standing-Committee--
The Electoral Standing Committee has met once during the past year at which time it
considered an appeal from a candidate resulting from the recent student elections to the
Board of Governors.
The first part of the request focused on the fact that there was only one polling station for
the election on the Burnaby campus and that, since it was located in the south-east corner
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of the Academic Quadrangle, student participation was affected. The Committee
acknowledged that the location used was not the most central. It was noted that additional
polling stations would involve extra costs associated with staffing and that stations that
changed location from one day to the next would lead to confusion. The Committee did
not support the appeal but requested that the Registrar consider alternative locations that
might be more central for the whole Burnaby campus community.
The second part of the request dealt with issues relating to press coverage, some of which
were identified as misrepresentation of both the views and the candidate. After some
consideration, the Committee determined that it was not possible to assess whether or not
the press coverage in question had direct influence on the final results. It was noted that
the appeal was not submitted upon discovery of the alleged offence but rather, was
submitted after the results of the election were known. In addition, the request was
submitted considerably beyond the 96 hour limit after the closing of polls as specified in
the election rules. The Committee asked that the Registrar submit a report to
The Peak
as
a means of communicating its concern to the community at this kind of campaign activity
and to amend the information provided to candidates to ensure that it was well
understood that this activity would not be tolerated.
Notice to
The Peak
During the recent campaign for the election of students to the Senate and the Board of
Governors, individuals unknown were responsible for willful misrepresentation of the
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views and positions of at least one of the candidates. The situation was exacerbated since
the press coverage extended into the public media. Subsequently, copies of those articles
started to appear on the campus, again posted by individuals unknown. The newspaper
subsequently printed a retraction, confirming that they had been misled but headlines
being as they are, the retractions did not command the attention of the original- items.
In any campaign, it is appropriate that an individual should be held accountable for his or
her stated views, opinions and stands on issues but at the same time, it is highly
inappropriate for an individual or individuals to falsely attribute views, opinions and
stands on issues to a candidate, and especially when the individual or individuals
misrepresent themselves as the candidate through telephone interview, press release or
other means. It is not sufficient to claim that the newspaper publishing the material
should check the reliability of its sources.
The Electoral Standing Committee wishes to make very clear the position that this kind of
election/ campaign tactic will not be tolerated. Any such instances reported during the
conduct of an election will be investigated and should the individuals involved be
identified, they will be dealt with to the fullest possible extent.
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