Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) presidential candidate Alexander Golovko received an electoral violation Feb. 16, the last day of voting.
Around 2 p.m. Feb. 16, Golovko sent a mass Blackberry message to his contacts, including a member of the electoral office, encouraging them to vote for him and his slate and outlining a few platform points, according to chief electoral officer (CEO) Sean Finn.
“First off, it wasn’t an approved message,” Finn said. “Second off, [Golovko] was campaigning on a polling day.”
Finn clarified that while the electoral code permits verbal campaigning on voting days, section 14.1 of the electoral code bans “distributing campaign material during the polling period.” This includes any form of mass communication, Finn said.
Golovko said he hadn’t learned of his violation until approached by the Charlatan for a comment because he was busy campaigning.
He said he did send the message, but he doesn’t think it constitutes an electoral offence.
“In my understanding, private contacts are your private information,” Golovko said. “So for me to send a message to my private contacts encouraging them to [vote] is fair.”
Golovko said he isn’t sure whether he’ll appeal the violation and with less than two hours to go before polls close, he definitely won’t be any time soon.
“[I] don’t see the reason to [appeal it] but I’ll think it over later tonight,” he said. “It’s not like it’s going to change much, right?”
The offence is Golovko’s first, and would constitute a general warning. With the infraction, Golovko joins fellow A Better Carleton slate member Michael De Luca, who received an electoral violation Feb. 15.
