While campaigning for the presidency of the Carleton University Students’ Association, candidate Maxwell Heroux violated the association’s Electoral Code, a CUSA decision charges.
With the ruling, both candidates in the presidential race have now been found to have violated the association’s election rules.
Heroux, a fourth-year political science student, was issued four demerit points for two “minor electoral offences,” chief returning officer Basit Ur Rehman wrote in his ruling on Wednesday.
The candidate failed to get Ur Rehman’s approval on campaign materials before using them publicly, the CRO’s decision alleged.
Ur Rehman noticed Heroux’s campaign materials were being publicly used and distributed without CRO approval, which goes against the election rules and guidelines Ur Rehman issued to the candidates, the report said.
“A campaign-adjacent feedback form was publicly accessible via a ‘campaign Linktree’ without prior CRO approval,” the document added.
Because Heroux failed to “comply with the approval requirement after training,” he was also penalized for undermining the “integrity, fairness and uniform enforcement of the electoral process,” the report said.
The report said Heroux gave explanations for his actions — making references to timing constraints, the belief that he had permission, good-faith compliance and past practice. However, Ur Rehman determined these explanations did not justify Heroux’s actions.
Last week, CUSA presidential candidate Aryan Singh was also issued four demerit points for two “minor electoral offences.”
The association’s Electoral Code was updated at a November CUSA council meeting. Under the new rules, a candidate will be disqualified if they received 10 or more demerit points, lowered from the previous threshold of 15 demerit points.
In a statement to the Charlatan, Heroux said he apologizes for failing to seek prior approval for some of his campaign materials and is taking action to ensure a fair election. He added the application of that rule has been “significantly stricter” than in previous years.
“The training and prior mentions of the rule just state we need approval, as it has in previous years, but previously that just meant getting approval for general wording and not every specific material utilized,” Heroux said.
While he “unknowingly violated” the rules, Heroux said he accepts Ur Rehman’s decision but would like to see the logic behind his interpretation of the election’s rules “made public so that candidates can get clarity on these matters.”
“My whole campaign is that nobody is above the rules and that the rules should be applied to all equally,” Heroux said. “I am glad to see systems of accountability working in the election, I just hope they can be transparent.”
Featured graphic by Alisha Velji/the Charlatan
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify Maxwell Heroux’s statement to the Charlatan.
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