OSU's incoming SGA president, vice president violated campaign laws
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Baylor Haynes and Braden Hamilton won the Student Government Association spring election as president and vice president.
The roles include oversight of student activity fee allocation, representation on university-wide committees and direct advocacy to OSU administration on behalf of the student body. After the votes were cast, the SGA Supreme Court found Haynes/Hamilton violated Title X Section 4.4.3 by failing to submit their campaign staff list by the required 5 p.m. deadline and violated Title X Section 4.2.3 by submitting an incomplete campaign budget that did not include itemized funding sources.
On the deadline question, the court rejected the argument that a 24-hour provision in Title X Section 4.4.3 served as an alternative grace period. The court ruled the 24-hour provision applies only when materials are specifically requested by a governing body, not as a substitute for the standard 5 p.m. submission deadline. To interpret otherwise, the court wrote, “would render the 5 p.m. deadline meaningless and undermine the uniform administration of election procedures.”
The punishment issued was a Level Two violation, suspension of active campaigning. Because the ruling came nearly three weeks after Election Day, the penalty carried no practical consequence. A campaign that was already over cannot be suspended.
SGA withheld certification of election results pending the judicial process. Results were certified following the March 30 ruling, and Haynes/Hamilton were declared the winners.
The court declined to disqualify the ticket despite finding two violations, ruling that disqualification authority on budget grounds rests solely with the Internal Affairs Committee under Title X Section 2.1.2.2.2 of the SGA bylaws. That provision states a ticket shall be automatically disqualified if IA finds it did not submit a valid budget by the applicable deadline. The committee never made that formal determination, and without it, the court ruled its hands were tied.
“The role of this Court is to assess violations and impose corresponding levels of sanctions, not to make an initial determination as to whether a campaign budget is valid for purposes of automatic disqualification,” the opinion reads.
The court also noted that the SGA Co-Coordinator had “clearly and repeatedly” communicated all other election deadlines to candidates but had not done the same for the campaign list deadline. The court recommended that either all deadlines be communicated consistently to candidates or none, to ensure uniform enforcement.
Wilson/Hoffee also violates rules
A second presidential ticket, Joshua Wilson/Kylie Hoffee, was found in violation in a separate opinion issued the same day. The court ruled that Wilson violated Title X Section 4.3.1 by campaigning during an open SGA meeting Jan. 29, when he allegedly told attendees at an informational session in the Student Union Regency Room to “vote for Josh.” Wilson denied making the statement, but the court ruled the plaintiff met the preponderance of evidence standard.
Associate Justice Luke Tate, while agreeing with the open meeting ruling’s outcome, expressed frustration with how the plaintiff built its case on that question. Tate criticized plaintiff’s counsel for failing to call a single witness “who did not and would not have a vested interest in the outcome of this case,” adding that he hoped counsel would “strive for better behavior and preparedness in their hopeful future legal careers.”
The court also found Wilson/Hoffee failed to report hot cocoa distributed at a campaign-related event at Patchin Jones Hall on March 5 as either an expenditure or donation, a violation of Title X Sections 4.2.3 and 4.2.4.
Tate dissented on that ruling, arguing the majority dismissed a sworn affidavit from Patchin Jones’ board of directors, which stated Wilson/Hoffee were guests, not hosts, in favor of an Instagram post.
“A punchy title should not be taken as dispositive of who hosted a social gathering,” Tate wrote. “Patchin no more co-hosted this gathering with Wilson/Hoffee than a gubernatorial candidate co-hosts a regular Rotary Club meeting at which he is invited to speak.”
The court found no violation against Wilson/Hoffee related to the Hoops for Hunger event held March 6-8 at the Beta Theta Pi basketball court, establishing new precedent distinguishing between a “financial intermediary,” a third party that transfers value to a campaign and triggers disclosure, and a “logistical intermediary,” a third party that participates independently without transferring value and does not require reporting.
Both opinions were signed by Chief Justice Parker Lockhart and Associate Justices Aislyn King and Tate and will serve as binding precedent in future SGA elections.
Haynes and Hamilton are set to take office at the conclusion of OSU’s spring commencement ceremony.
