During this year’s SGA election (April 20-23, 2015), the Election Board sanctioned the Jankoski-Amsini campaign twice (here and here) for violations of Election Rule #10, which is designed to prevent campaigns from using high-pressure tactics.

Election Rule #10 reads: “Students must be free to vote as they wish without being harassed, badgered, or intimidated by candidates or their supporters. Campaigns may not provide prospective voters with equipment (eg., laptops, tablets, cell phones) on which to cast votes. Campaigns may not assist or interfere with voters in the act of voting. If a candidate or supporter is aware that a student is in the act of voting, the candidate or supporter may not approach within 10 feet of the voter to provide information, solicit votes, or attempt to view the voter's selections.”

On Monday, April 27th the Election Board resolved all outstanding complaints about the conduct of the election and certified the results.

Two days later, on Wednesday, April 29th, an administrator from the Shady Grove campus contacted the Office of Student Life with further evidence of misconduct during the election. This administrator felt compelled to come forward after reading about previous rule violations and sanctions on myUMBC. She provided strong evidence that the Jankoski-Amsini campaign solicited votes on electronic devices at the Shady Grove satellite campus.

That evidence included testimony from herself, a staff member, and two students. All four report that two students, whom the administrator has identified as Anthony Jankoski and Bryan England, repeatedly solicited votes on tablet devices in clear violation of Election Rule #10 on Wednesday, April 22, during the morning voting period.

Additional evidence from another Shady Grove administrator suggests similar behavior may have taken place on Thursday, April 23, after the Election Board had officially put the Jankoski-Amsini campaign on notice for repeated violations of Election Rule #10.

The SGA Constitution establishes that: “The Elections Board may disqualify or impose campaign restrictions on any candidate for an elected SGA office or related SGA election.” When the Election Board certified this year’s election results, Anthony Jankoski, Daniel Amsini, and Bryan England ceased to be candidates for elected office. Therefore, the Election Board no longer has any authority to hold them accountable for their actions.

There are other avenues available to the student body to address this matter. In light of this new evidence and previous violations of Election Rules during the campaign, the Election Board is formally recommending that the newly elected SGA Senate and Finance Board initiate impeachment proceedings to fully investigate this matter and hold any and all complicit SGA officers accountable.

Per the SGA Constitution, an impeachment trial can be initiated by a two-thirds vote of the Senate or Finance Board, or through a petition signed by 5 percent of UMBC undergraduate students. Conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the body conducting the trial. In the case that there is a trial, all evidence that has been collected by the Election Board concerning this matter will be made available to the deciding body.

It is the unanimous opinion of the Election Board that the student body will be best served by SGA’s elected representatives fully investigating and resolving this matter.

Signed,

The 2015 SGA Election Board

Evan Leiter-Mason

Sandra Waithaka

Catherine Cano

Sophia Lopresti

Jenette Phillips

Matthew Hsieh

Tushman Rahman