Student Government presidential candidate Nirvana Habash was again thrown off the ballot after the Board of Elections voted that she had violated the rules and did deserve to be taken off the ballot. However, Habash can still campaign and will run as a write-in candidate. She can also appeal the decision to the Judicial Board.
This was the second time the candidate has been removed from the ballot. Habash was taken off the ballot Wednesday morning after the BOE determined she had violated election rules. Habash appealed the decision to the Judicial Board, and, after a marathon three-hour meeting that ran until after 2 a.m. Thursday, the Board ruled that Habash had not been given a chance to defend her actions and was entitled to another hearing. Habash was not notified of her violation until after the BOE had kicked her from the ballot.
The BOE charged that Habash had violated a rule that prohibited posting campaign-related messages on non-campaign related mediums. Friends of Habash had e-mailed members of the School of Public Affairs’ Leadership Program listserv, encouraging them to vote for Habash. This was a “clear violation” of the rules, according to acting BOE Chairwoman Erika Zois.
According to the ruling, issued by the BOE around 5:30 p.m., Habash did violate the rules and did deserve to be removed from the ballot. “It is further more[sic] the consensus (by majority) of the Board of Elections that the penalty for this infraction constitutes the removal of Ms. Habash's name from the ballot yet she may still be considered as a write-in candidate,” the decision read. “Ms. Habash will therefore not lose the ability to campaign nor lose the ability to participate in any election related activities.”
Around 7 p.m., Habash tweeted that she will be running as write-in. However, Habash says she still plans on attending the presidential debate at 10 p.m. The debate is co-sponsored by ATV and The Eagle and will air on channels 2 and 15.
E-mails were sent to the other candidates for comment. Seth Rosenstein declined to comment at this time. The other presidential candidates, Nate Bronstein and Anthony Dunham, had not yet responded.
You can reach this staff writer at cszold@theeagleonline.com.
