Though the computer-tallied results of last week’s ASSU elections were announced on Friday evening at the Coffee House, it could take several weeks to sort out a messy executive race.
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Mikey Lee thanks his supporters after being announced the winner in the ASSU presidential election. However, his victory may be challenged when the election results come up for certification in the ASSU Undergraduate Senate and Graduate Student Council.
The tally showed a clear victory for the slate of senior Mikey Lee and junior Dylan Mefford, who bested junior Ajani Husbands and sophomore Alyssa Schwartz by over 300 votes. However, the results still need to be certified by the Undergraduate Senate and the Graduate Student Council (GSC), where they could meet substantial resistance. In particular, ASSU officers will be looking into whether a series of illegal e-mails sent to students on behalf of the Lee-Mefford campaign influenced the outcome.
Elections Commissioner Ellie Martin, a junior, said that certain individuals on the commission might bring several cases before the University to determine whether any related actions violated Stanford Fundamental Standard. Martin said she was especially concerned about the e-mail sent anonymously by former ASSU Vice President Nick Rodriguez, a senior. Rodriguez sent the message — titled “The Ugly Side of the ASSU” — to 11,746 Stanford e-mail addresses.
“If individuals on campus bring cases, the roots of these e-mails will be investigated by the Office of Judicial Affairs,” Martin said.
On Friday evening, Martin emphasized University investigation was only one possible course of action, and that the opinions of many people within the ASSU would influence any final decisions.
“We’re not sure we’re going to do it,” she said. “We’ll make the decision when the dust settles.”
For Lee and Mefford, the victory brought little relief from the controversy that has engulfed their campaign.
“It’s definitely bittersweet to know that people are upset by some of our past actions,” Lee said. “As far as the certification of the elections goes, we have to leave it to the Senate to vote and decide on that. I’m not going to push, one way or the other. The priority for us right now is to assume that the results will stand because there’s so much to do as far as orienting ourselves to these new positions.”
Schwartz said she felt that the elections violations unfairly influenced voters in favor of Lee and Mefford, but added that she trusts the Senate and GSC to make the right decision when they decide whether to certify the election. Meetings will be open to the public.
“Given the e-mails, I’m not surprised by the election results,” Schwartz said. “I will not contest the election if the Senate certifies it, but I will give them my opinion at the meeting, which is that these results are not accurate.”
She said she spoke with Lee immediately before the election results were disclosed at 5 p.m. at the Co Ho.
“We basically agreed that it was frustrating for everybody,” she said.

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