Election court chair nomination tabled until Jan. 22
Rachel Foutz, chair of student conduct and senior accounting major, had her nomination as the Elections Court Chair tabled for further questioning during the last Student Government Association Senate meeting on Dec. 4.
Her nomination was tabled after a question of her involvement in the Milbourne.Kelly campaign came up.
A constituent sent a photo to one senator, who wished to remain anonymous, that showed Foutz was a member of the Milbourne.Kelly volunteer Facebook page.
“I asked her a question about her involvement with the campaign and she replied saying she had never been involved in any campaign,” the senator said.
At the Senate meeting, a motion to reconsider Foutz’s nomination was passed with 20 votes in favor and 10 votes opposed, according to Dec. 4 Senate minutes.
Foutz’s nomination will be reconsidered at the next Senate meeting on Jan. 22. Foutz could not be reached for comment.
The Elections Court Chair is nominated by the SGA vice president, Brigitte Kelly, according to the Election Bylaws.
Kelly declined to comment for this story.
DeJon Milbourne, student body president and junior accounting major, said the Facebook page was for supporters of his campaign and not for members of the campaign team.
“If Rachel had been on my campaign, she would have been in one of my videos of support because she’s seen as a very prominent figure,” Milbourne said.
One of the questions Foutz was asked during the Senate confirmation hearing was about her relationship with Milbourne.
Foutz replied that they had a relationship and they talked about how their relationship “will go during elections if DJ decides to run again,” according to Senate minutes.
Milbourne said he is unsure if he will run for president again, but if he feels students are confident in him leading, he will.
“I love fighting for people and supporting people but I also feel like it’s important that they want you to be there too,” Milbourne said.
Milbourne said his relationship with Foutz is professional.
“We did take a leadership class together last semester, but we’re both accounting majors together and she’s the chair of student conduct so that kind of plays a role,” Milbourne said.
Last year, eight cases were brought before the election court.
Elections Court Chair responsibilities include:
– Updating the Senate, cabinet or advisers “to uphold the rule of law in the Elections process.”
– Taking actions that are “necessary to ensure adherence to all Elections related Rules and Policy.”
– Giving “appropriate, impartial, and objective advice relating strictly to elections procedure and pending or potential cases upon request.”
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Moss Brennan (he/him) is a senior journalism major with a minor in political science and media studies. He has worked on The Appalachian since freshman...
