The Student Government Association senate approved the appointments of Arianna Bonner as Election Board and Robert Lee as Judicial Board Chairs Tuesday.
The Election Board, the body that keeps in contact with campaigns for SGA president and vice president, make sure there are no campaigning violations, while the Judicial Board has the authority to hold hearings and sanction campaigns if violations occur, SGA Vice President Eric Barnes said.
The vice president is responsible for making the decisions on whom to appoint to these positions, Barnes said.
“Ultimately it is my decision,” Barnes said. “Ultimately it comes down to ‘do I trust them enough?’ I have full faith that they will make the best decisions possible.”
Barnes said that Bonner’s role as Election Board Chair will be to act as “watchdog for everything that happens” in the SGA elections, attempting to prevent and rule violations.
“I think that [Bonner] can handle it,” Barnes said. “I think that she can do the workload. She has been a savior since last year. She was on Rules Committee for me last year.”
Bonner worked on the board last year as a member that worked with a single campaign and said she was excited to hear of her appointment.
“It’ll be fun,” Bonner said. “I feel very comfortable with the rules and bylaws.”
Bonner said her goal is to make sure that Lee will not have to do anything.
“If I do my job right and explain the rules correctly then [Lee] will not have to see a single ticket at the judicial board,” Bonner said.
Robert Lee said he was “very honored and humbled” to learn of his appointment.
Lee has been a senator for SGA since his freshman year, and worked as chair for the committee that was in charge of reviewed and revised the election bylaws.
Lee also has been a part of three campaigns, losing all of them, including a campaign for SGA vice president last with Evan Freemyer against the current SGA administration.
“I don’t have the best streak with elections, but they’re always a lot of fun, very exciting and very important for choosing the next generation of leadership for our university,” Lee said.
Lee said through his experiences he also feels very comfortable with the election rules and bylaws.
“I respect his judgment, and I think he’s really set for the job especially with all the experience he’s had with elections,” Barnes said.
Limited campaigning for this year’s elections start Feb. 26 and official campaigning begins Mar. 18 and ends during the voting period Mar. 22-27.
“I expect a really great election this year,” Barnes said.
Story: JOSHUA FARMER, News Editor