Election Commission Now Says Driskell-Burton Did Not Overspend in Election

Reversing a statement he made Wednesday evening, Election Commission representative David L. Levy '00 said that new Undergraduate Council President-Elect Fentrice D. Driskell '01 and Vice President-Elect John A. Burton '01 never overspent their campaign limit of $100.

Levy, along with three other members of the five-member election board, had said repeatedly that Burton and Driskell--who won the campus-wide election for president and vice president in a landslide--exceeded their spending limit by $5 to $10, although he would not release the exact amount.

And Matthew M. Segneri '03, who is a member of the commission, maintained that position yesterday, saying that Driskell and Burton exceeded their spending limit by $13.

However, Levy said yesterday evening that Driskell and Burton had never overspent. He said the commission's mistake was the result of "confusion" brought on by a long and stressful night before the election.

According the commission's rules, candidates who exceed their spending limits will be expelled from the race. Before reversing himself yesterday, Levy had said he felt such punishment would be draconian, and the commission decided not to remove the Driskell/Burton ticket from the race.

"It would be really stupid to penalize people who have worked hard and put a lot of effort into their campaign because there was a misunderstanding," Levy said Wednesday night.

Among council members, the controversy over the alleged overspending has led to criticism of the election commission for perhaps allowing Driskell and Burton to get away with breaking the rules.

"It doesn't bother me if they say 'go for it, you have two weeks, it's a free for all, do whatever you can get away with,'" said former council President Beth A. Stewart '00, who endorsed Sterling P. A. Darling '01 for president this year.

"I do have a problem if certain people are relying on the rules to be enforced, and then they aren't enforced," Stewart added.